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Post New Hats Here!
- Thread starter Rundquist
- Start date
moehawk
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,911
- Location
- Northern California
Hey all!
Last week, while doing a late evening perusal of Goodwill.com, I spotted a listing for a "Tiger Special dress hat". There were three low res pics of an old, rather thrashed-looking greyish-blackish hat. I usually will contact sellers about condition of leather and stitching, but this was almost halfway through one-day listing, so I just took a chance on a hat that needed love and dropped a 4 dollar opening bid.
It arrived Tuesday, and boy, did it need love! The sweatband, while present and in decent shape, was completely detached with a few twists of rotten thread hanging off. The 2 3/8" grosgrain ribbon and bow were rumpled. I took a couple of pics to try to reassemble it as close as I could, but the ribbon was about as fragile as tissue paper and fell apart as I removed it. The brim binding seems in good shape, but I'm not going to tug on it or anythinbg. Here's a few pics of the details with the hat apart.
Note the stamp on the back of the sweat for the patent-pending leather tratment process.
The factory tag, before manipulation of the felt made it crumble:
The bow...you can see a little of how beat the poor thing was.
The bow was nearly at the rear of the hat. There was no liner. The felt, while slightly mothed, is thin and light, very dense and in great condition.
After giving it a naptha bath I tried my best to re-sew the unreeded sweat the way it was originally stitched in, but after several attempts I discovered I have neither the eyesight nor the dexterity to sew those tiny stitches, so to preserve the leather (and my sanity) from further damage, I just fudged in the sweat the best I could to make it wearable. No pics of fudged in sweatband.
I replaced that WAR with a (1 1/8") mid-ribbon, mostly because it was what I had that looked best on it.
The details:
Crown: 6" open
Brim: 2 1/4"
Weight: 91 grams
I know I'm not very good at determining age of hats, but I'm going out on a limb here and guessing late 20's maybe early 30's. I, as always, welcome opinions more expert than mine.
Last week, while doing a late evening perusal of Goodwill.com, I spotted a listing for a "Tiger Special dress hat". There were three low res pics of an old, rather thrashed-looking greyish-blackish hat. I usually will contact sellers about condition of leather and stitching, but this was almost halfway through one-day listing, so I just took a chance on a hat that needed love and dropped a 4 dollar opening bid.
It arrived Tuesday, and boy, did it need love! The sweatband, while present and in decent shape, was completely detached with a few twists of rotten thread hanging off. The 2 3/8" grosgrain ribbon and bow were rumpled. I took a couple of pics to try to reassemble it as close as I could, but the ribbon was about as fragile as tissue paper and fell apart as I removed it. The brim binding seems in good shape, but I'm not going to tug on it or anythinbg. Here's a few pics of the details with the hat apart.
Note the stamp on the back of the sweat for the patent-pending leather tratment process.
The factory tag, before manipulation of the felt made it crumble:
The bow...you can see a little of how beat the poor thing was.
The bow was nearly at the rear of the hat. There was no liner. The felt, while slightly mothed, is thin and light, very dense and in great condition.
After giving it a naptha bath I tried my best to re-sew the unreeded sweat the way it was originally stitched in, but after several attempts I discovered I have neither the eyesight nor the dexterity to sew those tiny stitches, so to preserve the leather (and my sanity) from further damage, I just fudged in the sweat the best I could to make it wearable. No pics of fudged in sweatband.
I replaced that WAR with a (1 1/8") mid-ribbon, mostly because it was what I had that looked best on it.
The details:
Crown: 6" open
Brim: 2 1/4"
Weight: 91 grams
I know I'm not very good at determining age of hats, but I'm going out on a limb here and guessing late 20's maybe early 30's. I, as always, welcome opinions more expert than mine.
Mm25
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,024
Great save Moe!
moehawk
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,911
- Location
- Northern California
Thanks, Mm!
- Messages
- 15,860
Moe -- I was watching that the last couple of times it went through and was hoping someone would salvage it. Glad to see it was you. Nice job!
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+1
moehawk
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,911
- Location
- Northern California
Thanks RJR and Bob. Funny, I check Goodwill fairly often and never noticed it before last week.
moehawk
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,911
- Location
- Northern California
Interesting...I just googled the Brandt's soil-proof leather patent pending and found an ad in The American Hatter from 1915 with the patent pending...might be older than I thought.
- Messages
- 15,305
- Location
- Buffalo, NY
That's a great find. The Brandt sweatband imprint on the reverse is interesting... seems newer than the other elements of the hat. Describe the original ribbon. Is it soft like silk or firm like rayon?
moehawk
I'll Lock Up
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- 5,911
- Location
- Northern California
The ribbon is sheer, slightly stiff, and smells like hair mixed with paper when burnt, so I would guess a silk/cotton blend.
- Messages
- 15,305
- Location
- Buffalo, NY
It is an old hat and seeing it makes my day. The smell of paper would likely indicate rayon. Silk smells like burnt human hair. Rayon seems most common after 1910. The quality of the fringe and rumple reminded me of this hat, which is c.1905 and has a silk ribbon.
- Messages
- 20,146
- Location
- Funkytown, USA
Great save, Moe!
Alan, didn't you pick up a Tiger Special about a year ago? Or was that somebody else?
Alan, didn't you pick up a Tiger Special about a year ago? Or was that somebody else?
moehawk
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,911
- Location
- Northern California
Thanks, Fruno!
it must be a special tiger indeed to make your day, Alan, with your collection...
the ribbon definately has a burnt hair smell, and something cellulose-y mixed in, hard to tell with that protien fiber funk whether it's more cottony or papery. Still, older than I first thought. Also, something I just noticed about it is the brim binding is not centered, it's about 1/2" on top of the brim, and 3/8" below.
That brown one you posted it amazing...who is the maker?
it must be a special tiger indeed to make your day, Alan, with your collection...
the ribbon definately has a burnt hair smell, and something cellulose-y mixed in, hard to tell with that protien fiber funk whether it's more cottony or papery. Still, older than I first thought. Also, something I just noticed about it is the brim binding is not centered, it's about 1/2" on top of the brim, and 3/8" below.
That brown one you posted it amazing...who is the maker?
Denton
A-List Customer
- Messages
- 341
- Location
- Los Angeles
Really nice Tiger Special!
I have a vague memory of a post by Brad Bowers about that kind of floppy ribbon treatment, not quite in back of the crown but toward the back. I think Brad said this style was fashionable for a year or two, but I don't remember what year or years.
You have been picking up some fine hats lately, Moehawk.
I have a vague memory of a post by Brad Bowers about that kind of floppy ribbon treatment, not quite in back of the crown but toward the back. I think Brad said this style was fashionable for a year or two, but I don't remember what year or years.
You have been picking up some fine hats lately, Moehawk.
- Messages
- 10,843
- Location
- Boston area
You continue to ASTOUND us, MOE! Congrats on another super saver!
moehawk
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,911
- Location
- Northern California
Thanks, Denton and hatsRme!
I was really lucky to spot this one and recognize that it was special. (TIGER special!
)
Hopefully the Professor will check out this lid and add his expert opinion to the discussion.
I was really lucky to spot this one and recognize that it was special. (TIGER special!
)Hopefully the Professor will check out this lid and add his expert opinion to the discussion.
Hey all!
Last week, while doing a late evening perusal of Goodwill.com, I spotted a listing for a "Tiger Special dress hat". There were three low res pics of an old, rather thrashed-looking greyish-blackish hat. I usually will contact sellers about condition of leather and stitching, but this was almost halfway through one-day listing, so I just took a chance on a hat that needed love and dropped a 4 dollar opening bid.
It arrived Tuesday, and boy, did it need love! The sweatband, while present and in decent shape, was completely detached with a few twists of rotten thread hanging off. The 2 3/8" grosgrain ribbon and bow were rumpled. I took a couple of pics to try to reassemble it as close as I could, but the ribbon was about as fragile as tissue paper and fell apart as I removed it. The brim binding seems in good shape, but I'm not going to tug on it or anythinbg. Here's a few pics of the details with the hat apart.
Note the stamp on the back of the sweat for the patent-pending leather tratment process.
The factory tag, before manipulation of the felt made it crumble:
The bow...you can see a little of how beat the poor thing was.
The bow was nearly at the rear of the hat. There was no liner. The felt, while slightly mothed, is thin and light, very dense and in great condition.
After giving it a naptha bath I tried my best to re-sew the unreeded sweat the way it was originally stitched in, but after several attempts I discovered I have neither the eyesight nor the dexterity to sew those tiny stitches, so to preserve the leather (and my sanity) from further damage, I just fudged in the sweat the best I could to make it wearable. No pics of fudged in sweatband.
I replaced that WAR with a (1 1/8") mid-ribbon, mostly because it was what I had that looked best on it.
The details:
Crown: 6" open
Brim: 2 1/4"
Weight: 91 grams
I know I'm not very good at determining age of hats, but I'm going out on a limb here and guessing late 20's maybe early 30's. I, as always, welcome opinions more expert than mine.
Wow you sure have done a great job on that hat!
- Messages
- 12,565
- Location
- Orange County, California
Brilliant rescue, Moe! While looking at the "before" photos I kept thinking, "Look at that poor hat. All it really needs is some TLC." You provided that, and breathed new life into it as well. Seriously strong work!
- Messages
- 15,305
- Location
- Buffalo, NY
- Messages
- 15,305
- Location
- Buffalo, NY
The hat I posted is a Hawes Von Gal... detailed pictures in the dedicated thread.
I think your sense of era of your new Tiger Special is spot on. Some of the elements - different variation of the logo imprint, round size sticker (square in mine) suggest it is likely a little later than the one I purchased from Dinerman. Was there a union label behind the sweat?
