Identifying the era of my Stetson Open Road

[JDsixguns]

Hey folks!

First time poster but I’ve lurked for a long time!

A few months back I picked up this Open Road.

It arrived in an incredibly bashed-up Cattleman, so I just put it in a vaguely Stratoliner-ish shape being that I have two other Open Roads. I shape my hats a lot and know I’ll have no issue setting it back.

My question is, I’m noticing more and more oddities with this hat. I’ve never personally come across this liner, or this sizing tag style before.

I’m quite confident this is a 7 3/8, but the tag just says ‘3/8’. I’m a 7 1/8, this has a couple of foam strips and it fits great, so this adds up.

I’m not familiar with the liner logo either.

It’s definitely not western weight, but it’s sort of slightly stiffer or sturdier feeling than a current day Open Road royal deluxe, if this helps.

Bonus points if you know the name of the colour!

Cheers all,
JD

 

[Cattleman Crease]

Cool Open Road @JDsixguns! I'm going to say Glen Gray for the color. Am I close?

CC

 

[Bamaboots]

The hat has all the hallmarks of a mid to late 50's OR. Royal is the quality designation and Stetson's entry level for dress hats and it is a 7 3/8. The tag is common for the era. Stetson had a lot of color designations and a lot of different shades of gray. Old ads are often the best source for determining specific colors. There's just not a lot of color information available when you step away from silverbelly, black and brown. You can find information related to dating Stetson's in these threads.

Dating Vintage Stetsons by size tag | The Fedora Lounge

Dating Vintage Stetsons by Liner: A Field Guide | The Fedora Lounge