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Antique shop find: Clear Beaver Stetson fedora

Duck

Practically Family
Messages
751
Location
Arkansas
Dinerman, you have the hat finding gift!!! That is a very nice fine. Well done!!:eusa_clap
 

SHARPETOYS

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,425
Location
Titusville, Florida
xxxxxxx Clear

Fletch said:
But what's CLEAR beaver? Are the critters actually transparent?

(Fun Fact: Polar bears really do have clear fur. It just looks white. Seriously!)

I was told by several hatters a Stetson Clear Beaver means the hat is 100% beaver felt...
 

jimmy the lid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,647
Location
USA
A snippet from Snyder's "Stetson Hats" book:

"In the mid-1940's, a 10X Stetson cost $100 and was the finest hat available. Hats marked by Stetson with the phrase, "Clear Beaver" were also of the highest quality, manufactured from pure, undyed beaver fur."

Cheers,
JtL
 

Dinerman

Super Moderator
Bartender
Messages
10,562
Location
Bozeman, MT
I sometimes wonder why sellers always seem to tuck these hats either under tables or way up on top of display cases, while they leave the empty boxes in plain sight.

In the same mall, (different booth) was a Knapp Felt box, one of the super thick fiberboard kind, with a leather belt and all. I got pretty excited about that one, I pick it up, it feels full. I open it, it's empty, of course. I bet it would have been one heck of a hat if it had been in there. The box alone was 40 bucks, so it stayed where it was.

One of the derbies was a beautiful mallory, but it was a tiny size, and 70something bucks.

The other derby was a custom job by a Baltimore hatter. It was a 6-7/8.

The top hat was a collapsable one, made by the same hatter by the same person, It was pretty expensive as well.

Something that struck me was a '30's 3/4 length leather coat with a huge mouton collar. It was 1500 bucks and near completely distroyed, but still, it's not something I expect to see.
 
D

DBFedora

Guest
What a find! Absolutely beautiful! Love the color (and I am partial to darker ones myself). Enjoy! :fedora:
 

PADDY

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
7,425
Location
METROPOLIS OF EUROPA
Under $30 bucks for that baby...cruel!!!

I'm assuming that's the hat in the avatar? If so...looking 'very nice!!':eusa_clap Well done my friend. If you'd been a 7 1/8 (as is my noggin) I might have just done a midnight raid on your place!!!;)

Well I've been watching a Stetson in gray in my size at old Edward Bees and it's gone over the $65 mark, so I'm leaving it alone and having read this 'find' of yours at under the $30 mark, well...it just confirms my not bidding.

I also LOVE the colour of that hat of yours too Dinerman,,,,the word...'superlative' seems to spring to mind when I look at it.

Many congratulations sir..!:eusa_clap
 

Tango Yankee

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,433
Location
Lucasville, OH
Stunning!

Both your new hat and your incredible luck!!! :eusa_clap

All I can do is shake my head in awe and try to keep the level of envy to a minimum!

Congratulations!
Tom
 

patrick1987

One of the Regulars
Messages
295
Location
Rochester
Dinerman said:
I sometimes wonder why sellers always seem to tuck these hats either under tables or way up on top of display cases, while they leave the empty boxes in plain sight.
A friend who ran an antique shop says that it is often the browsing customer who does this rather than the seller. I always look for the piles of cool stuff stashed in the corner by the person who didn't bring enough money.
 

Dinerman

Super Moderator
Bartender
Messages
10,562
Location
Bozeman, MT
The nice thing about this antique mall is that they have employees walking the isles to carry your items to the front counter where they'll hold it while you walk around.
It's really a smart idea on their part. The shoppers have their hands free to buy more stuff.

Has anybody ever seen this box? I haven't seen it before. I've seen others with kind of strap, but never in the fuzzy finish or these graphics.
 

beatola

New in Town
Messages
35
Location
T.E.X.A.S.
looks dyed

That doesn't look like natural undyed beaver. Is that picture close to the actual color of the hat? To my eyes it looks a little bit to tannish red. Natural beaver at least nowadays is more of a tannish gray it also has a better feel to me than the dyed stuff.
 

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