HATCO - Could you "clear" something up?

[Felt and Straw]

Bump

In searching for info on my new 7X I came across this thread.
Not only is the info very helpful, but I love seeing the collaborative back and forth that took place.
HATCO, you certainly did a lot of work on this one! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
Thank you all for the education.

 

[Fletch]

Old story. Trade knowledge is basically confidential up till it's destroyed. Keeping secrets - even old ones - is just business. At some point, tho, you do it simply out of respect - in deference to the older generation and their traditions.

That's the difference between an artist and an artisan. An artist's work belongs to posterity, because it's created to live in itself. An artisan's work belongs to him, or his bosses, because it's created for daily bread. If it is to live on once the boss is gone, it must be his decision - not ours.

Thanks HATCO - and GR - for seeing fit to share.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Greetings All:
This thread is a good read. To bad the topic went dormant so long ago.
So...i’m bumping it back.
Maybe we can have some more discussions.
Bowen

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

A thread worth reading and a topic worthy of further discussion.

I am giving this another bump though unfortunately I have nothing of value to add to it... just a bunch of questions of my own about what the "clear" designation meant originally (and when exactly that was) and how the meaning changed over time.

 

[One Drop]

I'm the farthest the ng from an expert and have little knowledge about vintage hats that wasn't gleaned from this site, apart from my own experiences with the few hats I've handled and owned.

But I would like to take an educated guess as to the early Stetson quality levels (as copied in a previous post in this thread, in pale blue text). These quality levels seem to jive with catalogue pricing and anecdotal evidence during the early part of the 20th century, I'm sure the descriptions, terms, and levels od quality changed or drifted over the following decades.

Anyway, is it possible that in that period, the reason Clear beaver and 7X Beaver corresponded as the very highest quality at Stetson, but the Clear Nutria dod not correspond to the highest quality because Nutria itself was considered lower quality than beaver, or even hare, so a 100% Nutria hat was considered of lower quality than one blended with hare and / or beaver fur ? Just musing here, trying to help solve a mystery here with a possible solution that no one has yet hazarded, unless I missed it somewhere.