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Messages
15,276
Location
Somewhere south of crazy
pw055.jpg

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Emerson Homburg ? 40's?

BTW, sharp Barbisio Robert.
 

BR Gordon

One Too Many
Messages
1,152
Location
New Mexico
I don't know why the cattleman's crease doesn't get any love. All three of my ORs are cattleman creases and I like 'em.

Maybe it's a Texas thing...

I love the cattleman's crease, but to me it looks better on a western hat. I can't get my mind around the OR as a western hat, it's too dressy.
 

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
.

And here is the Game Bird's sworn enemy: the Stetson RAILBIRD. Subjected to one of the silliest lawsuits in hatmaking history. Read on...


It's a long story, so I'll summarize. In 1950, the John B. Stetson Company launched a new fedora model: the 'Railbird'. Made of silk (yes, silk) and fur felt, it was sporty and allegedly "crushable" (even though it wrinkled!)


For some reason, Hat Corporation of America --the maker of Dobbs 'Game Bird' fedoras-- lost its corporate mind and sued Stetson, arguing that (1) there is a real bird in nature called a railbird, and (2) real railbirds are a type of game bird, so (3) the typical hat customer will accidentally buy a Stetson 'Railbird' fedora while thinking that he is buying a type of Dobbs 'Game Bird' fedora ... because he will have been "confused, misled or deceived into believing that the hat so marked emanates from the same source." Clearly, Hat Corporation of America was convinced that its customers were foggy ornithologists.


Preposterous? Yes. Luckily for Stetson, the courts ultimately agreed, saying "The marks do not look alike, do not sound much alike and have distinctly different connotations."


Here is a 1954 version of the offending Railbird itself:



IMG_4292.jpg


IMG_4294.jpg


IMG_4293.jpg
 
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.
And here is the Game Bird's sworn enemy: the Stetson RAILBIRD. Subjected to one of the silliest lawsuits in hatmaking history. Read on...


It's a long story, so I'll make it short. In 1950, the John B. Stetson Company launched a new model fedora: the 'Railbird'. Made of silk (yes, silk) and fur felt, it was a sporty, allegedly "crushable" (even though it wrinkled!) lid.


For some reason, Hat Corporation of America (the maker of Dobbs "Game Bird" fedoras) lost its mind and sued Stetson, arguing that (1) there is a real bird in nature called a railbird, and (2) real railbirds are a type of game bird, so (3) the typical hat customer will accidentally buy a Stetson "Railbird" fedora while thinking that he is buying a type of Dobbs 'Game Bird' fedora ... because he will have been "confused, misled or deceived into believing that the hat so marked emanates from the same source."


Preposterous? Yes. Luckily for Stetson, the courts ultimately agreed. "The marks do not look alike, do not sound much alike and have distinctly different connotations."


And here is a 1954 version of the offending Railbird itself:


IMG_4292.jpg


IMG_4294.jpg


IMG_4293.jpg

I had a chance to buy one for nearly nothing a few years ago. I suppose I shouldn't have passed on it. :p
 

rlk

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,100
Location
Evanston, IL
Must be the Best Hat Ever

Impervious to rain and holds its shape while incredibly smooth in the hand. Even adjusts for a perfect fit.

Dupont Polyethylene Resin Waterproof Hat. Yes, it is a snap brim that will curl up or down.

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Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Impervious to rain and holds its shape while incredibly smooth in the hand. Even adjusts for a perfect fit.

Dupont Polyethylene Resin Waterproof Hat. Yes, it is a snap brim that will curl up or down.


YES!!! I'm so glad you posted this!


I've seen this exact type of hat only once before: it (actually, about six of 'em) was shelved away in the merchandise warehouse of a Ventura, California haberdashery that had opened in the 1890s and closed in 1974. The warehouse's vintage deadstock contents were purchased by a friend in 1993, and he and I found amazing things in there ... including this DuPont hat! My friend kept one for himself; I didn't, alas.


I've not seen another like it since 1993, though I've been looking. Thanks again!
 
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