G.B.Borsalino Fu Lazzaro & C. <1936

[Francesco1992]

Welcome to the lounge, Francesco. I hope to see a lot more examples of GB Borsalino hats. We're not sure if the names on these labels refer to the colour or the model, so Anzinetto could be a model name.

That's perfectly true, you're right. I forgot I watched the rare 1934/35 Fu Lazzaro catalogue in this blog and I realized every model had normally an Italian city name; not knowing if "Anzinetto" was a city or a color code, and since I haven't found results as an Italian city name, I thought it was a kind of color name from Fu Lazzaro. This case seems strange because I really don't know what to think: on the other hand, every other Fu Lazzaro I have, has got an Italian city name inside. Do you maybe have some more information on this thread?

 

[Francesco1992]

Good evening everyone.
Tonight I would like to show one of the most beautiful Fu Lazzaro I have, which is also an early one, I guess.
It is now coming fresh out of my hat restorer who heavily washed it, sewed the ribbon which was falling down, put it in perfect shape and gave him the right "drop" shape of the crown. Now it has become a real wonderful shining pearl.
I know it belonged to the great grandfather of the woman who sold it to me, who was born in 1890.
I haven't taken any measurements till now, but if you are interested I can make some, since the brim is very very interestingly wide.
It is a large size 7 Punti Fu Lazzaro "Qualità Finissima" hat that, due to the decades, is perfectly fitting my size 6 (59) and nothing more. The felt is somehow very stiff and personally I like it also because its shape has become almost impossible to ruin. The internal label sounds early to me, it is completely hand written and it tells us the hat is a "RIMINI" model; that comes together with another code which is "MAURIA".
I hope you will love it as much as I do, and if any of you could add some other interesting or more precise information about its age. I personally think this hat comes directly from the early 1920s, but I can't obviously be sure about it.
Thanks in advance and please let me know if you like it

 

[Francesco1992]

Hello and happy new year to everyone here!
I just wanted to ask you for a little help: could someone give me a hand in understanding what name the writing upon this label in purple is showing? Do you have any suggestions? Thank you in advance.

 

[steur]

Good evening everyone.
Tonight I would like to show one of the most beautiful Fu Lazzaro I have, which is also an early one, I guess.
It is now coming fresh out of my hat restorer who heavily washed it, sewed the ribbon which was falling down, put it in perfect shape and gave him the right "drop" shape of the crown. Now it has become a real wonderful shining pearl.
I know it belonged to the great grandfather of the woman who sold it to me, who was born in 1890.
I haven't taken any measurements till now, but if you are interested I can make some, since the brim is very very interestingly wide.
It is a large size 7 Punti Fu Lazzaro "Qualità Finissima" hat that, due to the decades, is perfectly fitting my size 6 (59) and nothing more. The felt is somehow very stiff and personally I like it also because its shape has become almost impossible to ruin. The internal label sounds early to me, it is completely hand written and it tells us the hat is a "RIMINI" model; that comes together with another code which is "MAURIA".
I hope you will love it as much as I do, and if any of you could add some other interesting or more precise information about its age. I personally think this hat comes directly from the early 1920s, but I can't obviously be sure about it.
Thanks in advance and please let me know if you like it

I think it's a magnificent hat. Really like its grand shape and the very wide ribbon on it. The pre-war period had a huge variety in hat models by virually all manufacturers and I believe only by the early to mid-thirties makers started discussing cooperation to limit the number of models and push certain styles. All in an effort to reduce cost and unsold hats. No telling really what the exact age of this hat may be.

 

[steur]

Hello and happy new year to everyone here!
I just wanted to ask you for a little help: could someone give me a hand in understanding what name the writing upon this label in purple is showing? Do you have any suggestions? Thank you in advance.

Can't really make anything out of those letters for certain. I've tried to extract some more detail out of the picture, but that doesn't get us much further. The model names we have this far for GB Borsalino fu Lazzaro are these:
Trento, Scutari. Lugo, roma, tonale, desenzano, Rapallo, brennero, adamello, Belmonte, verbano, atlante, lario, capri, baldo, arno, stelvio, lido, timavo, golf, boby, spluga, mirafiori, derby, villa, glory, paris, anzinetto, ascoll, oslo and rimini.
Most of them are geographical, so if the third letter is a G (and not an O) it could be the first part of Cagliari maybe?

.

 

[Francesco1992]

Can't really make anything out of those letters for certain. I've tried to extract some more detail out of the picture, but that doesn't get us much further. The model names we have this far for GB Borsalino fu Lazzaro are these:
Trento, Scutari. Lugo, roma, tonale, desenzano, Rapallo, brennero, adamello, Belmonte, verbano, atlante, lario, capri, baldo, arno, stelvio, lido, timavo, golf, boby, spluga, mirafiori, derby, villa, glory, paris, anzinetto, ascoll, oslo and rimini.
Most of them are geographical, so if the third letter is a G (and not an O) it could be the first part of Cagliari maybe?

View attachment 477567
.

Hello and thanks very much for your research. I wouldn't have thought that it could be a "g", I thought it was a "o" but you are much more likely right I think. There are no Italian cities that are known whose name is "CAOL" something, so I think "CAGLIARI" would be the final solution. Very clever from you, thanks so much! Anyway, I noticed that normally the code names are two, but in this case and in the case of another Fu Lazzaro I own (and that I will show you very soon) there is only one. Maybe because there only was the model's name and not the color? I would not have any explanation for this, how about you?

 

[steur]

Hello and thanks very much for your research. I wouldn't have thought that it could be a "g", I thought it was a "o" but you are much more likely right I think. There are no Italian cities that are known whose name is "CAOL" something, so I think "CAGLIARI" would be the final solution. Very clever from you, thanks so much! Anyway, I noticed that normally the code names are two, but in this case and in the case of another Fu Lazzaro I own (and that I will show you very soon) there is only one. Maybe because there only was the model's name and not the color? I would not have any explanation for this, how about you?

That happens with hats that are black. Usually "nero" is not mentioned on the label, likely because they assumed it spoke for itself.

 

[Francesco1992]

I think it's a magnificent hat. Really like its grand shape and the very wide ribbon on it. The pre-war period had a huge variety in hat models by virually all manufacturers and I believe only by the early to mid-thirties mankers started discussing cooperation to limit the number of models and push certain styles. All in an effort to reduce cost and unsold hats. No telling really what the exact age of this hat may be.

Thank you very much for your compliments, I am very proud that collectors like you do appreciate my hats so much. Very interesting the story about the cooperation that I did not know, I thought it could be a little older due to the fact that it represents a hand-written interior label, which I know to be a characteristic of the older ones. I think it could appear "strange" also because it does not represent the typical pre-war standards, I have another light grey Borsalino Giuseppe with almost the same shape from the same period, that I will be very glad to show you.

 

[Steve1857]

Thank you very much for your compliments, I am very proud that collectors like you do appreciate my hats so much. Very interesting the story about the cooperation that I did not know, I thought it could be a little older due to the fact that it represents a hand-written interior label, which I know to be a characteristic of the older ones. I think it could appear "strange" also because it does not represent the typical pre-war standards, I have another light grey Borsalino Giuseppe with almost the same shape from the same period, that I will be very glad to show you.

Please show

 

[Francesco1992]

Please show

It will be my pleasure to show it to you then, thank you. Do you think I should post it here or would it be better to post in the Borsalino Giuseppe section maybe?

 

[steur]

It will be my pleasure to show it to you then, thank you. Do you think I should post it here or would it be better to post in the Borsalino Giuseppe section maybe?

Best post it in the Borsalino Brotherhood thread, so we can find the hats in the right place.

 

[Steve1857]

It will be my pleasure to show it to you then, thank you. Do you think I should post it here or would it be better to post in the Borsalino Giuseppe section maybe?

If it's a G.B. Borsalino fu Lazzaro & Co, post it here.

 

[Francesco1992]

If it's a G.B. Borsalino fu Lazzaro & Co, post it here.

this one in light grey is a Borsalino Giuseppe, so I posted it for you to see in the Borsalino Brotherhood

 

[Francesco1992]

Hello everyone,
today I want to show you another G.B. Borsalino fu Lazzaro hat from my personal collection: it is a rare "Zenit" line Top Hat from GiBì, that has been very seldom used and that is today in an absolutely perfect condition.
Apart from the preservation which, as said before, is stunning, the hat is in a very big size (size 6 1/2-7 Punti); it comes with his original box which I restored by myself (on its base lies the name of the hat seller, pencil written, that is the same printed on the hat liner, "R. Menin", which I think to be an important hat shop in Padova in the first half of the 20th century), and with his protection paper. Furthermore, the other special thing I found inside was a little piece of paper put inside the sweatband to thicken it a bit: I opened it and I discovered that it shows a half map of the "C" pavilion of the June 1928 Padova exhibition (of which I am posting the original advert at the end of the picture set), held with the patronage of king Vittorio Emanuele III.
I think this has been a fundamental element to date the hat with precision, because these kind of things are normally made before putting the hat on for the first time.
When I received it I was literally stunned! It's been years that I dreamt to find a Fu Lazzaro Zenit top hat in my size. If only more hats came in the same condition...

 

[steur]

Hello everyone,
today I want to show you another G.B. Borsalino fu Lazzaro hat from my personal collection: it is a rare "Zenit" line Top Hat from GiBì, that has been very seldom used and that is today in an absolutely perfect condition.
Apart from the preservation which, as said before, is stunning, the hat is in a very big size (size 6 1/2-7 Punti); it comes with his original box which I restored by myself (on its base lies the name of the hat seller, pencil written, that is the same printed on the hat liner, "R. Menin", which I think to be an important hat shop in Padova in the first half of the 20th century), and with his protection paper. Furthermore, the other special thing I found inside was a little piece of paper put inside the sweatband to thicken it a bit: I opened it and I discovered that it shows a half map of the "C" pavilion of the June 1928 Padova exhibition (of which I am posting the original advert at the end of the picture set), held with the patronage of king Vittorio Emanuele III.
I think this has been a fundamental element to date the hat with precision, because these kind of things are normally made before putting the hat on for the first time.
When I received it I was literally stunned! It's been years that I dreamt to find a Fu Lazzaro Zenit top hat in my size. If only more hats came in the same condition...

That is a one of a kind find, Francesco. Fabulous!

 

[Just Daniel]

Wow. Excellent.

Hello everyone,
today I want to show you another G.B. Borsalino fu Lazzaro hat from my personal collection: it is a rare "Zenit" line Top Hat from GiBì, that has been very seldom used and that is today in an absolutely perfect condition.
Apart from the preservation which, as said before, is stunning, the hat is in a very big size (size 6 1/2-7 Punti); it comes with his original box which I restored by myself (on its base lies the name of the hat seller, pencil written, that is the same printed on the hat liner, "R. Menin", which I think to be an important hat shop in Padova in the first half of the 20th century), and with his protection paper. Furthermore, the other special thing I found inside was a little piece of paper put inside the sweatband to thicken it a bit: I opened it and I discovered that it shows a half map of the "C" pavilion of the June 1928 Padova exhibition (of which I am posting the original advert at the end of the picture set), held with the patronage of king Vittorio Emanuele III.
I think this has been a fundamental element to date the hat with precision, because these kind of things are normally made before putting the hat on for the first time.
When I received it I was literally stunned! It's been years that I dreamt to find a Fu Lazzaro Zenit top hat in my size. If only more hats came in the same condition...

 

[PanosChris]

Good evening everyone.
Tonight I would like to show one of the most beautiful Fu Lazzaro I have, which is also an early one, I guess.
It is now coming fresh out of my hat restorer who heavily washed it, sewed the ribbon which was falling down, put it in perfect shape and gave him the right "drop" shape of the crown. Now it has become a real wonderful shining pearl.
I know it belonged to the great grandfather of the woman who sold it to me, who was born in 1890.
I haven't taken any measurements till now, but if you are interested I can make some, since the brim is very very interestingly wide.
It is a large size 7 Punti Fu Lazzaro "Qualità Finissima" hat that, due to the decades, is perfectly fitting my size 6 (59) and nothing more. The felt is somehow very stiff and personally I like it also because its shape has become almost impossible to ruin. The internal label sounds early to me, it is completely hand written and it tells us the hat is a "RIMINI" model; that comes together with another code which is "MAURIA".
I hope you will love it as much as I do, and if any of you could add some other interesting or more precise information about its age. I personally think this hat comes directly from the early 1920s, but I can't obviously be sure about it.
Thanks in advance and please let me know if you like it

That's a stellar hat! From the style of it, 20s-early 30s sounds correct to me. Strictly speaking, the teardrop crease though was not really favored by the time period and place, I think. Still love it!

 

[Francesco1992]

Hello everyone.
Today I want to share with you one of the last hats I have found: a wonderful G.B. Borsalino fu Lazzaro in black, in a preservation state which is like new. I am going to show it only with the crown open because I think this has a particularly interesting shape. Really full and somehow flat crown.
Love also the shape of the ribbon aside.
The size is a medium 5 1/2 French Punti (58cm) and the model name (as reported on the interior label) is BUSTO which is a model I had never seen before.
I think it has been worn not more than ten times by the original owner.
The other very interesting feature is the little blue label "CONTROLLO" coming out internally from the sweatband which is obviously a quality supervision certificate. Never seen before on another Fu Lazzaro hat.
The other particular thing is about the shop: "Oreste Rollo" was a very big and very important hat shop in the heart of the city centre of Brindisi, southern Italy. Rollo was a very very important hat trader in the first years of 1900 and he and his brother also had a hat shop in Hong Kong.
About the production era, I would say mid-1930s, because the Fu Lazzaro trade mark version should be the last used before the factory was absorbed by the Antica Casa.
Hoping that you all are going to like it, please add some corrections if I made some mistake or whatever, since I am always pleased for it!

 

[steur]

Hello everyone.
Today I want to share with you one of the last hats I have found: a wonderful G.B. Borsalino fu Lazzaro in black, in a preservation state which is like new. I am going to show it only with the crown open because I think this has a particularly interesting shape. Really full and somehow flat crown.
Love also the shape of the ribbon aside.
The size is a medium 5 1/2 French Punti (58cm) and the model name (as reported on the interior label) is BUSTO which is a model I had never seen before.
I think it has been worn not more than ten times by the original owner.
The other very interesting feature is the little blue label "CONTROLLO" coming out internally from the sweatband which is obviously a quality supervision certificate. Never seen before on another Fu Lazzaro hat.
The other particular thing is about the shop: "Oreste Rollo" was a very big and very important hat shop in the heart of the city centre of Brindisi, southern Italy. Rollo was a very very important hat trader in the first years of 1900 and he and his brother also had a hat shop in Hong Kong.
About the production era, I would say mid-1930s, because the Fu Lazzaro trade mark version should be the last used before the factory was absorbed by the Antica Casa.
Hoping that you all are going to like it, please add some corrections if I made some mistake or whatever, since I am always pleased for it!

I think you're spot on and have landed yourself another superb example of the GB Borsalino production. It is a stellar hat; truly outstanding.

 

[Francesco1992]

I think you're spot on and have landed yourself another superb example of the GB Borsalino production. It is a stellar hat; truly outstanding.

Thank you really so much for your kind compliments which are so much appreciated. Such appreciation towards my hats from a group of real experts and so much passionate collectors like you thrills me every time, so you've really made my day again! Very very happy that you like it so much, every time I find a Fu Lazzaro it is always an emotion!