Dating Your Hat (A Place to Discuss the Age of Your Vintage Hat)

[MississippiLong]

I think it time we have a thread designated for the sole purpose of dating vintage hats. I know we have many members here at the Lounge who have the know-how to date (within the decade, at least) your hat. I would like to see this thread keep some of the clutter out of the Ebay Victories and the New Hat thread.

So...

Vintage hat buyers, post pictures of your hat at the appropriate angles, including the liner/sweatband/box it came in, and any tags under the sweatband. Don't forget to give the specs!!!

Knowledgeable members, let the rest of us get to know our hats a little better.

We don't need to worry about driving ebay prices up because the everyone's already doing this in the Ebay thread! Also its on a case by case basis, not a "succinct" and infallible system of dating hats.

Who's up first?

 

[ADHD librarian]

I'm first

Picked up this one today (for $4.75)

It's a little large for my son, but will probably be his next hat (once we clean it up).
Anyone care to guess its age?

It's an Akubra Airstream Pocketweight. It has a very deep c-crown (and a small hole at the pinch)
It is superfine felt...

Oh, and I like the fact that you can tell it was purchased from the David Jones Department Store.

 

[ADHD librarian]

a search of the lounge...

and I find out that Bolthead has one of these,
plus that he dates it as being 60s
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=576691&postcount=24

 

[RBH]

I will stick this thread for awhile. Then I will unstick and add it to the Important thread sticky.
Maybe the hat age questions can be directed here.

 

[tradrockrat]

Hi everybody - didn't see an intro thread anywhere, so I'll just jump right in with a question. I'm not new to the wonderful world of golden age, but I am a purely uneducated guy, so i will ask questions you've all heard a bajillion times. Thanks in advance for the patience.

Here we go - can we date this hat I picked up at a garage sale about 9 years ago? It's a Stetson, the box was not original so useless to date

Dark Gray felt with black band

Inside the band it says United Hatters Cap & Millinery Wkrs Int Union

Band says John B Stetson Co. Royal Stetson

Stetson "crest"

thanks again!

 

[zetwal]

Hi everybody - didn't see an intro thread anywhere, so I'll just jump right in with a question.

Hello, and welcome to the Lounge ... :yo:

My guess it that the hat you ask about is probably from the 1960s. More experienced Loungers may have other (and better) ideas.

Enjoy your time here in the Lounge!

 

[tradrockrat]

Thanks for the reply - I was thinking 50-'s to 60's myself, but would love to narrow it down as far as I can. Thanks again.

 

[zetwal]

Thanks for the reply - I was thinking 50-'s to 60's myself, but would love to narrow it down as far as I can. Thanks again.

On occasion there will be a unique indicator that allows us to date a hat within a year or two, but this degree of accuracy isn't usually possible.

While you wait for other opinions on your hat to come in, you may enjoy reading through the Dating Stetsons by Liner thread (and others like it). Again, welcome to the Lounge ...

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?32679

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?40021

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?46483

 

[tradrockrat]

While you wait for other opinions on your hat to come in, you may enjoy reading through the Dating Stetsons by Liner thread (and others like it). Again, welcome to the Lounge ...

Why yes. Yes I would...

 

[zetwal]

Why yes. Yes I would...

Enjoy your reading (and more generally, your afternoon) ...

 

[Swing Motorman]

Hi everyone,

Can I get any input on this hat's likely age? I've heard the suggestion of '60s, but I'm still curious. It's a thin, sturdy felt with a very straight-crowned diamond crease.

-Steven

 

[jlee562]

Any Dobbs experts? New to me Gay Prince:

Original price tag says $20, that's also what I paid!

Also, I should add, it's about 5 1/2" open crown and 2 1/2" brim.

Edit: did some searching myself....Oppenheim's was a clothing store in Jackson, MI that operated from 1898-1942 after which a fire closed the store until 1948, it was operated by the original family until 1964 before being sold and finally closed in 1971.

Just a cursory search through Google's Newspaper ads shows that the Gay Prince was priced at $20 ca. 1949 to ca. 1959.

So unless anybody has information to the contrary, I'm going to say it's ca. 1950's.

 

[Brad Bowers]

It's closer to '59 than '49. That style liner was late-'50s into the early-'60s. The octagonal box also first appeared around 1957, assuming yours is original to the hat. Nice find!

Brad

 

[jlee562]

Thank you for the additional insight Mr. Bowers! The Gay Prince may have been priced at $20 beyond 59, that's just the last ad I found on Google.

I'm thinking the box is original to the hat, though I can't say for sure. The hat apparently never left Jackson, MI, because that's where the seller was from. This one is going to need a bit of stretch to fit my size 7 head, but for $20, can't ask for much more.

 

[hatophile]

Nice GP, Jared.

 

[hatsandart]

Help inserting photos into my post...

I have a hat I'm trying to post a couple of pictures of so I can ask for some help identifying/aging.
I am having trouble inserting the pictures. I have figured out how to select the images I want and uplaod them, when it finishes there is an orange exclamation point off to the right side that says "undefined" when I put the pointer over it.
Am I doing something incorrectly?

 

[jlee562]

Photos have to be hosted on an external site, such as photobucket, imageshack, etc. From there, select the links which us the

 

[randooch]

I'm hoping to narrow down a date for this No. 1 Quality Stetson that just arrived. Here are some pics of a few details.



Neatly hand-written number code:




Greenish brown ink on liner logo:


Original (I presume) box:




So, any of you Stetson forensic specialists able to narrow this one down from the clues? 50's or 60's, I reckon, but the hat freak within me would like to know more!

The hat is now drying on a stretcher to coax it up to a good fit.

 

[rlk]

Probably 50's, used 7-3/8 on size tag(not just 3/8) at end of 50's to first few years 60's approximately, then on to more rectangular one after that.

 

[randooch]

Thanks, Robert. I'm sure the size tag variants are in one of the many Stetson dating threads, but I couldn't find them right off the bat. Much appreciated.