Help with Thirft Found Hat

[cmjordan77]

Hi,
I bought this hat today. It says LONG OVAL 1/2 in the size. I normally wear a 7 1/2 hat. It fits good.
It says Royal De luxe St Regis Stetson
Stamped Greenewalds Hatters and Clothes Spartanburg South Carolina.
JOHN B. Stetson & Company
Can anyone tell me a little bit on this hat? Era? I am figuring the 40's? 30's or 50's??
Was this a formal hat? or just could be worn for everyday wearing?
There are no holes, moth nips, nothing. Its a great hat!
I am thinking of selling it, but I havent decided yet.
Can someone help me?
I paid probably a little more than I should for it, $35, but I collect and reenact WWII Army. I am trying to build a little collection of Civi's for Reenacting Dances and things like that where some Civilian clothes were worn.
Is $35 a good price? too high?

Please let me know more if you have ideas.
I am trying to upload photos for folks to see.
I hope this works. I honestly do not know how to upload photos to forums at all.
If this doesnt work, or this is wrong, please someone fix this or let me know what i need to do to fixt this.
Thank you

 

[RBH]

Looks to be a nice deal to me. I believe its a Homburg.

 

[Lefty]

It's a homburg - a style of hat that kind of fits between the derby and the fedora. . $35 was a pretty good deal, but you're unlikely to sell it for more than around $80-$90 if it's in perfect condition. It looks like the wind trolley - the button on the string - might be a bit messed up, but it's hard to tell from the photos.

Take a look at this post for possible dating:

This Royal DeLuxe OR comes from a store that was open from 1956 to 1964. The price tag indicates a price of $12.50 -- so this lid pre-dates the price change to $12.95 that happened sometime in the late 50's. I think it's reasonable to conclude that this lid therefore dates to the 1956 (ish ) timeframe. The liner protector is plastic.

While the design of this logo is the same as that in the 1948 Royal DeLuxe posted above, note that the 1948 Royal DeLuxe (as well as the early 40's Royal Stetson) features a fairly distinctive use of bright gold in the logo that is gone by 1956. This particular feature may wind up being useful in terms of dating. For example, once we see a wider variety of liner logos, it may be possible to say that logos using the bright gold are more likely to indicate a lid from the 40's (this kind of conclusion will be refined as we go). We'll see...

1956 Royal DeLuxe

Cheers,
JtL

 

[cmjordan77]

reply

I am sorry to sound ignorant, but what is a Homsburg?
Is that the type or style of the hat?

Do you know what era this is from?

Its in great shape, and made by Stetson,

Thank you for the help!

Please let me know if anyone else has any information!

Thank you!

 

[GWD]

It's a Homburg for sure and by the looks of the liner I'd say mid to late 1940's and $35.00 is a great deal for that size hat.

Congrats! :eusa_clap

P.S. The Homburg is the style of Hat, the center crease and the curl on the brim are the tell tell signs.

 

[Lefty]

Homburg.
This one is from the 50s or 60s.
Read this.

 

[cmjordan77]

Reply

Thank you all,
If I decide to sell it, I will list it on here and let one of you all have at it since you all have helped me now and in the past.
If I decide to sell it, would $45-$50 + a little for shipping (I am not sure what it would cost to ship).
but would that be asking too much IF I decide to?

Again, I am still getting info, so I hope the moderators do not move the thread.
I will let someone on here have 1st dibbs before I even look at trying to sell it anywhere else, just cause I know whomever will get it will wear it.

 

[Lefty]

The most important consideration is condition. The liner looks quite clean, but the real question is whether the felt has moth tracks or holes? They look like little divots in the felt. Moth damage brings down the value of a hat. Your price would be more than fair, and you could list it in the Classifieds if you decide to sell it here. If you're unsure, you could always put it on ebay and let the market decide what it's worth.

Of course, you could always stuff some folded napkins behind the sweat and wear it!

 

[cmjordan77]

Reply

One last thing, the picture of the Stetson the other member listed says the words OPEN ROAD below the STETSON word.
Mine says St. Regis.
Does this make any difference?

Thank you

 

[Lefty]

Totally different hat, same era.

 

[cmjordan77]

Reply

There are no moth nips at all, no holes, no nothing.
There is a LITTLE bit of dust on the hat, but I think it could brush away easily.
My grandpa gave my dad his old hat but it was moth ridden and really dirty.
I know looking at this it is in great shape.
I can take more photos and add if I decide to sell.
I think someone on here would cherish this more than EBAY.
I am not sure.
Anyway,
I appreciate the help and any other information.
I probably will sell it cause I need the $$ more than I do the hat.

Or if someone has some WWII stuff maybe we could trade?
Again, I will list in the Classifieds probably later tonight.

Thanks!

 

[Dinerman]

that hat's probably late '40s. Mid '50s at the absolute newest.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I would think early 50s. Look under the sweatband at the back and see what style of re-order labels are there.

I was wondering what coud have led to a potential 60s date on this one. Lefty?

bk

 

[tonyb]

I'll give you the trite and true answer to your question as to your hat's value ...

It's worth whatever someone else is willing to pay. If it were my hat, I wouldn't part with it for less than a C note, which is not to say I would pay that much for it, seeing how I'm fairly confident I could find its equal for less. But, in this regard anyway, I'm patient. And cheap. And I'm certainly in no urgent need of another hat.

It's a nice hat, cmjordan. Provided it's in as good a condition as you say it is (no reason for me to doubt it), you'd be hard pressed to get its equal in a new hat for, oh, ten times what you paid for it. Really, they (meaning the large-scale manufacturers) just don't make 'em that way anymore. At least not in their typical offerings, as opposed to, say, some of the all-beaver lids some makers have reintroduced.

As has already been noted, it's the size that likely bumps up its value a bit. Those nice vintage lids in larger sizes can be hard to find.

 

[D.W. Suratt]

Nice hat, if it fits keep it. By the way cmjordan it's good to see another lounger from the upstate area. I think that makes three of now.

 

[WildCelt]

By the way cmjordan it's good to see another lounger from the upstate area. I think that makes three of now.

I do believe you're right.

 

[JohnnyGringo]

I just won a Vintage Royal DeLuxe Stetson Homburg on Ebay this morning. The hat looks to be almost a carbon copy of yours, other than mine is Gray. I paid $71.00 for it, and if it looks as good as the pictures do, I'll be pleased.

 

[Lefty]

I would think early 50s. Look under the sweatband at the back and see what style of re-order labels are there.

I was wondering what coud have led to a potential 60s date on this one. Lefty?

bk

Having done a little research, I'll limit myself and only go as far as early 60s. I've found two ads in the NY Times archive for the St. Regis, and here's where a price tag would really help. A 1953 ad currently on ebay has the St. Regis listed as $12.50, not offering any price range. The two ads I've found from the NYT are from Dec. 1960 and Dec. 1961. The 1960 ad has the hat priced at either $13.95 or $20, while the 1961 ad has it priced only at $20.

 

[Dinerman]

By the late '50s and '60s, though the model name was still in use, it had different, smaller dimensions, a different kind of sweatband (narrower, different texture, different color), and a different liner design.

 

[carouselvic]

I believe that the first homberg is mid 50's. Its clear plastic rather than the oil silk cover leads me to think this way.

60's type St. Regis