German & Austrian Hutmachers

[Wangenheim]

I just found my second Velour-hat, a Hückel Crystall Velour with a very nice lining, not shiny, with a fine ribbing. It's a 57 in a dark turquios. I added my black Mayser Orion in one of the photos for colour comparison. It's definitely not black, although on first glance one wouldn't probably notice and confuse it with a pure lighting phenomenon. Brim 5,7cm, height 11cm.

Looks to me like pre-war. Does this (to me) unusual lining tell anything about pre- or post-war?

Looks not as high on the head as the Mayser. What is really different: It feels much softer. The Mayser is really stiff against the Hückel. Don't know what I like more. On the other hand the felt is even thicker.

 

[Wangenheim]

With it came another hat, that is a 5 1/2, which would be a 58, but feels smaller than the Hückel 57 above: a Hückel Aero in beige. Unfortunately it has a mothbite on top and one little hole at the back of the brim.

The hat band is just 2,3cm, brim 5cm, height 10cm.

Can anyone tell me more about this hat?

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

I just found my second Velour-hat, a Hückel Crystall Velour with a very nice lining, not shiny, with a fine ribbing. It's a 57 in a dark turquios. I added my black Mayser Orion in one of the photos for colour comparison. It's definitely not black, although on first glance one wouldn't probably notice and confuse it with a pure lighting phenomenon. Brim 5,7cm, height 11cm.

View attachment 491375

With it came another hat, that is a 5 1/2, which would be a 58, but feels smaller than the Hückel 57 above: a Hückel Aero in beige. Unfortunately it has a mothbite on top and one little hole at the back of the brim.
View attachment 491377

Love them both - both pre war - but the heathered felt of the Aero
in combination with the thin ribbon is fan-tas-tic! Congrats!

 

[mayserwegener]

With it came another hat, that is a 5 1/2, which would be a 58, but feels smaller than the Hückel 57 above: a Hückel Aero in beige. Unfortunately it has a mothbite on top and one little hole at the back of the brim.

The hat band is just 2,3cm, brim 5cm, height 10cm.

Can anyone tell me more about this hat?

View attachment 491378

View attachment 491377
View attachment 491379
View attachment 491380

Both are really fantastic! Congrats on finding them.

With JHS FP 5 1/2 printed on the paper is actual size FP 5 or 57 cm. The round label is the actual size. FP 5 1/2 would be printed underneath on the paper. When both FP and CM sizes are printed on the paper label the CM sizes is one size larger and the actual size.

There can be some Sweatband and Felt shrinkage so might need some minor tweaking.

 

[Wangenheim]

Love them both - both pre war - but the heathered felt of the Aero
in combination with the thin ribbon is fan-tas-tic! Congrats!

Both are really fantastic! Congrats on finding them.

With JHS FP 5 1/2 printed on the paper is actual size FP 5 or 57 cm. The round label is the actual size. FP 5 1/2 would be printed underneath on the paper. When both FP and CM sizes are printed on the paper label the CM sizes is one size larger and the actual size.

There can be some Sweatband and Felt shrinkage so might need some minor tweaking.

Thank you, very interesting! I just didn't really recognize, that the Aero could be something, because I'm not a fan of too small brims. But now, tried out with a white linnen jacket, I have to admit, that it looks quite nice : )

Indeed the Aero looks a bit shrunken, the sweat band is weavy and the crown too. There are vertikal lines in the crown sides, which make it look unpleasent in certain light. Is there a procedure I can take on, to fix this? E.g. make it wet and stretch it a little bit?

 

[Steve1857]

Thank you, very interesting! I just didn't really recognize, that the Aero could be something, because I'm not a fan of too small brims. But now, tried out with a white linnen jacket, I have to admit, that it looks quite nice : )

Indeed the Aero looks a bit shrunken, the sweat band is weavy and the crown too. There are vertikal lines in the crown sides, which make it look unpleasent in certain light. Is there a procedure I can take on, to fix this? E.g. make it wet and stretch it a little bit?

Two wonderful ca. 1920s/30s Hückels. Great finds, especially with the liners in such a perfect condition. Congrats.

You could try steaming the Aero. I don't think it will help much though. Sometimes, we just have to accept our vintage hats have lines and moth holes, like we have wrinkles and worts. It's all part of ageing.

 

[dkstott]

Mayser newsboy cap from an ebay purchase.
I like the colors and pattern

 

[mayserwegener]

Mayser newsboy cap from an ebay purchase.
I like the colors and pattern

View attachment 492029 View attachment 492031 View attachment 492030

Great to see a Mayser Cap!

 

[Wangenheim]

Two wonderful ca. 1920s/30s Hückels. Great finds, especially with the liners in such a perfect condition. Congrats.

You could try steaming the Aero. I don't think it will help much though. Sometimes, we just have to accept our vintage hats have lines and moth holes, like we have wrinkles and worts. It's all part of ageing.

Thank you! So, just give it some steam and let it dry? Or do I have to sculpture it during the drying process, like with cold water?

 

[Steve1857]

Thank you! So, just give it some steam and let it dry? Or do I have to sculpture it during the drying process, like with cold water?

Steam, work on it, steam some more, work on it until satisfied.

 

[mayserwegener]

Thank you, very interesting! I just didn't really recognize, that the Aero could be something, because I'm not a fan of too small brims. But now, tried out with a white linnen jacket, I have to admit, that it looks quite nice : )

Indeed the Aero looks a bit shrunken, the sweat band is weavy and the crown too. There are vertikal lines in the crown sides, which make it look unpleasent in certain light. Is there a procedure I can take on, to fix this? E.g. make it wet and stretch it a little bit?

I have a couple Rauh finish JHS Soft Felts. This is my finest example but it's slightly later than yours.

https://germanaustrianhats.invision...tfabrik-weilheim/?do=findComment&comment=2565

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

I have a couple Rauh finish JHS Soft Felts. This is my finest example but it's slightly later than yours.

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/6-johann-hückel´s-söhne-hückel-hutfabrik-weilheim/?do=findComment&comment=2565

And how is the finish of these 'Rauh' hats - does it feel a bit 'rougher', as the name would suggest in German?

 

[Wangenheim]

I have a couple Rauh finish JHS Soft Felts. This is my finest example but it's slightly later than yours.

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/6-johann-hückel´s-söhne-hückel-hutfabrik-weilheim/?do=findComment&comment=2565

That's a really nice hat. What does "Flexible" mean? Is it crushable then?

What makes the age difference between our hats?

 

[Wangenheim]

And how is the finish of these 'Rauh' hats - does it feel a bit 'rougher', as the name would suggest in German?

I would say, that it's a bit rougher than a good felt, but not much. Maybe "rauh" just refers to the optical roughness. There are at least four felt colors handled. In my case a rich brown, white and beige. If you watch closely with a loupe, you also see bright orange/red.

 

[Wangenheim]

Steam, work on it, steam some more, work on it until satisfied.

This turned out to work amazingly! All the waves are gone and I did close to nothing. Thank you very much!

 

[Steve1857]

This turned out to work amazingly! All the waves are gone and I did close to nothing. Thank you very much!

View attachment 492223

You're welcome. Glad it worked out. Steam is a hat collectors best tool

 

[marting81]

Today i got delivered

C.G. Wilke Hutfabrik Guben - Gazelle

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Today i got delivered

C.G. Wilke Hutfabrik Guben - Gazelle

View attachment 492320 View attachment 492321 View attachment 492322 View attachment 492323 View attachment 492324

Nice one: Congrats!
I would think, it's post WWII (70s maybe?) - so could it be, it's not the original Wilke GUBEN but
the manufacturer in the West Germany (Köln?) holding the rights on the Wilke name!?
C.G.Wilke Hutfabrik Guben was transfered into the VEB Hutwerke Guben in the early 50s.
Maybe Steve @mayserwegener knows exactly...

 

[mayserwegener]

I would say, that it's a bit rougher than a good felt, but not much. Maybe "rauh" just refers to the optical roughness. There are at least four felt colors handled. In my case a rich brown, white and beige. If you watch closely with a loupe, you also see bright orange/red.

This is a desired effect and doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the felt. It's a really fantastic hat.

 

[mayserwegener]

And how is the finish of these 'Rauh' hats - does it feel a bit 'rougher', as the name would suggest in German?

Matt, Yes, it's actually a bit rough to the touch. I looked at it closely with a magnifying glass and it's definitely deliberate.