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French Hats and makers.

Steve1857

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,014
Location
Denmark

Pellie

One Too Many
Messages
1,880
Location
Enschede, Netherlands
Fléchet Pilote Imperméable. Size is 59, but it's unfortunally more like 57,5. So i have to stretch it
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Messages
18,913
Location
Nederland
Messages
18,913
Location
Nederland

Daniele Tanto

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,336
Location
Verona - Italia
Every now and then a rarity appears on the market: an antique wool Peille - Esperaza.
Pellie interno.jpg
This French manufacturer made hats in huge quantities, but very few noteworthy ones have come to my eyes.
Pellie 4.jpg


Espéraza is a French commune of 2,096 inhabitants located in the Aude department in the Occitania region. It was the second European center for the manufacture of wool hats. Here is the link to the hats museum https://musee-chapellerie.com/en/home-3/
Pellie 5.jpg
The hat I found, a stroke of luck, has a peculiarity that is not often found in finds: it was worn with a pin inside that kept the crown curled. You can see it well in the photos.
Pellie 6.jpg
The hat, a Lord hat that is, a homburg without the ribbon on the brims, is made of wool and has a fantastic color as well as the felt finish.
Pellie 3.jpg
These are the measurements, the curled brims are six centimeters, the crown is 13 high and the ribbon is 4 centimeters high.
Pellie Negozio.jpg
The hat was sold in Belgium in Ypres and arrived in 2025 practically new.
Pellie Marca.jpg
No indication under the sweatband, only the size 57 centimeters, unfortunately for me
Pellie 7.jpg


I consider myself lucky to have found an old hat so well preserved with the clip mark under the crown, but with the Pellies I have no luck because of the size, this one is small and another, even older probably from the early years of the century is large...
 
Last edited:

Pellie

One Too Many
Messages
1,880
Location
Enschede, Netherlands
Every now and then a rarity appears on the market: an antique wool Pellie - Esperaza.
Pellie interno.jpg
This French manufacturer made hats in huge quantities, but very few noteworthy ones have come to my eyes.
Pellie 4.jpg


Espéraza is a French commune of 2,096 inhabitants located in the Aude department in the Occitania region. It was the second European center for the manufacture of wool hats. Here is the link to the hats museum https://musee-chapellerie.com/en/home-3/
Pellie 5.jpg
The hat I found, a stroke of luck, has a peculiarity that is not often found in finds: it was worn with a pin inside that kept the crown curled. You can see it well in the photos.
Pellie 6.jpg
The hat, a Lord hat that is, a homburg without the ribbon on the brims, is made of wool and has a fantastic color as well as the felt finish.
Pellie 3.jpg
These are the measurements, the curled brims are six centimeters, the crown is 13 high and the ribbon is 4 centimeters high.
Pellie Negozio.jpg
The hat was sold in Belgium in Ypres and arrived in 2025 practically new.
Pellie Marca.jpg
No indication under the sweatband, only the size 57 centimeters, unfortunately for me
Pellie 7.jpg


I consider myself lucky to have found an old hat so well preserved with the clip mark under the crown, but with the Pellies I have no luck because of the size, this one is small and another, even older probably from the early years of the century is large...
It's not a Pellie (that's me ;-)), but a Peille. Great hat!
 
Messages
18,913
Location
Nederland
Every now and then a rarity appears on the market: an antique wool Peille - Esperaza.
Pellie interno.jpg
This French manufacturer made hats in huge quantities, but very few noteworthy ones have come to my eyes.
Pellie 4.jpg


Espéraza is a French commune of 2,096 inhabitants located in the Aude department in the Occitania region. It was the second European center for the manufacture of wool hats. Here is the link to the hats museum https://musee-chapellerie.com/en/home-3/
Pellie 5.jpg
The hat I found, a stroke of luck, has a peculiarity that is not often found in finds: it was worn with a pin inside that kept the crown curled. You can see it well in the photos.
Pellie 6.jpg
The hat, a Lord hat that is, a homburg without the ribbon on the brims, is made of wool and has a fantastic color as well as the felt finish.
Pellie 3.jpg
These are the measurements, the curled brims are six centimeters, the crown is 13 high and the ribbon is 4 centimeters high.
Pellie Negozio.jpg
The hat was sold in Belgium in Ypres and arrived in 2025 practically new.
Pellie Marca.jpg
No indication under the sweatband, only the size 57 centimeters, unfortunately for me
Pellie 7.jpg


I consider myself lucky to have found an old hat so well preserved with the clip mark under the crown, but with the Pellies I have no luck because of the size, this one is small and another, even older probably from the early years of the century is large...
A beauty, Daniele and a really good find. I have reason to believe Jean Peille switched from manufacture to wholesale somewhere along the line. Plenty of hats around with their name, but I've never seen one even near as good as this one.
 

Daniele Tanto

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,336
Location
Verona - Italia
A beauty, Daniele and a really good find. I have reason to believe Jean Peille switched from manufacture to wholesale somewhere along the line. Plenty of hats around with their name, but I've never seen one even near as good as this one.
Yes, Stefan, it is really difficult to find hats marked Peille. I leave aside the "modern" that have that brand because they are products of Eperaza in the decadence marked with Peille. I am almost certain that the department of French wool hats (Esperaza) have, after the war, considered the decadence of the article hat, made a union like the main French manufacturers of the period who gathered as "Chapeaux de France" to face the perils of the market. I have another one marked Peille even older, black in perfect conditions (it came with the original covering paper), but it is a size 61 cm. for me too big, alas. It is on the list, like this one, of the departing ones, if there is anyone who wants them.
 
Messages
18,913
Location
Nederland

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,031
Location
Central Texas

Mean Eyed Matt

One Too Many
Messages
1,177
Location
Germany
This one was a bit of a shot in the dark (especially in terms of size):
It's definitely a hit, but unfortunately turns out to be too small...

Fléchet in chocolate brown (the photos of the inside show it best);
Everything about this hat screams 1930s to me: shape, sweat and stitching,
the crown patch names the 1900 silver medal and exposition of 1931...
size 56; open crown 14 cm (dented 10 cm); brim 5 cm; band 4 cm
The condition is very good except for a few tiny traces of age.
I'm really annoyed that it doesn't fit, because I think it's perfectly proportioned...

The hat was sold in Cholet (Dép. Maine-et-Loire):
Unfortunately, not much can be found about the shop, except that the owner
was Ch(arles) Perrault - and apparently also sold very high-quality top hats
https://collections-musees.cholet.f...-textile-e770186b-076b-4426-9d4b-bceaace93abc

There is also a hatbox for sale in the bay right now:
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But here is the hat...
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There's no label except the size label:
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