Palco with hidden stitching sweat (patent)

[buler]

Recently got this Palco Ten sold thru Hughes & Hatcher of Pittsburgh-Detroit. What I found interesting was the sweatband has the foldover, hidden stitching. I remember some discussion of these in the past but couldn't find the thread. Anyway, there is a Palco patent # 1814057 describing Stephen Palinkos 1931 sweatband.
PatentLink

The hat is unworn and would be mint except for 4 moth nips around the top of the brim. Its a deep chocolate brown that is hard to photograph. Brim has a fairly wide overwelt. Original price tag of $10 under the sweat. The tufted liner has a clear plastic liner tip cover.

B

 

[reetpleat]

Wow. A palco. perhaps we should start a club called the palco pals. I have one, but it is too small. I think marc has or had one.

 

[La Strada]

Heres my recently acquired Palco!

 

[Dinerman]

How's that one working out for you La Strada?

 

[La Strada]

How's that one working out for you La Strada?

Thanks for asking Dinerman. Thought this might have been yours. I'm really liking it!!! Pretty much perfect fit and proportions for me. I was able to spot tone the imperfections using a sepia toned photographic dye that came out very well.
Nick

 

[Denton]

Palco "Thistle"

There are a few old threads that feature hats made by Palco. I'm reviving this one because it already includes pictures of two different hats, to which I am adding a third. Also, my new hat uses the patented sweatband from which this thread takes its unglamorous name.



The above image is from the sweatband of the Palco "Thistle" hat. Spiral stitching all the way through the hat, brim and crown. Felt ribbon. Felt brim binding! Crown, 6 inches; brim, 2.5. Major taper in the crown. Some Trachten hat influence in the design, I'm guessing?

I promise to post slightly better pictures tomorrow. In the meantime, these images might tell you something:



The felt is unidentifiable to my inexpert hand. The texture is so rough that I almost can't feel the direction of the nap. It's also rather stiff, for a soft felt. The closest thing to it that I have encountered is a Stetson Vita-Felt. My hunch is that there is some wool in the mix, or a lot of wool. Or maybe something else. This hat doesn't seem to behave like a plastic felt experiment, but that is a possibility too.

Mark Chevalier's description of a 1930's Palco "Grouse" felt could be substituted for mine: "a fuzzy, hairy, very slightly wiry felt that looks a lot like a wool/rabbit fur mix."

Other pictures that may be useful. Behold the Palco reorder tag:



Model name:



The size tag looks similar to one of Buler's Palco hats:



My hat was originally sold by J. Press, as seen in the tip sticker under the oilskin:



The seller thought that it was made in the 1950s. Could be. I have two other guesses. My first guess is that it was made in the 1940s in an attempt to use as few materials as possible that were necessary for the war effort. My second guess is that it was made at the same time as Marc Chevalier's 1930s hat. The model names "Thistle" and "Grouse" sound as though they might be part of the same series of country style hats. These are just stabs in the dark, since I can't see any of Marc's pictures.

I would love to learn more, if anyone can help.

 

[Denton]

Palco "Thistle" in the light of day

I'm really enjoying this hat so far. It has a lovely taupe color with brown-red ribbon and beige brim binding.

The felt responds well to cold water cleaning and creasing. When wet, it has a distinctive smell that I associate with fur felt, so there may be some fur in it as well as wool.

Not a self ribbon, strictly speaking. The felt used for the ribbon and binding doesn't have the scratchy texture of the hat body.









If I understand this thread correctly, the company name "Palco" is not an abbreviation of "company," but rather an abbreviation of the founder's name "Palinkos"? Seemingly unrelated to the Pressed Aluminum Company, also known as Palco, based in Massachusetts. Although there was a moment yesterday when I thought, "Eureka! The material of this hat must be some weird textile made from aluminum."

 

[carouselvic]

 

[Denton]

Better photos of my Palco "Thistle":

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[RJR]

Interesting hats.

 

[tommyK]

I can't believe there hasn't been more comments on these cool hats. Aside from being great looking hats in general the hidden stitching on the sweatband is an interesting part of hat history.

I wonder if the Palco box is even more rare than the hats!

 

[besdor]

They are hard to come by. The company went out of business during the 1960's. All I know is that the owners were Greek.