German & Austrian Hutmachers

[mayserwegener]

Excellent find and a great survivor hat, Steve. And most of the time proof taht not all wool felts are created equal.

Stefan, Thank you! This hat is really nice. I forgot to mention it easily dry creases.

 

[Steve1857]

Those two Heinrich Balke's ooze quality, Steve. Such a special touch with a mirror in the tip. Have you ever come across that accessory before?

Heinrich Balke Bremen "Prima Weser Hut", 58 cm, Crown Open 6 inches, Brim 3 inches, possibly late 1920s. This a Wool Soft Felt Hat with Back Bow and luckily the Crown Tip Patch is still present. I really like finding old Wool Soft Felts and I waited a long time for this one to arrive because of shipping issues.

Open Crown

Heinrich Balke Bremen was a hat whole seller but I wasn't able to find anything regarding production facilities. Weser is a river that flows into Bremen and "Weser Hut" is trademarked. I have a very unique Heinrich Balke Bremen Wool Stiff Felt "Prima Weser Hut" with a Mirror inset into the liner logo.

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/263-heinrich-balke-bremen/

 

[mayserwegener]

Those two Heinrich Balke's ooze quality, Steve. Such a special touch with a mirror in the tip. Have you ever come across that accessory before?

Stefan, Thanks! This is the only liner mirror I have seen so definitely very unique. A novel idea to install a pocket mirror inside a Stiff Felt Hat.

 

[mayserwegener]

S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik / Extra Extra Wiener Hutindustrie "Wiener Extra Velour", measures ~ 58cm, possibly early 1930s. I would like thank Brent for offering this great pre 1940 Austrian Velour to me. I hit it with a lot of heavy steam and the stiffness came back. The thick Metal Gray Velour is really fantastic but I will have to work with it more to get a smoother finish. The offset bow is a unique feature. I think it was probably worn brim up as shown because of the over welt. I only knew this Velour was made by "S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik" by the paper label. Exported to the Italian market so it's good know that they used "Wiener Hutindustrie" for future reference.

C. Sartoris via Roma 19-21, Portici di via XX Settembre 240, Genova

(Genoese yearbook administrative, commercial, industrial and maritime guide etc. 1936)

Sartoris C. via Roma 19-21 r. Branch: portici di via XX Settembre 240 r. Telephone 51-804, see special notice.

Open Crown

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik / Extra Extra Wiener Hutindustrie, measures ~ 58cm, possibly early 1930s. I would like thank Brent for offering this great pre 1940 Austrian Velour to me. I hit it with a lot of heavy steam and the stiffness came back. The thick Metal Gray Velour is really fantastic but I will have to work with it more to get a smoother finish. The offset bow is a unique feature. I think it was probably worn brim up as shown because of the over welt. I only knew this Velour was made by "S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik" by the paper label. Exported to the Italian market so it's good know that they used "Wiener Hutindustrie" for future reference.

Open Crown

That one's so cool, Steve!
Congratulations that Brent let it go.
And a great steam work by you!

Nothing for me today at the flea market...

 

[mayserwegener]

That one's so cool, Steve!
Congratulations that Brent let it go.
And a great steam work by you!

Nothing for me today at the flea market...

Matt, Thank you! I am sorry to hear that nothing came up at the Flea Market. Have you made any recent finds?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik / Extra Extra Wiener Hutindustrie, measures ~ 58cm, possibly early 1930s. I would like thank Brent for offering this great pre 1940 Austrian Velour to me. I hit it with a lot of heavy steam and the stiffness came back. The thick Metal Gray Velour is really fantastic but I will have to work with it more to get a smoother finish. The offset bow is a unique feature. I think it was probably worn brim up as shown because of the over welt. I only knew this Velour was made by "S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik" by the paper label. Exported to the Italian market so it's good know that they used "Wiener Hutindustrie" for future reference.

Open Crown

Looks great, Steve. It’s definitely ended up with the right owner. Hard to believe that you got it to firm up; I gave it some steam, but apparently not enough.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik / Extra Extra Wiener Hutindustrie, measures ~ 58cm, possibly early 1930s. I would like thank Brent for offering this great pre 1940 Austrian Velour to me. I hit it with a lot of heavy steam and the stiffness came back. The thick Metal Gray Velour is really fantastic but I will have to work with it more to get a smoother finish. The offset bow is a unique feature. I think it was probably worn brim up as shown because of the over welt. I only knew this Velour was made by "S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik" by the paper label. Exported to the Italian market so it's good know that they used "Wiener Hutindustrie" for future reference.

Grande! A wonderful hat in its beauty.
Brent gave it to the right person

 

[mayserwegener]

Looks great, Steve. It’s definitely ended up with the right owner. Hard to believe that you got it to firm up; I gave it some steam, but apparently not enough.

Brent, Thank you! I steamed it heavily a few times with my Jiffy Hat Steamer. The Brim flange is extreme but when I wear it I will take photos brim up and down. Thanks again for making it available to me.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Brent, Thank you! I steamed it heavily a few times with my Jiffy Hat Steamer. The Brim flange is extreme but when I wear it I will take photos brim up and down. Thanks again for making it available to me.

You are most welcome.

 

[mayserwegener]

Grande! A wonderful hat in its beauty.
Brent gave it to the right person

Daniele, Thank you! It's really is grande! Also an Italian market hat!

By the way I found this on C. Sartoris, Genova.

(Genoese yearbook administrative, commercial, industrial and maritime guide etc. 1936)

Sartoris C. via Roma 19-21 r. Branch: portici di via XX Settembre 240 r. Telephone 51-804, see special notice.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Heinrich Balke Bremen "Prima Weser Hut", 58 cm, Crown Open 6 inches, Brim 3 inches, possibly late 1920s. This a Wool Soft Felt Hat with Back Bow and luckily the Crown Tip Patch is still present. I really like finding old Wool Soft Felts and I waited a long time for this one to arrive because of shipping issues.

A great hat!
A question: how many European hats were made in wool or in fur in that era?

 

[the_imperialist]

S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik / Extra Extra Wiener Hutindustrie "Wiener Extra Velour", measures ~ 58cm, possibly early 1930s. I would like thank Brent for offering this great pre 1940 Austrian Velour to me. I hit it with a lot of heavy steam and the stiffness came back. The thick Metal Gray Velour is really fantastic but I will have to work with it more to get a smoother finish. The offset bow is a unique feature. I think it was probably worn brim up as shown because of the over welt. I only knew this Velour was made by "S. & J. Fraenkel Wien, Ebreichsdorfer Filzhutfabrik" by the paper label. Exported to the Italian market so it's good know that they used "Wiener Hutindustrie" for future reference.

Open Crown

Congratulations Steve - a grail hat right there; there's something about metal grey velours that really make them special.

 

[mayserwegener]

A great hat!
A question: how many European hats were made in wool or in fur in that era?

Daniele, Thanks! I really like this hat. I will take photos of wearing it this week. I don't have the totals but there were many more Wool Soft and Stiff Felt Men's Hats produced. I could probably find year totals for Germany and Austria. Do you have any information for Italy?

 

[mayserwegener]

Congratulations Steve - a grail hat right there; there's something about metal grey velours that really make them special.

Wayne, Thank you! Brent deserves all the credit because he made this rare find. I agree about the metal gray Velour color types. I am looking forward to wearing this one once cooler temperatures arrive. Have you made any recent finds?

 

[the_imperialist]

Wayne, Thank you! Brent deserves all the credit because he made this rare find. I agree about the metal gray Velour color types. I am looking forward to wearing this one once cooler temperatures arrive. Have you made any recent finds?

Unfortunately nothing 'in the wild' - I picked up two of Paddy's recent finds, the navy Wilkes from Stefan and a few hats from Fastuni - including his Rockel and Wilkes. Still - hope springs eternal!

 

[mayserwegener]

Unfortunately nothing 'in the wild' - I picked up two of Paddy's recent finds, the navy Wilkes from Stefan and a few hats from Fastuni - including his Rockel and Wilkes. Still - hope springs eternal!

Wayne, Those are great pick ups. Hopefully we will see them in action.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Matt, Thank you! I am sorry to hear that nothing came up at the Flea Market. Have you made any recent finds?

Unfortunately not, Steve: no new additions lately.
At the flea market I saw a Ottmar Reich straw boater,
but it was very battered: Brim totally bent, flaws in the straw
and the sweat was missing - too expensive for that, so I let it go.

 

[mayserwegener]

Unfortunately not, Steve: no new additions lately.
At the flea market I saw a Ottmar Reich straw boater,
but it was very battered: Brim totally bent, flaws in the straw
and the sweat was missing - too expensive for that, so I let it go.

Matt, Sorry to hear that. Old Straw Boater Hats can often times be badly battered. I hope you have better luck in the future.

 

[mayserwegener]

I came across this story a while ago but on recently found a copy of the book "Behind the Curtains of the Broadway's Beauty Trust. Page, Will A.. 1927". The story "Mr. Gest and Velour" was written by Gene Buck who was an American illustrator of sheet music, musical theater lyricist, and president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Morris Gest was a famous American theatrical producer of the early 20th century. (Might have to click on the photos to enlarge.)

There are many photos (so the story is true) of Morris Gest in an Austrian Velour Hat but this is the best one I could find that shows some detail and was free of copyright fee. The photo is from a series photos from an overseas voyage to Europe probably mid 1920s. The Velour looks of lighter weight so maybe similar to J. Hückel´s Söhne Zephyr Seal Velour.

Here is wearing the same hat but can't see any detail.

Here is wearing a Back Bow Trachten Hat with Brush.

This is a publicity photo from the same time period but it has an expensive copyright fee.

https://www.granger.com/results.asp?image=0620133&itemw=4&itemf=0001&itemstep=1&itemx=5

Here is more on Morris Gest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Gest

Here is more on Gene Buck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Buck