The Dobbs Diner...

[MikeinRome]

VERY NICE Mike! I have always wanted one of those, but in my size.....well, It may be a while yet.
I WILL say I have an a 40's Twenty AND a Twenty-Five (also 40's) both in the "Westward" style. The felt in those is magnificent. (Not sure If I ever posted either here though, I may need to get them out for a photo op).

Thank you! This is my 5th Dobbs Forty I have and this might be my favorite color. I love all brands of Fortys.

 

[M Hatman]

Thank you! This is my 5th Dobbs Forty I have and this might be my favorite color. I love all brands of Fortys.

YES...that color and ribbon combination is fantastic!

 

[MikeinRome]

About 1950 or so Dobbs Forty, with 2 3/4 inch Cavanagh type Guild Edge brim and 5 7/8 inch open crown. There's 2 mfg tags, one is a 40's tag and the other was first used in the late 30's and resurfaced in the early 50's.

 

[bmw1976]

About 1950 or so Dobbs Forty, with 2 3/4 inch Cavanagh type Guild Edge brim and 5 7/8 inch open crown. There's 2 mfg tags, one is a 40's tag and the other was first used in the late 30's and resurfaced in the early 50's.

Wow, those are beautiful. I have 2 Dobbs Twenty's and I absolutely love the felt on them. I can't imagine what the Forty's must feel like. Congrats on some gorgeous hats!

 

[jeffgarf]

When you really want to wear felt in the heat of summer, the lighter the better. Here is another Dobbs Hankachif Felt. Unlined, with a 2 1/8" over welt brim, you'd hardly know this was on your head.

 

[blewnote]

When you really want to wear felt in the heat of summer, the lighter the better. Here is another Dobbs Hankachif Felt. Unlined, with a 2 1/8" over welt brim, you'd hardly know this was on your head.

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Is that one also on the Cross Country block? I picked up one of these that needs a new ribbon (looks sun faded but only in spots) and although it doesn't say it, the block profile is the same as the Cross Country that others have posted here in the Diner.

It's a nice little hat!

 

[jeffgarf]

Is that one also on the Cross Country block? I picked up one of these that needs a new ribbon (looks sun faded but only in spots) and although it doesn't say it, the block profile is the same as the Cross Country that others have posted here in the Diner.

It's a nice little hat!

If love to be able to check that, but I dare not move the sweatband on this one. It needs lots of TLC at the moment.

 

[blewnote]

If love to be able to check that, but I dare not move the sweatband on this one. It needs lots of TLC at the moment.

Dig, yeah, it looked a little rough. Those 50s sweatbands are such a c r a p shoot.

 

[Judgmentalist]

Dobbs Lord’s Hat, estimated to date from the mid-1930s to perhaps the mid-1940s. That range seems reasonably defensible based on the information in the TFL Guide to Dating Dobbs Hats thread.

There is still a great deal I don’t understand about the valuation of vintage hats. I was surprised to find an example from this era available for what I paid. However, the seller also provided screenshots from when they purchased it a couple of years earlier, and the price was similar—so at least in this one-to-one, very-much-not-statistically-significant sample, the market appears consistent.

Homburgs and Lord’s hats are probably my favorite forms. Perhaps that is unusual; I’m not sure. I would assume they are less common than fedoras, although I recognize that scarcity only increases value when there is corresponding demand. The 7 3/8 size should presumably drive the market value up.

Can someone help me understand the economics underpinning the valuation of this hat in particular?

 

[MikeinRome]

Dobbs Lord’s Hat, estimated to date from the mid-1930s to perhaps the mid-1940s. That range seems reasonably defensible based on the information in the TFL Guide to Dating Dobbs Hats thread.

There is still a great deal I don’t understand about the valuation of vintage hats. I was surprised to find an example from this era available for what I paid. However, the seller also provided screenshots from when they purchased it a couple of years earlier, and the price was similar—so at least in this one-to-one, very-much-not-statistically-significant sample, the market appears consistent.

Homburgs and Lord’s hats are probably my favorite forms. Perhaps that is unusual; I’m not sure. I would assume they are less common than fedoras, although I recognize that scarcity only increases value when there is corresponding demand. The 7 3/8 size should presumably drive the market value up.

Can someone help me understand the economics underpinning the valuation of this hat in particular?

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According to the sweatband, that hat should have a Cavanagh Edge. You can't tell from these photos.

 

[Judgmentalist]

According to the sweatband, that hat should have a Cavanagh Edge. You can't tell from these photos.

It does. Let me see if I can get a picture that makes this obvious.

 

[jeffgarf]

It does. Let me see if I can get a picture that makes this obvious.
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I had the same issue trying to photograph my Cavanagh lords hat. The addition of the cav edge makes it special, but it's hard to show in a photo.

 

[blewnote]

Dobbs Lord’s Hat, estimated to date from the mid-1930s to perhaps the mid-1940s. That range seems reasonably defensible based on the information in the TFL Guide to Dating Dobbs Hats thread.

There is still a great deal I don’t understand about the valuation of vintage hats. I was surprised to find an example from this era available for what I paid. However, the seller also provided screenshots from when they purchased it a couple of years earlier, and the price was similar—so at least in this one-to-one, very-much-not-statistically-significant sample, the market appears consistent.

Homburgs and Lord’s hats are probably my favorite forms. Perhaps that is unusual; I’m not sure. I would assume they are less common than fedoras, although I recognize that scarcity only increases value when there is corresponding demand. The 7 3/8 size should presumably drive the market value up.

Can someone help me understand the economics underpinning the valuation of this hat in particular?

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No. The economics of the hat resale market don't make any sense. Many sellers try to sell things for far more than they're worth (I'm looking at you Dobbs hats with a plastic tip liner and the trademark on them from the 70s onward that the seller thinks is from the 1940s), and occasionally get what they're asking. Other sellers sell things for far less than they're worth.

Here's a size 7 1/2 Dobbs Homburg from the 1920s in what appears to be mint condition that sold for $29 plus $9 shipping.

https://ebay.io/m/QPEdIW

I've yet to stumble into a deal quite that good, but I've found some great buys. I've also yet to convince myself to shell out $300 for a vintage hat when I see bargains like that get swept up, but if you have the chance to buy a vintage hat from the 20s/30s/40s in mint condition and it's a style you've been looking for and want to wear it's not an unreasonable price.

Really it's base capitalism, something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it at the time of sale.

 

[Judgmentalist]

No. The economics of the hat resale market don't make any sense. Many sellers try to sell things for far more than they're worth (I'm looking at you Dobbs hats with a plastic tip liner and the trademark on them from the 70s onward that the seller thinks is from the 1940s), and occasionally get what they're asking. Other sellers sell things for far less than they're worth.

Here's a size 7 1/2 Dobbs Homburg from the 1920s in what appears to be mint condition that sold for $29 plus $9 shipping.

https://ebay.io/m/QPEdIW

I've yet to stumble into a deal quite that good, but I've found some great buys. I've also yet to convince myself to shell out $300 for a vintage hat when I see bargains like that get swept up, but if you have the chance to buy a vintage hat from the 20s/30s/40s in mint condition and it's a style you've been looking for and want to wear it's not an unreasonable price.

Really it's base capitalism, something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it at the time of sale.

Excuse me while I go scream into a pillow - this eBay listing causes me physical pain lol

 

[splintercellsz]

New arrival
C.1930s Dobbs 'Game Bird Mixture'

Beautiful heather grey / deep blue felt. Light weight, but slightly more dense compared to my other similar era soft felts.

Came with a dobbs box, and i believe it to be original, as the blocking dimensions '5 5/8' match the hat, as well as the name initials marching the sweatband. I believe the box lid says, ''H. J. Kauffman".

i believe this hat to be made right around 1936, as i was able to find a 1936 Dobbs ad showing the gamebird mixtures hats at the same price point, $7.50, and in the Monel coloration as well. The Gamebird mixtures were offered in different colorways seasonally from what I was able to research.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

New arrival
C.1930s Dobbs 'Game Bird Mixture'

Beautiful heather grey / deep blue felt. Light weight, but slightly more dense compared to my other similar era soft felts.

Came with a dobbs box, and i believe it to be original, as the blocking dimensions '5 5/8' match the hat, as well as the name initials marching the sweatband. I believe the box lid says, ''H. J. Kauffman".

i believe this hat to be made right around 1936, as i was able to find a 1936 Dobbs ad showing the gamebird mixtures hats at the same price point, $7.50, and in the Monel coloration as well. The Gamebird mixtures were offered in different colorways seasonally from what I was able to research.

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Wonderful felt!

 

[splintercellsz]

1940s

Stunning golden colored felt

 

[MikeinRome]

Early 1950's Dobbs Twenty. The color? is Sahara Mix. Has 2 9/16 inch brim and 5 1/2 inch open crown. Note stitching on brim edge. The sweatband doesn't say Twenty, but the OPS tag does. Both the size tag and OPS tag were detached and lying in the bottom of the hatbox. The size tag is like those seen on some Knox hats. This is somewhat of a longhair fedora.

 

[MikeinRome]

About early 1950's? Dobbs Rancher with 3 1/2 inch bound brim and about 5 1/4 inch open crown. This hat doesn't resemble any other Ranchers on the Lounge. I don't know if it was remodeled with the bound brim and the wide hatband ribbon or if they're original. There's 2 sets of 4-digit numbers inside the hat that hint that the hat may have been worked on at some point.
The liner Dobbs logo and sweatband logo look late 40's to early 50's, but the hat has a mfg tag that looks 1960's, which is a mystery.
The only other Ranchers on the Lounge with the same liner design are both Dobbs Thirty hats, but I'm not claiming this one is a Thirty.
This liner design seems scarce. I don't know if it was "reserved" for a particular class or quality of hats or if it's just another of the many liner designs Dobbs used

 

[MikeinRome]

Here's about a 1960's Dobbs Drover Twenty for sale on eBay now. Notice it has the same gold liner design as my Dobbs Rancher in the post above here. It again shows this liner was used for Upper Level Dobbs hats instead of the typical Dobbs liner with the double Dobbs logo. Maybe this was just used on Western style hats? It also shows that some Upper Level hats didn't have the price shown on the sweatband beside the Dobbs logo. The last photo is the normal Upper Level design liner