A _special_ importation of novelties in HEAD-DRESS ADORNMENTS. At prices to suit the times. INTRODUCTION. The object of this work is to give an idea of the fashions in head-gear of ancient and modern times, which to most people are very interesting. To obtain anything like a correct description thereof, it is necessary to consult not only history, but also laws, poems, and biographies. For this, few have opportunity or inclination; and this work is an earnest endeavor to supply in a condensed form what I have found to be a _desideratum_; and I believe it contains a correct description of styles not to be found in any other work, and no statement is made without the most patient study and research. As civilization and mental improvement advance in any country, a laudable curiosity is awakened to inquire into, and become acquainted with, the appearances, manners, and opinions of other nations and times. To gratify this curiosity, and to assist in this effort to be informed respecting the individual manners and customs, the external appearance, and the general fashions of different peoples and periods, this work is issued, presenting to the eye a series of judiciously selected and well executed representations of the original and ancient head-dress, and quotations and facts gleaned from ancient history to verify their correctness. Trusting this work will interest, if not benefit, its readers, I remain, respectfully, R. H. WADLEIGH. MILLINERY ROOMS, 474 Washington St. BOSTON, March 1, 1879. * * * * * Catching all the oddities, the whimsies, the absurdities, and the littlenesses of conscious greatness by the way. Backward, turn backward, O time, in your flight! Onward, still onward, Seeking knowledge and light. * * * * * Perhaps the most ancient head-dress that we find mentioned in history is the tiara. Strabo informs us that it was in the form of a tower. It is often seen carved upon ancient medals, and Servius calls it a Phrygian cap. The kings and heroes of Homer and Virgil wore this head-dress:— This royal robe and this tiara wore Old Priam. Woman is defined by an ancient writer to be an “animal that delights in finery”; and it is to be feared the annals of dress in every land, the most savage as well as the most civilized, will but prove the truth of the assertion. [Illustration: 1 Funeral Boat. Tomb of the Kings.—Thebes.] A caul is a very ancient head-dress; it is mentioned in the Bible, and by many old writers; it was usually made of net-work, of gold or silk, and enclosed all the hair. Some were set with jewels, and were very heavy and of great value. In the time of Virgil cauls were much worn:— Her head with ringlets of her hair is crowned, And in a golden caul the curls are bound.