Post New Hats Here!

[Redfokker]

Recent find.
Crosby and Company bowler. Size 7 1/2 (60) with the brim at 5,5cm and the crown at about 12,5cm, which is slightly lower than usual. Pre-war, made for Kaufman. Great hand to the felt. A few loose stitches, but in great shape.

Very cool stiff felt. Unusual to see one in the "Brent" size.

Royal Stetson Whippet

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Royal Stetson Whippet
Medium to Dark Bluish Grey
4 3/4 crown as shaped (about 5 1/2 open)
1 5/8 black grosgrain ribbon
2 1/2 brim with 3/8 grey grosgrain binding

Though I’ve been making an effort limit the arrival of new hats of late and I had been doing fairly well until four hats were special enough to slip past my ‘HAS’ defenses in the same week. But I do have to think if you have a 4 hat week and the hat you are least excited about is a Stetson Whippet… it’s probably a real good hat week. This whippet is definitely not without its faults though it came at a price I could not pass up. Could use a cleaning in some spots…. There is a small tear in the rear of the brim I will attempt to repair… and the sweat has some tears. And while a steaming may be in its near future… A good brushing allowed it to shape nicely and revealed its real nice real nice coloring.

The fourth hat by the way will have to wait for a little bit longer as the seller is a bit delayed in their shipping… but I do believe it will not disappoint.

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Very nice old Stetson Joe. I agree that the Whippet has a mythical following, but every collection needs at least one to be considered well rounded. Looks great on your well rounded noggin.

Thanks to a tip from Stefan @steur i bought this black Barbisio. It's in a very great condition. According to the seller it's from the 60's. Who knows?
I'm very pleased with it..... View attachment 370932 View attachment 370933 View attachment 370934 View attachment 370935 View attachment 370936 View attachment 370937 View attachment 370938 View attachment 370939 View attachment 370940 View attachment 370941

Looks great on you good sir. I just love the Barbisio logos.

 

[steur]

It was a busy hats week this week, with several new ones coming in. Let's start.
Barbisio Doria in a size 56. Overwelt brim at 6cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. Lovely hand to the felt, but quite sturdy for an Italian hat. Not stiff, but sturdy. The shark gill bows of Barbisio are without equal.

 

[Blare]

Very nice old Stetson Joe. I agree that the Whippet has a mythical following, but every collection needs at least one to be considered well rounded. Looks great on your well rounded noggin.

Thank you Mike.

 

[Pellie]

Very cool stiff felt. Unusual to see one in the "Brent" size.



Very nice old Stetson Joe. I agree that the Whippet has a mythical following, but every collection needs at least one to be considered well rounded. Looks great on your well rounded noggin.


Looks great on you good sir. I just love the Barbisio logos.

Thanks Mike!

 

[Pellie]

It was a busy hats week this week, with several new ones coming in. Let's start.
Barbisio Doria in a size 56. Overwelt brim at 6cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. Lovely hand to the felt, but quite sturdy for an Italian hat. Not stiff, but sturdy. The shark gill bows of Barbisio are without equal.

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Nice proportions and nice shark gills!!

 

[Blare]

It was a busy hats week this week, with several new ones coming in. Let's start.
Barbisio Doria in a size 56. Overwelt brim at 6cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. Lovely hand to the felt, but quite sturdy for an Italian hat. Not stiff, but sturdy. The shark gill bows of Barbisio are without equal.

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Your are making me regret passing on a Titan earlier this week Stefan.

 

[steur]

Borsalino in a new colour called "Illio" (Illium), Size 56 with the triple stitched overwelt edge at 5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. The liner is one we rarely see from Borsalino (first time I've seen it anyway). A hat dating from the sixties. Lightweight at only 86 grams.

 

[Blare]

Borsalino in a new colour called "Illio" (Illium), Size 56 with the triple stitched overwelt edge at 5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. The liner is one we rarely see from Borsalino (first time I've seen it anyway). A hat dating from the sixties. Lightweight at only 86 grams.

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A beautiful color

 

[steur]

Another Borsalino, previously posted by Daniele, who kindly shipped it north.
Borsalino Ecosan in Biber colour. Size 57 (or 58), depending on wether you believe the tag or the label. Bound brim at 7cm and crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Despite the "biber" (beaver) name of the colour, the felt isn't actually beaver, but rabbit.

 

[steur]

We getting to the 'hors catégorie' kind of hats now.
Cervo Super Bantam loden felt in misto cenere (ashes). Size 57 with the overwelt brim at 6cm and the crown at 11,5cm at the center dent. Unlined en NOS. Another one sent up north to enlighten the barbaric hordes by @Daniele Tanto (grazie mille!). Let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

[steur]

Hückel velour in grey, made for Sools, Paris. Size 56 with the raw edge brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 10cm at the center dent. This was a bit of a close call as the shipping company neglected to send me a notification of its arrival at the pick-up point. The seller did point out to me that it had been delivered there and indeed it was. This hat has been worn and loved and alas also got some unwanted attention from moths, as there is some light surface mothing on the brim and crown.
Perfectly wearable hat though and an added bonus it that it has a date on it: as far as I can make out (it's close to impossible to photograph) it says 29 sept 1936. Seems about right to me. It's a pre-war Hückel velour, that is already enough to tell you something about the felt.

Maybe this should technically be in the Czech thead, but I expect to see the Hückels here.

 

[steur]

The penultimate hat of this bunch. Finally found one and had to dig pretty deep (for my standards that is) to get it.
Borsalino Gulaela homburg in Bismuto in Castoro (beaver) felt . Size 56 with the bound brim at 6cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. Finally found a Castoro felt. A few members here have one, but these things are rare! The felt is fantastic and it is fairly light at 111 grams. The sweatband does not have the Borsalino logo, so could be a replacement, even though the hat doesn't seem to have been worn very much.

Made especially for Michele Balbi of Napoli. Interestingly it came wrapped in this nice piece of ephemera: a paper Barbisio bag.

Now, if a Borsalino Castoro isn't the best hat of the bunch, there is something special on the horizon.

 

[steur]

Final one (for today at least).
Barbisio Lontra in Misto Ferro. Size 56 with the raw edge brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. A Lontra felt was another one that was high on the search list. While I was looking for a Borsalino Lontra (Bill Hughes has one), this turned up. It doesn't disappoint and Borsalino would be hard-pressed to do any better. The felt is just incredible. Fantastically smooth, soft and malleable. And it's a heather to boot.
Almost certainly pre-war, when Barbisio did more specialty felts (like Rat Gondin - nutria).
Many thanks to @Daniele Tanto who was the go-between as the seller wouldn't ship outside Italy.

 

[Rmccamey]

Congrats on the fantastic homburg, Stefan!

The penultimate hat of this bunch. Finally found one and had to dig pretty deep (for my standards that is) to get it.
Borsalino Gulaela homburg in Bismuto in Castoro (beaver) felt . Size 56 with the bound brim at 6cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. Finally found a Castoro felt. A few members here have one, but these things are rare! The felt is fantastic and it is fairly light at 111 grams. The sweatband does not have the Borsalino logo, so could be a replacement, even though the hat doesn't seem to have been worn very much.

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Made especially for Michele Balbi of Napoli. Interestingly it came wrapped in this nice piece of ephemera: a paper Barbisio bag.

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Now, if a Borsalino Castoro isn't the best hat of the bunch, there is something special on the horizon.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

For the series "Beautiful and impossible" this is the second chapter"

The second wave of hats from Mantua and surroundings, contains beautiful and impossible and some curiosities

John Valtz - Andorno - Biella size 54 or 3 1/2 France scale and 6 3/4in the USA, even if it is not indicated the internal dimension are the same of a 54 cm.

The hat factory that built this beauty is in the same area (Valle del Cervo), about fifteen kilometers from Sagliano, home of Barbisio and Cappellificio Cervo. It had the trademark registration in 1931 as Gosso Valtz and Co. but had been operating since the end of the nineteenth century.

This hat is signed only by one of the partners, I believe from the manufacture in the 1950s.

The paper label, too dry, is present and tells us that the quality is "Osiris" and the color "Muflone".

The felt is superb in color and short fur finish. It is unlined

In my collection I have only one Grosso Valtz hat and it is a fantastic hat, but they are very scarce.
It arrived in new conditions.
The measurements are as follows: the raw brims are 6.5cm, the low ribbon, is 2cm and the crown, at the lowest point, is 10.5cm.

The series of "Beautiful and impossible" goes on...

 

[Daniele Tanto]

This is the curiosity in the discovery of Mantua

I recognize my total ignorance for western or cowboy hats as they were called in Italy when I was a boy

so pardon me for my not so accurate description.

This is a product of one of the hatters, Carlo Sala, of Monza who have remained active almost to the present day.
Probably made in the Sixties or Seventies, it is a hat that has the Italian interpretation of the western hat.

Super Sala size 57 centimeters or 7 1/8 in the USA.

Felt is thick, wrinkled and sturdy, mostly made of wool. It can be molded with a good dose of steam, keeps its shape without problems and seems made to be subjected to any weather.

The lining is extremely neat and features the colors of a fancy woven felt ribbon.

The hat is signed "St Charly's"
The measurements are as follows: the raw brim is 8cm, the ribbon is 2cm and the crown at its minimum point is 11cm.

The hat had this shape despite being inserted in another and after a brushing here it is to ride in the Po Valley or in a more appropriate western landscape

 

[Blare]

Stetson 7X Clear Beaver Quality

Stetson 7X Clear Beaver Quality
Silverbelly Open Road Style
4 5/8 in diamond crease (about 5 3/4 Open)
3/8 inch grosgrain ribbon
2 3/4 brim with 1/8 bound edge
Wind trolley


Finally the last of the four hat week from a few weeks back. This one took a couple weeks of patience but it has finally arrived. Stetson 7XCB is worth the wait! This is for sure one fine piece of felt. There is quite definitely that “molds like clay” feel to this felt. The hand is incredibly velvety fine. Probably one of the very best of all my Stetsons. Maybe the exception might be my mid 1930s Standard Quality though I believe that one may be a bit thinner felt. I put it through some paces with a few quick dry creases… all of which it took with ease. There are a couple tiny dirty spots here and there but nothing that really stands out. One odd thing it appears the wind trolley cord has been stitched down in place under the ribbon. I’m not sure if this a factory thing kinda like basting stitches or if someone did not know how to wrap it and stow it out of the way. I did find a four digit number on the back side of the sweat similar to a LotXXXX number… however I do not think it is. There ar stars in the logo on the sweat and on the liner.. My guess would be late 40s early 50s… wonder anyone else’s thoughts. Absolutely very happy with this hat. I will probably pull out my other similar Stetsons and do some comparisons soon. Special thanks to @BobHufford for the heads up on this great hat.

 

[BobHufford]

Stetson 7X Clear Beaver Quality

Congrats Joe!

 

[Blare]

Congrats Joe!

Thank you Bob. And thanks for looking out for me.

 

[Steve1857]

I picked up a crumpled, very modern Borsalino on Facebook Market Place. Definitely not the best Borsalino I own, but couldn't pass it by at a measly €40/$46. The light blue/grey colour appealed to me. The fact that it was sold in my favourite, still in existence, oldest hat shop in Denmark was a plus.
A bit of brushing and steam brought it to life.