Howard Hughes hat

[Dixon Cannon]

That little airplane..

End of the flight, Hughes and hat looking a bit frazzled.

...is the Lockheed Electra that HRH flew around the world. That's what I wear on my Borso.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

I've posted this shot twice elsewhere in the forum. It's the same hat and I love the bash: fore and aft. As to whether it is genuine, well, I'm sure I don't know, but it doesn't look like any of the ones I've seen in pictures of him, but by the same token, could a rich guy only own one hat?[huh]

Maybe the auction hat was this one, from The Outlaw:

 

[deanglen]

Nice photos of HRH in Fedora. Love the pics! Goood one, Absinthe 1900!:eusa_clap

 

[PADDY]

Contacts for the HRH jacket and hat (for info purposes only)

I've had a few PM's over this posting of mine, so to answer them in order.

The A-1 jacket is an AERO in seal horse hide (sprayed over a ligher undercoat that wears through with time) with the lighter caramel bakelite buttons, as per early 1920's AAC spec. Dark brown knits on the original South Afrikan Cape Sheep skin.

The HRH pencil moustache, is MINE!! (well mine, Errol's and Clark's I guess!!) and sadly I cannot reproduce that for you guys (gotta grow your own!), as much as I love you all!

 

[tonyb]

I happen to have Howard Hughes's hat right here in my kitchen, turned upside down under the sink, catching drips from that leaky drain.

 

[Russ]

So who else out there has a bit of the HRH look about them? Photos gentlemen...please!!

Today I got to wondering if I still had a face underneath my beard so I shaved for the first time in probably 15 years. It's not quite the same face I covered up 15 years ago, but it kind of reminded me of someone else now. So I donned my Akubra Fed, snapped a few pics, and thought I'd take up Paddy's challenge (maybe my photo could pass for a distant cousin of HRH if you were riding by your computer monitor on a bicycle at a distance of about 50 yards):

Before my rash decison:

BTW the decision to make this one black and white was mostly due to the fact that not having handled a razor in years, I kind of murdered my face, and this hides all the red and pink spots. Ouch, it burns...

Anyway, due to protests from every member of my family (including two children who had never seen daddy's chin before) I will start growing the beard again immediately.

 

[BigSleep]

[QUOTE

...is the Lockheed Electra that HRH flew around the world. That's what I wear on my Borso.[/QUOTE]

Not sure about H.H. but I think Amelia Earhart flew one.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

They were both Lockheed Electra's, Earhart's was a model 10, and Hughes had a model 14 Super Electra.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Yeseree...

Not sure about H.H. but I think Amelia Earhart flew one.

it was a Lockheed 14 and the name was in commemoration of the upcoming New York World's Fair (1939). Hughes was going to use his Silorsly S-43 for the flight but as the plans developed for the inflight research he opted for a bigger aircraft. HRH was close with Lockheed and his use of the airplane on this record breaking, world renowned flight, their sales multiplied for the Electra 14. A great description of the airplane is on page 90 of the book 'Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes'.

Yes. Amelia Earhart did fly one and she of course was lost with the airplane in the pacific the year prior.

-dixon cannon

 

[Alan Eardley]

Hughes's hat

Well, I would imagine that a well dressed fellow from that period, a man such as Hughes, probably had many hats, some of which could have survived. If memory serves, this one was a Herbert Johnson.

The hat in the auction is a Herbert Johnson 'Romany' - a frequent alternative to their 'Poet' model and a favourite of the horse-racing fraternity. Note the raffish narrow ribbon. They are quite common in thrift shops - I have a few of them and have never paid more than $20,000 for one (just joking). Here's one from the 1950s or early 60s - without the extreme bash of the auction version.