Help -- Identify a hat, please

[Parsifal]

We had a bad fire. Smoke and water got most of my hats. This one survived, but was water, and probably smoke damaged. The clean-out company did not inventory or account for most of my hats (they recovered one Borsalino, that they mislabeled as being wool, which is wrong. This one is problematic. The fact it was in my closet indicates it was top-quality hat. Probably pre-1985, possibly c.a. 1975. I've queried several, quality hat makers and none recognized it. The C-crown is what's throwing everybody. Few firms have preserved pre-2005ish catalogs and sales data. My preferred hatter, sent 400 years of hand-written ledgers to a museum around 2005 and have changed sales/accounting systems twice since then. My pre-1980 preferred hatter, Brynie Utz, in the U.S. went out of business in 2018. I bought my first top-quality Borsalino there around 1978. Like the opening scene of 12 O'clock High, that was a half day experience (Dean Jagger nailed what's it like to search for just the right hat). The lighting isn't good, but I'm open to any ideas. The color is off due to the smoke, I think.

 

[belfastboy]

We had a bad fire. Smoke and water got most of my hats. This one survived, but was water, and probably smoke damaged. The clean-out company did not inventory or account for most of my hats (they recovered one Borsalino, that they mislabeled as being wool, which is wrong. This one is problematic. The fact it was in my closet indicates it was top-quality hat. Probably pre-1985, possibly c.a. 1975. I've queried several, quality hat makers and none recognized it. The C-crown is what's throwing everybody. Few firms have preserved pre-2005ish catalogs and sales data. My preferred hatter, sent 400 years of hand-written ledgers to a museum around 2005 and have changed sales/accounting systems twice since then. My pre-1980 preferred hatter, Brynie Utz, in the U.S. went out of business in 2018. I bought my first top-quality Borsalino there around 1978. Like the opening scene of 12 O'clock High, that was a half day experience (Dean Jagger nailed what's it like to search for just the right hat). The lighting isn't good, but I'm open to any ideas. The color is off due to the smoke, I think.

You cannot remember which hat it is and yet you think someone here can identify it from a grainy picture taken from a distance? That is an unrealistic expectation.

 

[Parsifal]

Yes, I knew it was a long shot. I was hoping someone knowledgeable could spot some unique features that would narrow it down.

There are a number of clues, for people who know fine hats, such the fact that it was a mid-1970s Borsalino. I left out some key details, , so as to not bias responses. The clues, apparent on examination of the photo, include pre-1981 artisan-grade, high density hare and rabbit fur felt. The raw-edge snap brim is another. A premium vintage rabbit fur felt will show a crisp, incredibly dense, and uniform edge without any loose, fraying, or visible stray fibers. A high-grade felt hat does not use fillers, which would have cracked under the heat. The mystery is the C-crown on a Borsalino of that vintage.. As it turns out, for the near-bespoke Borsalinos, Byrnie Utz would reshape the higher quality hats with a C-crown. It was probably a Federico Anello, medium brim, denim color. As a pre-1980 Borsalino, it was a premium hat. All that from another source this morning.

Anyway, thank you for the useful and insightful response. Oh, . . . . sorry about the deep-draft ship building industry in Belfast. It's a classic case taught in business schools. Didn't recognize that any shipyard in Asia could grind out shallow-draft container ships. I bet no Belfaster in August 1947 noticed Pan Am Flight 100, a L-749 Constellation on its way to London. So much for "great" ocean liners. Last time I was in Belfast, it was pretty decrepit and run down.

EOT

 

[belfastboy]

Yes, I knew it was a long shot. I was hoping someone knowledgeable could spot some unique features that would narrow it down.

There are a number of clues, for people who know fine hats, such the fact that it was a mid-1970s Borsalino. I left out some key details, , so as to not bias responses. The clues, apparent on examination of the photo, include pre-1981 artisan-grade, high density hare and rabbit fur felt. The raw-edge snap brim is another. A premium vintage rabbit fur felt will show a crisp, incredibly dense, and uniform edge without any loose, fraying, or visible stray fibers. A high-grade felt hat does not use fillers, which would have cracked under the heat. The mystery is the C-crown on a Borsalino of that vintage.. As it turns out, for the near-bespoke Borsalinos, Byrnie Utz would reshape the higher quality hats with a C-crown. It was probably a Federico Anello, medium brim, denim color. As a pre-1980 Borsalino, it was a premium hat. All that from another source this morning.

Anyway, thank you for the useful and insightful response. Oh, . . . . sorry about the deep-draft ship building industry in Belfast. It's a classic case taught in business schools. Didn't recognize that any shipyard in Asia could grind out shallow-draft container ships. I bet no Belfaster in August 1947 noticed Pan Am Flight 100, a L-749 Constellation on its way to London. So much for "great" ocean liners. Last time I was in Belfast, it was pretty decrepit and run down.

EOT

You can discern all of the above from this grainy photo?

 

[Frunobulax]

Huh?

 

[quikrick]

I can tell by studying the hat that you wear a size 10 1/2 shoe, brown.