Beneluxury

[steur]

For those interested in JS Meuwsen but don't want to stray too far from what they know. Here's an intersting one that is on offer right now on a Dutch auction site, so not mine.
Early Stetson bowler size 7 3/8 (unclear if that's European or American sizing) sold by JS Meuwsen. Current asking price €100.

 

[Rmccamey]

Spectacular history. Thanks for sharing. It makes me appreciate the old hats even more.

J.S. Meuwsen: the shops part II

Before we start with the shops in Rotterdam, here is a picture of the interior of the Damrak store in Amsterdam.
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J.S. Meuwsen on Mosseltrap, Rotterdam was a branch of the chain Meuwsen was setting up. This shop had established itself at number 3 in 1905 and remained there until the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940. In Rotterdam, J.S. Meuwsen's had two more branches; in Boijmansstraat and on Mathenesserplein.

In this top down view we can see the shop in the middle right.
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More or less the same view: the white building in the middle of the block is the hat store.
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The storefront. On the far left we see the P&C Habig plaque. View attachment 685576

The shop again, seen on the right.
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And the shop in the Boijmansstraat. Again on the right (but only just).
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Hats sold by JS Meuwsen can be found now and then and I have several in the collection. Same thing for Staalmeester, Zephyr, Flevo and Holborn hats. Hats that are specifically branded JS Meuwsen though are a different matter. Those are very hard to find and I’ve never seen a soft felt one, just top hats.

 

[steur]

Spectacular history. Thanks for sharing. It makes me appreciate the old hats even more.



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Thanks, Randy. I had forgotten that gorgeous Stetson came from Meuwsen as well.

 

[Steve1857]

I guess you would like to see a hat now. Any hat! Well, this is not just any hat and I will steal some of Steve's @Steve1857 thunder, but this one I found recently.

J.S. Meuwsen top hat in brown silk. Size 57. Never seen one before and not very likely I'll see one again. As Steve is the topper master of the lounge I thought it would fit his collection better.

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Absolutely wonderful research on J.S. Meuwsen in your thread of posts, Stefan!

You haven't stolen anything at all. If it weren't for you, there would be no thunder. I can't thank you enough for this very unique beauty.

 

[steur]

Absolutely wonderful research on J.S. Meuwsen in your thread of posts, Stefan!

You haven't stolen anything at all. If it weren't for you, there would be no thunder. I can't thank you enough for this very unique beauty.

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Thanks, Steve. Very satisfying if research uncovers this much information. That topper came exactly at the right time and can now have a good home with its many brethren.

 

[Pellie]

Courtois "Delta" in black from Belgium.

 

[Pellie]

Courtois "Silverfox" from Belgium. The label says size 6 (59) , but unfortunally it is way too small for me, more like 56 or 57. Nevertheless it's a fine hat with a great color combination. But this is not a keeper.

 

[steur]

Alan @alanfgag posted his fantastic Vimenet hat this week. I posted what I uncovered of the histery of this company in this thread already. Small addition here. I came across these when searching for other stuff. The display are on Ebay Italy. The American trademarks can be found on the site of the library of congress.

Shop displays

American trademarks. They've been around exporting to the US for a while.

 

[alanfgag]

@steur... thanks for reminding me of this wonderful thread and all the work you've done here. I'd forgotten it and thoroughly enjoyed refreshing my memory. The hat in the shop display above has a different ribbon/bow but the drawing captures with marvelous accuracy how my hat handles and wears.

cheers,
Alan

 

[steur]

@steur... thanks for reminding me of this wonderful thread and all the work you've done here. I'd forgotten it and thoroughly enjoyed refreshing my memory. The hat in the shop display above has a different ribbon/bow but the drawing captures with marvelous accuracy how my hat handles and wears.

cheers,
Alan

Thank you, Alan. My pleasure and I marvel how fine a hat that Vimenet of yours is every time I see it.

 

[steur]

Picked this one up several weeks ago and it's been on the stretcher ever since. Bought it as a homburg, but turned out to be a lords hat.
Brummel's lords hat in black. Qualité de Luxe Castor (so beaver) in a size 55 (which I did know before I bought it). Brim at 6cm and the crown 10,5cm at the center dent.

 

[steur]

Brummel's again.
Brummel's Frivol 65gramm qualité de luxe fedora in black. Size 57 with the bound brim at 6,5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Nice lightweight unlined hat with a great hand to the felt. The light weight and the thin ribbon made me go for this one. Is it 65 grams though? Afraid not: it clocks in at 81 grams in total, so the 65 grams probably refers to just the felt.

 

[Steve1857]

Brummel's again.
Brummel's Frivol 65gramm qualité de luxe fedora in black. Size 57 with the bound brim at 6,5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Nice lightweight unlined hat with a great hand to the felt. The light weight and the thin ribbon made me go for this one. Is it 65 grams though? Afraid not: it clocks in at 81 grams in total, so the 65 grams probably refers to just the felt.

Nice find, Stefan.

Do you think it's an early Brummel's compared to the ones with a liner? That would be my guess.

 

[steur]

Nice find, Stefan.

Do you think it's an early Brummel's compared to the ones with a liner? That would be my guess.

Thank you, Steve. I don't think this is an early one. My guess is the more ornate label underneath the sweatband, like on the one posted before this one, is the earlier one.

 

[steur]

Brummel's again. Brummel's Luxor Qualité de Luxe fedora in black this time. Size 56 with the overwelt brim at 6cm and the crown at 9,5cm at the center dent. Chamois finish to the felt which has a lovely hand. The fairly low crown gives it a sleek look. Sold by Fl. Machiels, Steenstraat 88, Brugge (Bruges).

 

[jeffgarf]

A Vimenet tuxedo hat, likely from the 1910-1920 era.

 

[steur]

A Vimenet tuxedo hat, likely from the 1910-1920 era. View attachment 760104 View attachment 760105 View attachment 760106 View attachment 760107 View attachment 760108

Wonderful find, Jeff. For a hat of that age a few loose threads are to be expected. Should be eaasy to fix for an able seamstress. Thanks for posting.

 

[jeffgarf]

Wonderful find, Jeff. For a hat of that age a few loose threads are to be expected. Should be easy to fix for an able seamstress. Thanks for posting.

I hope you are correct. In my original post in the new hats thread, I said that I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it (try to fix or leave as is). Now, if I had access to Fleur it would be an easy choice. . . .

 

[Pellie]

Bought this one for 7 euro's
Brummel's bowlerhat.

 

[Steve1857]

Bought this one for 7 euro's
Brummel's bowlerhat.
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Nice find, Marcel.