a lovely hat

Every picture tells a story, season 3, picture 18

I love the hat that Richard the young chemist is wearing in some photos from his student days (or possibly teacher in training, but we're definitely looking at his 20s here), so here comes the official hat appreciation post, first Richard on his own with the hat in question:

I'm getting the impression this is his first adult hat and he chose it half a size too large hoping he'd grow into it? Next we have a photo with his parents (Heinrich the cellist and Maria), also suitably covered:

And then a family gathering that is slightly remote. Maria's mother had died very young and when her father (Heinrich Pfersching) remarried, the new wife also brought a daughter called Maria into the family. That Maria from the other side married a man called Anton Fritz and had two daughters called Maria (again) and Ilse, both born before 1926. All of these "Fritzes" appear in this photo:

Next to Richard and his hat we have the younger Maria and Ilse in front of them. Then to the left Anton and then Maria senior and, I presume, Anna who is a half-sister to both Marias in the older generation.

Note that in 1918/19, after being evicted from Lorraine, 9-year-old Richard and his mother moved in with Heinrich Pfersching's patchwork family for half a year or so, before moving on to Elberfeld. This may explain why he remained close with his relatives in Bruchsal, even though the generations are misaligned - his aunt and uncles are not much older than him and his cousins a lot younger.

Should anybody have any answers to some of the many questions I am raising in this series, please leave a comment here (I'll need to vet it, so it may take a few days before it goes public) or contact me at michaelgrr [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk

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Season 3 so far:

1. family holiday
2. play time
3. fashion show
4. bakery to butcher's shop
5. the Hamborn brotherhood
6. all grown up
7. sisters in the snow
8. the last holiday
9. village life
10. family reshuffle
11. push bike
12. mystery trio
13. confirmands at Hamborn
14. streets of Hamborn
15. more grandchildren
16. a Russian winter
17. a confectioner's business
18. a lovely hat

The Mastodon thread for season 3 is here.

You can find Season 2 entries in this thread on Mastodon (complete now!) or via the list at the bottom of the last entry of the season (and also at the bottom of the first entry of this season).

The twitter thread for season 1 is still here. Alternatively, visit the last instalment and find the numbered list of entries at the bottom.