I've done a little work to the 30's or 40's "Mystery Stetson"....

[alanfgag]

+1 to all the love for this project... great work, Josh.

 

[Joshbru3]

I'd be interested in seeing the reorder labels. Maybe the numbers can be compared to other people's Bantams to see if they match?

bk

Thats a good idea. Heres the two tags that were under the sweatband:

 

[Joshbru3]

Great to see what a little hard brushing and steaming can do. Love the block on that hat one of my favorites. Great job Josh.

Great work Josh!
That is a sweet hat!!!

+1 to all the love for this project... great work, Josh.

Thank you very much, Ed, Rusty, and Alan!!! This is my second favorite thin ribbon aside from the 1920's Custom thin ribbon I bought from Bill about 6 months ago. When a thin ribbon hat has a short crown, it doesn't really look good to me, but when the hat has a really straight tall crown, thin ribbons just look SO GOOD! There are a couple thin spots in the felt just from wear, but as soon as I put a new sweatband into the hat, it will most definately be a daily wearer. Thanks again guys!!

 

[bowlerman]

VERY impressive! You really saw that hat through the thickets of all its experience. way to go!

 

[Joshbru3]

VERY impressive! You really saw that hat through the thickets of all its experience. way to go!

Thanks, Bowlerman!!

 

[buler]

Nicely done Josh. Looks great! You should add it to the "neither wide nor thin" thread.

B

 

[Lefty]

Agreed.

A-Loose-Affiliation-of-Ribbons-Niether-Wide-nor-Thin

 

[Woodfluter]

Great recovery job Josh!

I'd have thought initially that a narrower ribbon would accentuate a shorter crown, but several months back I got a lovely brown Dobbs with a tall, straight crown and a ribbon width about that of yours, and it looks great. Now about my favorite felt to wear, but awaiting cooler weather in the Atlanta heat.

= Bill

 

[Joshbru3]

Nicely done Josh. Looks great! You should add it to the "neither wide nor thin" thread.

B

Agreed.
A-Loose-Affiliation-of-Ribbons-Niether-Wide-nor-Thin

Great recovery job Josh!

I'd have thought initially that a narrower ribbon would accentuate a shorter crown, but several months back I got a lovely brown Dobbs with a tall, straight crown and a ribbon width about that of yours, and it looks great. Now about my favorite felt to wear, but awaiting cooler weather in the Atlanta heat.

= Bill

Thanks for the kind words Gentlemen!!! I will make sure to add it to the "neither wide nor thin" thread today. Woodfluter, I have only had a couple thin ribbons and I have to say, thin ribbons with tall crowns look phenominal. The thin ribbon not only accentuates the tallness of the crown, but if the crown is straight, also accentuates the straightness of the crown as well. I have to say though, I've owned Open Roads and a Stratoliner, but for some reason they just didnt do it for me. However, the Mystery Stetson and the 20's thin ribbon that Buler sold to me are by far two of my favorite hats. Everybody knows that I love 20's and 30's proportions on hats and the mystery Stetson has a 2 3/8 inch brim with a 5 1/2 inch straight crown and the 20's thin ribbon has a 2 1/4 inch brim with a 5 5/8 inch crown. Both of these hats have a higher flange to brim than many Open Roads or Strats, which tend me have a flatter flange. I just think that the shorter brims really excentuate the tall crowns and don't just make then look taller, but make them look nicer. A wide ribbon always feels like a hat that has to be worn with nice clothing to me, but a thin ribbon I believe fills that gap of dress and casual. Just my two cents. Thanks again guys!!!

 

[Joshbru3]

Well, many of you have probably read about the "mystery stetson" I won on ebay this year with a replacement sweatband and no liner. Theres pictures in this thread:

Mystery Stetson Number 1

I saw a hat on etsy yesterday which appeared to have a really nice tall and straight crown. The seller said that there was a small hole where the felt had worn through but I wasn't really concerned with that. The sweatband appeared to have been the same type of replacement sweatband that I had on my Mystery Stetson. I was intrigued and sent the seller an email asking them to check under the sweatband for any labels or size info.

Here's the ETSY photos:

About an hour later the listing was pulled and the seller sent me this message:

"Hi Joshua,

Thanks for stopping in and inquiring about the hat. I'd not thought to look under the sweatband...there is a John B. Stetson paper label. No fraying on the ribbon as the ends appear to be "finished". The "hole" appears to be a tear where the felt has thinned out.

Thanks so much for your question...as I would not have realized the hat was a Stetson. I deactivated the listing as I believe I may have under-priced it. I would however be happy to sell it to you for the original listed price of $18. Let me know if you want it and I will re-activate it "reserved" for you. If I don't hear back from you, I will adjust the price and re list.

Kind regards,
Lisa B"

She also sent me this picture:

ITS A STETSON!!!

So, for $28 shipped, I have another MYSTERY STETSON.

Here's what I posted last week about the SECOND mystery Stetson that I bought. Well it finally came in and I did a bit of work to it. It wasn't until I held it up to the light, that I really saw what it was......

 

[Joshbru3]

Mystery Stetson 2

Here the pictures when It came out of the box:

After a little work.......

 

[Joshbru3]

Mystery Stetson 2 (cont...)

I realized that our suspicious on the lounge were true....ITS A 30'S Playboy. The brim measures at 2 1/4, crown at 5 1/2 with a straight/flat top block, one row of stitching on the raw edge brim, the proper playboy ribbon and absence of any trace of liner. The hat is SO LIGHT and I looked for glue residue from an old, long gone tip sticker, but was unable to find anything. Something told me to hold it up to the light..............

That's right.....its a 30's Stetson Playboy Air-Light!! I can even see minor traces of where the unreaded sweatband was stitched to the hat. I was SO excited.

It seems that many years ago, the sweatband was replaced, but after further inspection, I realized that the sweatband was also fairly old. It looks like what might have happened was the unreeded sweatband pulled out of the hat in the 40's or 50's and the owner had a reeded replacement put in. The sweatband is actually very soft and pliable and is very comfortable to wear.

Here's so pics after putting in a crease...

 

[Joshbru3]

Mystery Stetson 2 (cont...)

 

[hatophile]

Very nice, Josh.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Whatever it is, you did a fantastic job of making it look like a hat again! Great work.

+2

 

[alanfgag]

Super job Josh... did you do anything to repair the tear in the front? It looks great on.

 

[Terry "The Hat"]

Josh,

I may have missed it on here but how did you repair the tear in the felt at the top front of the crown? I realize that you can still see it if you look real close but it looks like you did a great job on that too! What a great find. I've been looking for a Playboy in my size for a long time.

 

[Joshbru3]

Very nice, Josh.

+2

Super job Josh... did you do anything to repair the tear in the front? It looks great on.

Josh,

I may have missed it on here but how did you repair the tear in the felt at the top front of the crown? I realize that you can still see it if you look real close but it looks like you did a great job on that too! What a great find. I've been looking for a Playboy in my size for a long time.

THANK YOU everyone!!!! The tear is still there and I haven't actually "repaired" it yet because I can't decide on what method to use. I used a pin and a stiff brush to pull some of the fibers together and when the steam kicked in the shellac, the felt just kind of stayed put. The tear was obviously from just plain old over-use, but I'm glad that it tore lower than higher on the crown. Once I figure out what kind of glue to use, I will sand the area with a very fine sand paper and you won't even be able to see it. The heather brown felt does a good job of hiding the tear. Besides the tear, the felt is perfect. I tried putting a small area of brown iron on patching inside the crown, but the adhesive wouldn't hold on to the felt.

 

[randooch]

I tried putting a small area of brown iron on patching inside the crown, but the adhesive wouldn't hold on to the felt.

You might try using some fabric glue. Very nice refurbishment!

 

[buler]

Great hat, Josh! Reminds me of "the hat". Always good to see a rescue story.

B