Books About 20th Century Men's Hats?

[Hurricane Jack]

The main attraction of this book is its many many pictures: historical photos, moviestars and lots and lots of western hats.

I have a lady’s Barrel Racer with the princess back bow by Eddy Bros as pictured in the book.

 

[steur]

There is a fun movie that accompanies this book. I think it can be found and watched online.

I've been on the lookout for that for some time now, but for some reason I can't stream it where I live.

 

[steur]

I have a lady’s Barrel Racer with the princess back bow by Eddy Bros as pictured in the book.

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That is gorgeous, Jack. Yours comes out better looking I think than the one pictured in the book and not just because it isn't green! Very cool.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

That is gorgeous, Jack. Yours comes out better looking I think than the one pictured in the book and not just because it isn't green! Very cool.

Thanks Stefan. I have a collection of Wild West Show artifacts which overtime morphed to include prison rodeos & other famous rodeo competitions. I found this hat while on the hunt before the book came out. Never seen another one in person but I always think of the green as more of a turquoise green.

 

[steur]

I made a translation of the French book “MANUEL COMPLET DES FABRICANS DE CHAPEAUX EN TOUS GENRES” by Julia de Fontenelle. It can be found for free on the Gutenberg Project site in its original French, because it first appeared in print in 1830.

Very interesting read if a bit fragmented. Before we go any further; the name on the cover is a bit misleading, because the author’s full name is Jean-Sébastien-Eugène Julia De Fontenelle, so very much a "he" and not a "she" as I thought at first. Professor of Chemistry, pharmacist and chemist (1780-1842).

What is interesting about the book is that it perfectly describes a period in which huge advancements were made in hat manufacturing. Inventions and advancements are listed in basting, forming, carding, fulling and dying. Given his background there is a lot of attention to the chemistry part of it.
For a bit of context: in 1830 the French revolution was only thirty years ago, which ended in 1799. The author may have seen the beheading of Robespierre in 1794.

A few highlights are worth mentioning. Quite a bit of attention is given to the base materials; wools and furs. Where the animals come from, which time of the year, what race, health of the animal: all of it mattered and it could vary per animal. The raw material was paramount for the quality of the final product.

For those of you wondering and dabble in hatmaking themselves: cats are a viable species for feltmaking! The author states: “We have passed over in silence a host of furs, such as cat fur, etc., which are endowed with varying degrees of beauty and are very suitable for making hats; their rarity, their special application to other types of manufacture or various uses, exempt us from listing them, let alone describing them.”

The silk top hat was very much up and coming and were apparently made in various colours: “The manufacture of silk hats has opened the door to a new branch of industry and reduced the consumption of felt hats. These silk hats are remarkable for their lightness, the richness of their color, their brilliance, the elegance of their shape, and above all for their low price.”
And:
“Silk hats are remarkable for their beautiful colors, their shine, their elegance, and their beauty. The black ones, in particular, offer a shine that seems far superior to that of felt hats. Like the latter, they can easily be given any desired shape; but over felts, they have the precious advantage of being lighter, just as long-lasting, more pleasing in appearance 48, and much lower in price. Silk hats were in use for a long time in Spain before they became known in France.”

Beaver was expensive and was used for “gilding”, meaning adding a higher quality fur to a base made of lower quality fur. Even then silk top hats were much cheaper than felt top hats.

At the time there were approximately 1,180 felt hat factories in France, employing nearly 18,000 workers and generating revenues of approximately 20 million francs.

Shellac was not used yet exclusively for stiffening felts. Various gums and glues are mentioned, but apparently shellac was yet to be discovered as the best method for stiffening hats. It is mentioned as part of recipes, but not on its own.

Mercury nitrate solution was very much in use for secreting furs, even though people were well aware of the risks involved and the health issues it caused. The author states: “This solution would, however, be all the more important for this art, as it would lead experimenters to substitute some other salt or some other harmless substance, or one less dangerous than mercury nitrate.”

However, another way of treating the furs simply was not yet available that could give the same results.