German & Austrian Hutmachers

[mayserwegener]

A new addition to the collection. A hat I picked up yesterday and I'm quite happy with because I haven't got one of these yet. For lack of a real brand name: Prima Qualitäts Velourhut, dark blue (not black), size 57 (5 on the label), 6 cm brim and 10,5 cm crown at the
pinch, unlined. More a longhair finish than a velour if you ask me, but who's complaining? "Der Hut mit der Krone" on the label, but no idea who the maker was or about it's age. An older one, judging by the sweatband and bow. Late forties, early fifties maybe?

Stefan, Great find! I am not sure who made it. The paper label format doesn't ring a bell. I think your dating is ok. The description on the left is interesting.

Echter / Prima Velour requires Hare fur + hot wet brushing (originally manual, manual + auto, just auto) during felting. I don't think the nap is long enough to be considered Soleil which can be Echter / Real Velour same with Flamand if Hare + hot wet brushed during felting. Have you looked at this article (essential reading if you are interested in Velour or Specialty finishes)?

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/216-hair-velour-real-echter-velour-prime-prima-velour-fabrikation-von-damen-und-herren-filzhüten-der-deustchen-hutmacher-zeitung-1933/?hl=echter

From above article.

(The unclipped (unshorn) velour hair is called “Flamand”, in this case the hair is long, undulated, soft and glossy as it reflects a lot of light. When the tips are clipped off and the hair is ironed all around or from top to bottom one talks about “Soleil”. Most difficult is the production of upright “open” Velour because in this case a particular tightness (or density?) and sturdiness of the hair is necessary and it is significantly harder to produce the same amount of gloss as where an entire, smooth surface displays.)

This hat is a good example because it uses the description "Echter Velour - Soleil".
I am not sure if I have encountered another hat that makes this distinction.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/281-echter-velour-soleil/

Usually the hat is marked Echter or Prima Velour or nothing. For example this S. J Fraenkel which I would say is Echter Velour - Soleil but no description.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/12-s-j-fraenkel-wien/#entry1190

 

[steur]

Steve, thanks. Yes, I have read that article before and I must say I've come to appreciate these velour and longhair hats more and more. Here's another one I have that might interest you. Spezial in black, size 55 (marked 4 on the liner). No label or markings and the sweatband was torn when I bought it (I confess I even worsened it by stretching the hat a bit to fit me). A nice shiny felt with a 6 cm overwelt brim. Judging by the liner material and bow it's an old one.

 

[mayserwegener]

Stefan, I guess my point is not all long hair finishes are equal. Ecther / Prima / Real Velour should meet the parameters that are listed / mentioned in the article. From the article I posted.

"Most difficult is the production of upright “open” Velour because in this case a particular tightness (or density?) and sturdiness of the hair is necessary and it is significantly harder to produce the same amount of gloss as where an entire, smooth surface displays."

Max Wiess Berlin (M.W.B.) Stolzf. Luxury Velour (very tight with high gloss)

Here's another one I have that might interest you. Spezial in black, size 55 (marked 4 on the liner). No label or markings and the sweatband was torn when I bought it (I confess I even worsened it by stretching the hat a bit to fit me). A nice shiny felt with a 6 cm overwelt brim. Judging by the liner material and bow it's an old one.

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The Velour looks really great on this "Spezial". Again there isn't anything I can connect to a specific hat company. I agree this one looks like an older one.

Thanks for posting all these fantastic hats! Keep them coming!

 

[steur]

Steve, thanks. That hat you posted is something else allright: absolutely gorgeous. I hope to find one of those one day (but I'm not holding my breath).

 

[steur]

Steve (Mayserwegener) posted some great pictures here earlier of Mayser advertising. One of them showed the Hut Seidl shop, which is located in Munich and the name rung a bell. Digging through my hats I came op with this one. Echter Mayser in black, size 57 with bound and triple stitched edge, brim 7 cm and 10,5 cm crown at the pinch. Somehow this hat has quite a bit of flair to it. Interesting about this one is that it shows that Hut Seidl had its own label for Mayser hats.

 

[Redfokker]

Steve (Mayserwegener) posted some great pictures here earlier of Mayser advertising. One of them showed the Hut Seidl shop, which is located in Munich and the name rung a bell. Digging through my hats I came op with this one. Echter Mayser in black, size 57 with bound and triple stitched edge, brim 7 cm and 10,5 cm crown at the pinch. Somehow this hat has quite a bit of flair to it. Interesting about this one is that it shows that Hut Seidl had its own label for Mayser hats.

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Over the top! A black beauty with rich history. Another favorite Stefan!

 

[steur]

Mike, thanks. Don't know what caused the double pictures though.

 

[steur]

The German and Austrian hatmakers excelled at velour hats, so I thought I'd post this one. Esko Spezialmarke, size 56 in a lovely rich brown colour. No label in this one (except it's size), but I do know it's age due to a german newspapier behind the sweatband, dated 6 januari 1960. Brim 6 cm and crown 10cm at the pinch. Don't know who the maker is of this one (I believe Esko te be just a brand name).

 

[mayserwegener]

Steve (Mayserwegener) posted some great pictures here earlier of Mayser advertising. One of them showed the Hut Seidl shop, which is located in Munich and the name rung a bell. Digging through my hats I came op with this one. Echter Mayser in black, size 57 with bound and triple stitched edge, brim 7 cm and 10,5 cm crown at the pinch. Somehow this hat has quite a bit of flair to it. Interesting about this one is that it shows that Hut Seidl had its own label for Mayser hats.

Stefan, Sorry for my late reply. I was at a national fencing tournament this past weekend. Fantastic Hut Seidl - Echter Mayser! There was a J.A. Seidl Hutfabrik. The companies combined in 1921 so this is why the Seidl shops had a strong link to Mayser.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/244-hutfabrik-j-a-seidl-münchen/

 

[mayserwegener]

The German and Austrian hatmakers excelled at velour hats, so I thought I'd post this one. Esko Spezialmarke, size 56 in a lovely rich brown colour. No label in this one (except it's size), but I do know it's age due to a german newspapier behind the sweatband, dated 6 januari 1960. Brim 6 cm and crown 10cm at the pinch. Don't know who the maker is of this one (I believe Esko te be just a brand name).
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Stefan, Super! The "Esko" brand is Ernst Köln which was a men's dress store in Köln. They sold Mayser and other companies but also had their brand plus purchased trademarks of former companies like Möckel. I think the newspaper date is probably close to the production date.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/62-ernst-koln/

 

[mayserwegener]

P. & C. Habig Wien "Special / Spezial Qualität", 58cm, 1957 (based on paper label). This one is NOS condition and was export to Gust. Holmsberg Eftr., Lund, Sweden.

 

[moehawk]

I seem to be making a Habig of posting here...
This one arrived yesterday. An eBay find, it looked to be in decent shape, so I took a chance and got it cheap. A bit dirty, and with a sweatband beginning to dry, it got a naptha bath and a Lexol-ing. The color really popped after the bath, and the sweat seems to be responding to the moisturizing. I was hoping for full sun for pics, but got good color despite the overcast.
P. & C. Habig "Zefir-Zefir":

The color shifts a lot in the different light, as the previous pics show. Here's the insides:

Oops...forgot to pull that hanging loop tight...and that light colored stuff under the tip patch is residue from old tape adhesive. It is coming off slowly.

The tip patch had some wear, and I believe it may have faded more in the naptha. Here's the tag:

If the tag theory holds up, it was made in 1950. I'm not confident at this time to turn out the sweat and look for a date stamp.
Creased:

And a head shot:

Specs:
Crown 5" open, deeply cupped brim a hair shy of 2 1/4" with an overwelt. 5/8" ribbon. A nice summer weight at 95 grams. The felt is thin, light and soft, with just enough stiffener to keep a crease. Another fine example of the wonderful craftsmanship from P. & C. Habig Wien.




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[steur]

Stefan, Super! The "Esko" brand is Ernst Köln which was a men's dress store in Köln. They sold Mayser and other companies but also had their brand plus purchased trademarks of former companies like Möckel. I think the newspaper date is probably close to the production date.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/62-ernst-koln/

Steve, thanks for the comments and the additional information on both the Mayser and the Esko. I had been googling for Esko but that didn't turn up anything. Another bit of the rich German and Austrian hat history.

 

[steur]

P. & C. Habig Wien "Special / Spezial Qualität", 58cm, 1957 (based on paper label). This one is NOS condition and was export to Gust. Holmsberg Eftr., Lund, Sweden.

Another stunning looking hat and great example of Habig quality all around. They seem to have kept that embossing of the sweatbands longer than other companies.

 

[steur]

I seem to be making a Habig of posting here...
This one arrived yesterday. An eBay find, it looked to be in decent shape, so I took a chance and got it cheap. A bit dirty, and with a sweatband beginning to dry, it got a naptha bath and a Lexol-ing. The color really popped after the bath, and the sweat seems to be responding to the moisturizing. I was hoping for full sun for pics, but got good color despite the overcast.
P. & C. Habig "Zefir-Zefir":

The color shifts a lot in the different light, as the previous pics show. Here's the insides:

Oops...forgot to pull that hanging loop tight...and that light colored stuff under the tip patch is residue from old tape adhesive. It is coming off slowly.

The tip patch had some wear, and I believe it may have faded more in the naptha. Here's the tag:

If the tag theory holds up, it was made in 1950. I'm not confident at this time to turn out the sweat and look for a date stamp.
Creased:

And a head shot:

Specs:
Crown 5" open, deeply cupped brim a hair shy of 2 1/4" with an overwelt. 5/8" ribbon. A nice summer weight at 95 grams. The felt is thin, light and soft, with just enough stiffener to keep a crease. Another fine example of the wonderful craftsmanship from P. & C. Habig Wien.




Powered by happy thoughts

It may need a bit of TLC but then the reward is there allright. Great looking hat.

 

[mayserwegener]

I seem to be making a Habig of posting here...
This one arrived yesterday. An eBay find, it looked to be in decent shape, so I took a chance and got it cheap. A bit dirty, and with a sweatband beginning to dry, it got a naptha bath and a Lexol-ing. The color really popped after the bath, and the sweat seems to be responding to the moisturizing. I was hoping for full sun for pics, but got good color despite the overcast.
P. & C. Habig "Zefir-Zefir":

The color shifts a lot in the different light, as the previous pics show. Here's the insides:

Oops...forgot to pull that hanging loop tight...and that light colored stuff under the tip patch is residue from old tape adhesive. It is coming off slowly.

The tip patch had some wear, and I believe it may have faded more in the naptha. Here's the tag:

If the tag theory holds up, it was made in 1950. I'm not confident at this time to turn out the sweat and look for a date stamp.
Creased:

And a head shot:

Specs:
Crown 5" open, deeply cupped brim a hair shy of 2 1/4" with an overwelt. 5/8" ribbon. A nice summer weight at 95 grams. The felt is thin, light and soft, with just enough stiffener to keep a crease. Another fine example of the wonderful craftsmanship from P. & C. Habig Wien.

Powered by happy thoughts

Super! It's hard to find a non-Trachten American Market P. & C. Habig Vienna (changed from Wien for export). Is the last number a 0 or 9?

 

[mayserwegener]

Steve, thanks for the comments and the additional information on both the Mayser and the Esko. I had been googling for Esko but that didn't turn up anything. Another bit of the rich German and Austrian hat history.

Stefan, Thanks! Some of the strange names like this one are distributors, whole sellers or retail outlets.

Here is a Hut Seidl München that I was able to determine the company was Mayser by the paper label format (no mention of Mayser).

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/3-mayser-hutfabrik/page-5#entry804

 

[mayserwegener]

Another stunning looking hat and great example of Habig quality all around. They seem to have kept that embossing of the sweatbands longer than other companies.

Stefan, Thanks! I think this one was formed by P. & C. Habig Wien so this would be a common setup for such hats in that time period. I am basing this on a couple other P. & C. Habig Wien Homburgs I have that are from same time period and came formed in a similar manner (see link below). They can easily be made open crown so maybe manually formed on wooden blocks.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/5-p-c-habig-hutfabrik/page-3#entry390

 

[moehawk]

Super! It's hard to find a non-Trachten American Market P. & C. Habig Vienna (changed from Wien for export). Is the last number a 0 or 9?

On closer inspection, it is a 9. So, made in 1959 I'm now assuming.

 

[mayserwegener]

On closer inspection, it is a 9. So, made in 1959 I'm now assuming.

John, Thanks for checking. Yes that year would fit in with the other P. & C. Habig Vienna - Brooks Brother hats I have encountered.