1890's-1900's early hat manufacture HAWES (Hawes Von Gal) HAT CO

[buler]

Appreciate the hard work!

B

 

[alanfgag]

Ditto that. The number of style illustrations alone makes this a tremendous resource. And the photos of the underside of the hat... so unusual.

:eusa_clap

 

[mayserwegener]

Josh, You are on a roll! Very valuable historical information! Super!

 

[Joshbru3]

Josh, great ads! thanks for sharing that with us!

Appreciate the hard work!

B

Ditto that. The number of style illustrations alone makes this a tremendous resource. And the photos of the underside of the hat... so unusual.

:eusa_clap

Josh, You are on a roll! Very valuable historical information! Super!

Thanks, Everyone!! I have been wanting to post these for quite some time now, but I just couldn't get around to it. I finally committed to myself that I was going to post them today. These ads are great for many reasons, but as Alan pointed out, some of them actually show the sweatband markings/stampings. Also, based on the various factories/showrooms listed or taken off the ads, its gives us a pretty definitive guide to dating Hawes Von Gal hats. Now we just have to find some more of their hats!

 

[mikespens]

Whew! :eusa_clap

 

[Bitzelbook]

Josh, your dedication is amazing. We should all kick in and get you published!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

1231 Broadway, New York
Hawes original location as it looks today. 1231 is now the BeadKraft store.

 

[danofarlington]

Heres some more ads that I just found:

1910

It is interesting that the 1910 ad indicates that "soft hats" were at that time a Fall item, after the mothballing of summer straw hats, whereas the serious derby hats were generally used afterwards, in the Winter. Who knows what other customs prevailed then that have faded into the veil of the past.

 

[carouselvic]

thanks

 

[hatophile]

It is interesting that the 1910 ad indicates that "soft hats" were at that time a Fall item, after the mothballing of summer straw hats, whereas the serious derby hats were generally used afterwards, in the Winter. Who knows what other customs prevailed then that have faded into the veil of the past.

Dang, I better dust off my derbies then!

 

[samson22]

I did a Google search for Hawes Von Gal and one of the results was this thread so I joined to ask you about a hat. My older brother passed away in the 70's and I was very close to him. I was only 24 then and hoped I would get something that was his. About 10 years ago his wife gave me a hat he used to wear for fun. I was looking in a closet yesterday and saw it and thought it would be fun to look it up. It has a date under the headband in pencil of 8-2-11. There is no model or style numbers but it is a top hat and I am 90% sure it is beaver. It has been in an old Stetson box forever so it is in perfect shape. I didn't see it in any of the ads or searches on line and wondered if you could tell me anything about it? Thank you.

 

[carouselvic]

I would think a top hat made in 1911 to most likely to be made of silk plush rather than beaver.

 

[samson22]

That certainly may be, I don't know much about hats.

I would think a top hat made in 1911 to most likely to be made of silk plush rather than beaver.

 

[Monte]

Top hats are so rare now they just give me an excited feeling when I run across them in my travels...I wanted to post a pic of my Walton. Couldn't get permission but I put it as my profile pic. I have not found any info on Waltons online but maybe someone else owns one. It has a British crest looking logo with "W"s inside. I wish I could post these pics.

 

[alanfgag]

I did a Google search for Hawes Von Gal and one of the results was this thread so I joined to ask you about a hat. My older brother passed away in the 70's and I was very close to him. I was only 24 then and hoped I would get something that was his. About 10 years ago his wife gave me a hat he used to wear for fun. I was looking in a closet yesterday and saw it and thought it would be fun to look it up. It has a date under the headband in pencil of 8-2-11. There is no model or style numbers but it is a top hat and I am 90% sure it is beaver. It has been in an old Stetson box forever so it is in perfect shape. I didn't see it in any of the ads or searches on line and wondered if you could tell me anything about it? Thank you.

I hope you will share some photos of your top hat on this thread. (You will need to upload photos to a photo hosting site and share the links to the image using the photo tool in the text editor.)

Hawes Von Gal went out of business in the second decade of the 20th century and surviving examples of their hats are quite rare. As Carouselvic points out, the hat is most likely covered in silk plush. A beaver or nutria fur covering would be of higher value and would likely be credited in the markings inside the crown. You can see a comparison of a nutria fur and silk plush top hats here. They are almost indistinguishable. The C&K nutria is from 1915.

 

[DJH]

Monte, anyone can post pics here - you need to host them elsewhere and link to them

There are some instructions in this thread

There is also a thread specifically for top hats, you might want to check out: Toppers Unite

 

[samson22]

That is exactly what mine looks like. I will post some pictures in a while. It also has about a 1/4 hole in the top. Lets the hot air out I guess.

I hope you will share some photos of your top hat on this thread. (You will need to upload photos to a photo hosting site and share the links to the image using the photo tool in the text editor.)

Hawes Von Gal went out of business in the second decade of the 20th century and surviving examples of their hats are quite rare. As Carouselvic points out, the hat is most likely covered in silk plush. A beaver or nutria fur covering would be of higher value and would likely be credited in the markings inside the crown. You can see a comparison of a nutria fur and silk plush top hats here. They are almost indistinguishable. The C&K nutria is from 1915.

 

[samson22]

Not sure if I am doing this right but here goes. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8322225421_0cf99c5e3c_m.jpg

 

[samson22]

Try again. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8322225421_0cf99c5e3c_m.jpg

 

[The Wiser Hatter]