Lincoln Bennett Cranwell Hat Info help Please

[Vintage Troves]

Hi all, new to this forum, always loved vintage hats, my dad used to have some great ones which sadly were scattered some time passed.

I have bought an amazing hat in great condition at a charity sale for £12 and would really appreciate some advice and info from the experts! I can't seem to find this particular model on any searches, I just come up with bowlers and top hats.

It has 'Cranwell' inside the hat and I thought that might be the name of it. It does ring a bell but I just don't know. Also I think it is some kind of hair maybe... but not certain. It is in amazing condition, has been stored and looked after very well. I will probably sell it on but wanted to know a rough value as these hats do seem to vary a lot. Have seen some styles on ebay at 30 and some at 150.. and apart from condition and fabric I have little to go by in terms of how to value it...

so i'm pretty in the dark here.

Will post some images would love some help with the following..

Date?
Fabric?
Style info?
Value?

Any other info too!

 

[Frunobulax]

Apparently, Lincoln & Bennet were in business from 1863-1966. Cranwell is likely the model name. Most undoubtedly fur felt, and you'll find the makeup of the fur felt impossible to determine.

A little more Lincoln Bennet discussion here.

Just judging by appearances, late 50s, 60s. I won't hazard a guess as to value in your neck of the woods, but it likely wouldn't command much over $30 here in the States.

 

[Vintage Troves]

Hiya, thanks so much for your reply. Fur felt sounds spot on. I had thought it might be earlier than that Maybe 40's or 50's as it had come from an elderly gentleman's collection though I will go with your suggestion just as easily. Is it the recent date of it that reduces it's value stateside? I did a general search for Lincoln Bennett hats on ebay and some fetch very attractive amounts. I have seen huge disparity in prices though and am a bit miffed. Really appreciate your taking the time to reply.

 

[Frunobulax]

No prob, and I'm at the low end of the knowledge scale. I think it's 50s, possibly 60s based on two things, the plastic liner tip (hatters added these in the 50s to combat the goo guys started putting on their hair) and the sweatband, which says 60s to me because of the quality of the imprints and it's black color.

Higher prices, at least stateside, go to lids with higher crowns and bigger brims. The low crown stingys, while they can be high quality hats, just aren't as popular.

 

[tommyK]

+1 what Fruno said.

VT, it's the tall straight sided crowns, 5 1/2-6 inch and big brims in the 2 1/2-3 inch range that fetch bigger prices. If it were a Stetson or a Borsalino that helps a lot for a better price. Larger sizes are a big factor in value as well.

 

[RJR]

Welcome and please continue to contribute and question.

 

[Vintage Troves]

Thanks so much for the really interesting contributions, much appreciated. Great to find such knowledgable people around, thank you internet.

 

[Vintage Troves]

I shall be taking my newfound knowledge with me whenever i look at hats.... love to find out how to date the high quality hats... always had a thing for trilby's, my father had an amazing one... i know none of the details of it but can picture it pretty clearly and it was a stunner.

 

[Dreamofgilgamesh]

Just pop it on your head, take a photo and let's all have a look.