Help dating an Open Road

[The Wingnut]

Hey, folks, picked up an Open Road today that I'd like help putting a date / era to. I'm suspecting it's a '40s - early '50s Open Road. Nice felt, nice workmanship, dark brown very pliable sweatband. It's a 3X Beaver. It came with the typical LBJ western triple dent, I hand rebashed it to a C-crown. Here are some photos:

There's a little staining showing through the ribbon in the front a a few small specks of dirt here and there. Lines from the original bash / block are visible, but not obvious. The felt is pretty decent.

 

[Solid Citizen]

Lookin 1940's Good

You have the 1940's look in it now Wingnut! Wouldn't worry about original block lines, to average fashion unconcious a block is a street there currently driving on!

Peter

 

[The Wingnut]

Thanks, Citizen!

I'll post some more pictures soon. Took some with the good camera at work.

Anyone else have information for me? We must have a few Open Road experts here.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Do you have a pic of the liner?
Nice job on the shape.

 

[riccardo]

Great.

Very beautiful shape.
Hasn't it the wind cord?
I've learn here, that the newer hats hasn't the wind cord. Isn't so?
Regards.
Riccardo.

 

[The Wingnut]

As promised, a few shots.

- Liner shot, as requested. There is a very faint embossed Steson logo under the cellophane, 'John B. Stetson' above a coat of arms, 'STETSON' below, all within a shield.

Riccardo, there's no evidence of a wind string. Not sure if it ever had one. I don't think the modern Open Roads have them, either.

Thanks for the compliments on the block. I've got it down to a science since my Knox is soft-crowned and I store it unblocked. This was a simple matter of applying steam and shaping it the way I normally do.

 

[JimD]

Very beautiful shape.
Hasn't it the wind cord?
I've learn here, that the newer hats hasn't the wind cord. Isn't so?
Regards.
Riccardo.

Riccardo; I bought a new Barbisio fedora right before Christmas and it has a wind cord.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'm going to guess late 60's to 70's going by the gold stamping inside and the liner.

 

[Andykev]

BEAUTIFUL

My guess is that this hat is early 60's, just before Stetson all but went out of business. The gold stamping is the style used on the western hats from the 70's. However, the crown is taller that those found on the later 60's hats. I have one from almost 70...and it has a shorter crown. All that said, you still have a nice hat in excess of 40 + years old. Can't find better.

 

[dixiedust]

WOW!!!!!

Lawd Man!!!!! That is one good looking hat, Dont know about dating it but if you want to sell it put me on top of the list--------Dan:cool2:

 

[The Wingnut]

Late '60s, eh? Huh...shows what I know about Stetsons. Now I know a little more, though.

Well, it doesn't fit me, but it was nice enough that I figured it would find a good home with someone on the Lounge. I'll put it over in the Classifieds section.

 

[MattC]

I have one stamped the same way

I've always thought 60s. If the liner says "3x" that puts it earlier I think. Later, Stetson just put in the coat of arms liner in everything. AndyKev, what is the crown height that you think marks early 60s?

 

[The Wingnut]

Matt, prompted by what you said, I took another look in the best light I could find, and above the coat of arms it does say '3X BEAVER', 3X being on one line and BEAVER on the next.

 

[tonyb]

Someone could do a book on the Stetson Open Road. I've had 'em in a variety of bow treatments, slightly varying crown heights and brim widths, with wind strings and without, various numbers of X's and differing liners and sweat bands. But they're great, you know, perhaps the archetypal American hat, the one preferred by three presidents, country gentlemen and persons of taste across the continent and beyond. And a few scalawags, too. (A good friend was buried, in 1989, with his Open Road resting on his chest.)
Does Stetson keep a reliable archive? Or is the researcher left to work with what he can gather elsewhere? No two Open Roads I've ever had were quite the same, and I'd like to know more about the when and why of that.

 

[fedoralover]

So what about this one???

I have found that this Stetson logo is even earlier but I don't know by how much, any ideas?? It is on an Open Road that looks very similar to Wingnuts. The logo on Wingnuts is the one they still use today.

Here it is, almost identical, but yet the logo is very different.

fedoralover

 

[fedoralover]

I'm bumping this up as I'm hoping someone like maybe Art, Matt or someone else can give me an idea of the era of this logo. The rectangle one's that are on Wingnuts are still being used today the last time I saw new Stetson's, so I'm assuming the one I'm showing is older but I don't know by how much. Any idea's???

fedoralover

 

[Matt Deckard]

Going by the leather and the logo I think it is 50's. It's the edge of the leather... the part between the leather and the felt. That is my guess for now.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Slightly confused

I have a very dark leather band with a logo that includes both the beaver and the eagle on the coat of arms, but it's not framed, and there are no X's. That seems like it would be between Fedoralover's and Wingnut's "beaver only" logo in evolution. It's been suggested, though, that my hat is from the same time as Wingnut's. The liner in mine has the full coat of arms, but it's easily visible. Any second opinions on mine? Does mine inspire any rusty memories to help with Fedoralover's dating?

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/michaelgarcia13/detail?.dir=ae0a&.dnm=2969re2.jpg&.src=ph

 

[fedoralover]

Me too

The Open Road has been made for so long that's it's hard to get a handle on when each one was made. I've got 4 Open Roads and they are all different and I've seen even more differences on ones I've seen on ebay. You have the Royal Stetson Open Road-no Xs, the Royal Deluxe and Imperial Open Road-again no Xs.Then you have the Stetson 20 Soveriegn Open Road and the Stetson 25 and Stetson 100 Open Road-again no Xs. Then you have the Open Roads that are 3X, and 4X that have the different logo's like the one's shown in this thread. And there are probably some I've missed, so the confusion continues.

fedoralover