Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[donnc]

The last hat I bought at auction was described as "great wearable condition." The sweatband was already broken, out of the box, but even if it had been intact, it couldn't have held up for long.

It was also too small, so I jettisoned the sweatband and liner, and now I wear it a lot - so it's in wearable condition after all. I didn't take it out on the seller - I think he's more of a dope than a villain, and anyway I came out OK for what I paid - but I can imagine how there would be some friction, when fragile old relics are being sold as wearable hats.

 

[Strolie]

New here and finally coming out from the shadows. I finally picked up a lid that I wanted to brag about and get some feedback from the "guys in the know". From what I can dig up this hat would be from 1926, that is the year that Harry Rolnick opened his own shop. Then, one year later, in 1927 Ed Byer and Rolnick formed Resistol. I guess we will see what kind of shape it is when it arrives, the size was kinda iffy too.

Harry Rolnick Custom 5X

 

[danofarlington]

New here and finally coming out from the shadows. I finally picked up a lid that I wanted to brag about and get some feedback from the "guys in the know". From what I can dig up this hat would be from 1926, that is the year that Harry Rolnick opened his own shop. Then, one year later, in 1927 Ed Byer and Rolnick formed Resistol. I guess we will see what kind of shape it is when it arrives, the size was kinda iffy too.

Harry Rolnick Custom 5X

It'll have character, at least. Has a good look too. Vintage hats are good for making someone look interesting.

 

[Dinerman]

Looks '40s (maybe early '50s) to me. They weren't using that kind of sweatband or liner in the '20s, and that style didn't become popular until later. Looks like a very nice hat, and you don't come across many Rolnicks. And if it is actually a 7-3/4, that's an amazing deal.

 

[rlk]

A warm welcome to the Lounge! Same issues as Dinerman exactly. Looking forward to more details on the hat. I have a strange "Rolby"(Self-Conforming) that I haven't seen more examples of.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Can't wait to see photos...

New here and finally coming out from the shadows. I finally picked up a lid that I wanted to brag about and get some feedback from the "guys in the know". From what I can dig up this hat would be from 1926, that is the year that Harry Rolnick opened his own shop. Then, one year later, in 1927 Ed Byer and Rolnick formed Resistol. I guess we will see what kind of shape it is when it arrives, the size was kinda iffy too.

Harry Rolnick Custom 5X

Da' rookie SCORES! Wow forty five clams f/ a 7 3/4 of that vintage, hell, of ANY vintage. Whew, quite an intro there, Strolie!
Glad to see ya' here. Stick around, it's a good group. :cheers1:

 

[Neophyte]

This is the one I'm shooting for. Having only gotten into hats this summer, I now have 4 Akubras (I love my Campdraft the most). I kinda want to try vintage now, but the 5 hats I've bid on so far get swamped by those sniping programs. Oh well. I'll probably lose this one too, but take a look at it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280546579264&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[fluteplayer07]

Da' rookie SCORES! Wow forty five clams f/ a 7 3/4 of that vintage, hell, of ANY vintage. Whew, quite an intro there, Strolie!
Glad to see ya' here. Stick around, it's a good group. :cheers1:

:arated: to that!

 

[Mr Vim]

So DinerMan and I were discussing the merits of being a size 7 and working that to my advantage on ebay, and I'm looking at some nice prospects, but I cannot shake the feeling that, despite the great price and the great hat, I'm not getting the hat I want.

I feel the options are limited... perhaps it is just me not being used to buying ebay hats.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Criminy!

So DinerMan and I were discussing the merits of being a size 7 and working that to my advantage on ebay, and I'm looking at some nice prospects, but I cannot shake the feeling that, despite the great price and the great hat, I'm not getting the hat I want.

I feel the options are limited... perhaps it is just me not being used to buying ebay hats.

THAT tale of woe ain't gonna play here in the land of 7 3/8 and up! lol lol lol

If I were a size 7 I likely would spend as many $$$ and instead of five or six dozen, I'd have hundreds!

 

[Mr Vim]

I said it was probably just me... I'll get over it I'm sure.

 

[Neophyte]

THAT tale of woe ain't gonna play here in the land of 7 3/8 and up! lol lol lol

:arated:

Damn our huge noggins!

 

[Strolie]

Da' rookie SCORES! Wow forty five clams f/ a 7 3/4 of that vintage, hell, of ANY vintage. Whew, quite an intro there, Strolie!
Glad to see ya' here. Stick around, it's a good group. :cheers1:

Thanks for the warm welcome and kind words, the hat showed today, size 7 3/8, a bit of moth damage. I'll clean er up and take some pics.

 

[Strolie]

Well, I gave it a quick brushing and steaming and reshaped the crown some, the felt is nice and pliable. The crown is about 5 1/2 inches open and the brim is just under 3 inches, a bit too big for my liking. There is some moth damage around the hatband and some tracks scattered about, overall not too bad. So can someone tell me, did Resistol sell hats under just the Rolnick name as a custom store order hat or what? I have never seen one of these before. Anyway size is 7 3/8 not 7 3/4 as seller stated, but I kind of expected that from some of our e-mails back and forth.

 

[Lefty]

Very nice.

great Champ milan 7 3/8

Whippets take a huge dive - though that's still decent for a small size

md hat for under 50 clams

Strat with a box, 7 3/8

 

[2manyhats]

Defeat

Please tell me someone here got this beautiful homburg! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...95291&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT#ht_3166wt_1139

 

[Rick Blaine]

Nice hat

Well, I gave it a quick brushing and steaming and reshaped the crown some, the felt is nice and pliable. The crown is about 5 1/2 inches open and the brim is just under 3 inches, a bit too big for my liking. There is some moth damage around the hatband and some tracks scattered about, overall not too bad. So can someone tell me, did Resistol sell hats under just the Rolnick name as a custom store order hat or what? I have never seen one of these before. Anyway size is 7 3/8 not 7 3/4 as seller stated, but I kind of expected that from some of our e-mails back and forth.

From the website: In the early 1920's a young millionaire, E.R. Byer sold his business in Michigan and traveled South to further his fortune and investment. His investment was a brilliant young hat maker, Harry Rolnick, who was operating a small hat factory. E.R. Byer was one of Rolnick's customers and was so impressed by his professionalism, flair for fashion and devotion to quality that in 1927 the firm of Byer-Rolnick was founded in Dallas, Texas. The company produced men's felt hats in Western and Dress stylings, both were marketed under the newly created brand name "Resistol Hats," meaning to resist- all weather.

Distribution was limited to Texas and Oklahoma early on, but innovations like the Self-Conforming band and Kitten Finish (an innovation in the finishing process of felt) gained national exposure and in 1938 prompted expansion to a larger facility in Garland, Texas, where Resistol hats are manufactured today.


Sorry to hear it's not all that, lemme know if you wanna turn it loose as I, myself, just happen to BE a 7 3/8. I wish I had a 7 3/4 to trade you but, good gosh, that IS an epic melon!

 

[Lefty]

Please tell me someone here got this beautiful homburg! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...95291&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT#ht_3166wt_1139

It's not a homburg, the brim is just up.
That is a sharp one.

 

[2manyhats]

Really? :eusa_doh: What is it then?

 

[Strolie]

From the website: In the early 1920's a young millionaire, E.R. Byer sold his business in Michigan and traveled South to further his fortune and investment. His investment was a brilliant young hat maker, Harry Rolnick, who was operating a small hat factory. E.R. Byer was one of Rolnick's customers and was so impressed by his professionalism, flair for fashion and devotion to quality that in 1927 the firm of Byer-Rolnick was founded in Dallas, Texas. The company produced men's felt hats in Western and Dress stylings, both were marketed under the newly created brand name "Resistol Hats," meaning to resist- all weather.

Distribution was limited to Texas and Oklahoma early on, but innovations like the Self-Conforming band and Kitten Finish (an innovation in the finishing process of felt) gained national exposure and in 1938 prompted expansion to a larger facility in Garland, Texas, where Resistol hats are manufactured today.


Sorry to hear it's not all that, lemme know if you wanna turn it loose as I, myself, just happen to BE a 7 3/8. I wish I had a 7 3/4 to trade you but, good gosh, that IS an epic melon!

I also found this bit of info. "Resistol had its genesis with Harry Rolnick, who moved with his family to Dallas in the early 1900s after growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. By 1917, the Rolnicks were operating a hat renovation shop in downtown Dallas. In 1926, with a $60,000 stake from a Dallas family, Rolnick founded a company to make hats he designed. A year later, Rolnick and Ed Byer, a retired machine parts millionaire, took over the firm, renamed it the Byer-Rolnick Co. and went into business with $100,000 in capital. Rolnick began marketing the guaranteed Resistol brand in the 1930s. His patented interior leather band allowed for expansion to resist confining contact with the head and the sweaty brows it created."

I don't wear a 7 3/4, but I couldn't pass it up. I wear between 7 1/8 -7 1/4, I was feeling out the seller about diminsions and the ones she gave me didn't match a 7 3/4, so I took a chance that it may be smaller. That would be a giant mellon. I may end up throwing it back up for auction.