Stetson felt question

[Art Fawcett]

Gents I was told long ago that the Royal Stetson was introduced in 1947 but never tried to verify it because of the source, so nothing earlier than that would work. I know this wont help date the hat other than to offer an "earliest date" for you.

 

[Fedorista]

... It says Royal Stetson Vita-Felt on the liner and band, but there is not any good info under the band about the manufacture location...

Vita-Felt was only produced for a couple years after being introduced in 1940 - 1941.

Gents I was told long ago that the Royal Stetson was introduced in 1947 but never tried to verify it because of the source, so nothing earlier than that would work...

The Vita-Felts I've seen were Royal Stetsons.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Thats a much earlier introduction than my research has indicated Fedorista, can you help me out & point to where it can be researched? I am always looking to learn more.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Thanks guys, that at least puts me in the right era.

 

[Fedorista]

Art, there is an old Stetson ad that shows hats raised at a ship launching. Captioned "LAUNCHED!" for the new Vita-Felt process, it reads "Stetson 'Royal Stetson' Vita-Felts." I have seen it dated as early as 1940, but no date on the ad itself.

Vita-Felts are definitely as old as 1942 because I've seen a Stetson Eagle ad which touts the "exclusive Stetson Vita-Felt process."

 

[feltfan]

I have a Vita-Felt Stetson that looks pretty darn old.

Here is the sweatband:

It's a soft roan sweat, like the ones I see in hats from the 30s and
before (tho I wouldn't guess it's that old).

Here's the liner. Sorry it's a bit washed out in the photo
but I'm tight on time:

The lettering on both look pretty darn old fashioned to me.
Any guesses?

As I recall, in an earlier thread Powers said he thought
Vita-Felt was introduced in 1942, but I don't recall why
he thought that.

 

[Matt Deckard]

OK - weirder still, I found the little red-and-white tag which calimed it was made by Stetson in Canada. the tag looked exactly like the ones which came from Philadelphia, only it said it came from somewhere in Canada (it's soaking in the sink just now and I can't get to to it to tell you exactly what it said).

weird, no? I didn't even realize that Stetson made hats in Canada.

According to the current owner of Biltmore, Biltmore used to own the Stetson name in Canada.

 

[Dickie]

This is somewhat late for this thread but I have a Stetson Homburg made in England in 1968 (I know this as the box it came in has March 1968 stamped on it and it has the box logo stamped into the hat) which has exactly the same markings and liner symbols as yours...

 

[feltfan]

This is somewhat late for this thread but I have a Stetson Homburg made in England in 1968 (I know this as the box it came in has March 1968 stamped on it and it has the box logo stamped into the hat) which has exactly the same markings and liner symbols as yours...

Assuming you're talking about my Vita-Felt Stetson,
remember a couple of things:

- boxes and hats don't always match.
My own closet has lots of hats in boxes that are not original.

- some markings were used a long time with slight variations in
printing style and typeface.

Note that the sweatband on my Stetson is not "reeded". That is,
the leather is sewn directly to the felt. It has been many decades
since Stetson put together hats like that. I doubt any hat company
was doing that after the 40s.

Dating hats can be pretty challenging.

 

[Justdog]

Stetson Soveriegn 20 OR

If a Stetson Soveriegn 20 OR does not not have xx in the band does that mean it is pure felt? When did the X system originate?

 

[Woodfluter]

For what little it's worth, I recently purchased on OFAS a Stetson "The Sovereign" that seems to have a non-reeded sweatband, and it says "Vita-Felt" at the front of the sweatband. The dark brown sweatband is slightly fragile...I'm working on it with glue in places and dressing...but it has a wide ribbon plus a stingy brim (2 inches), so I thought it was possibly early '50s era. Could it be earlier? I thought the narrow brims came in mid-century. Maybe I'm wrong.

Side note: This is the finest felt I've ever seen. Real Cavanagh edge, thick but flexible, shapes wonderfully easily.

Any hints as to age?

- Bill

 

[thunderw21]

For what little it's worth, I recently purchased on OFAS a Stetson "The Sovereign" that seems to have a non-reeded sweatband, and it says "Vita-Felt" at the front of the sweatband. The dark brown sweatband is slightly fragile...I'm working on it with glue in places and dressing...but it has a wide ribbon plus a stingy brim (2 inches), so I thought it was possibly early '50s era. Could it be earlier? I thought the narrow brims came in mid-century. Maybe I'm wrong.

Side note: This is the finest felt I've ever seen. Real Cavanagh edge, thick but flexible, shapes wonderfully easily.

Any hints as to age?

- Bill

Mid-1950s to early 1960s would be my guess.

 

[feltfan]

Very hard to say without a photo.

Hard to believe Stetson still made hats without
reeded sweatbands into the 50s. Anyone know?

We have discussed Vita-felt before, so have a look
at the archives. My (faulty) memory tells me Stetson
started to use this name around 1941.

Sounds like a nice hat. Let's see it.

 

[jimmy the lid]

My (faulty) memory tells me Stetson
started to use this name around 1941.

I have come across ads for Vita-Felt lids dating from 1942, 1943 and 1944.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[mingoslim]

Not to pick a fight with my fellow loungers . . .

it says "Vita-Felt" at the front of the sweatband . . .
Any hints as to age?
- Bill

I am pretty sure that Stetson launched its "Vita-Felt" process in 1941 or so, and that the tage had pretty much disappeared by the end of the War . . .
That would date your fedora to the early to mid 40s . . .

Remember . . . even though wide brims is considered the style of the 40s, and narrower brims came into style in the 50s . . . There were exceptions to brim widths, just as there are now. And narrower brims (2inches) were very much in style in the 30s, so you may have a 40s hat that is styled "old school".

Of course, with a pic, we could perhaps say more . . .

 

[Woodfluter]

I am pretty sure that Stetson launched its "Vita-Felt" process in 1941 or so, and that the tage had pretty much disappeared by the end of the War . . .
That would date your fedora to the early to mid 40s . . .

Remember . . . even though wide brims is considered the style of the 40s, and narrower brims came into style in the 50s . . . There were exceptions to brim widths, just as there are now. And narrower brims (2inches) were very much in style in the 30s, so you may have a 40s hat that is styled "old school".

Of course, with a pic, we could perhaps say more . . .

Thanks Mingoslim. This is helpful.
You wanted pics, we got pics:









Note:
1. The sweatband is reeded and is black. Soft and thin.
2. "Vita-Felt" is in a different (Courier) font from the other example posted here.
3. The liner is cream-colored, and the plastic insert at top has a nice welt around it.
4. It is definitely a Cavanagh edge.
5. The model name seems to be "The Sovereign".
6. This is the softest, most velvety and dense felt I've ever...felt. Like thick butter.

So what think you?

Also, re shorter brims being "in" during the '30s, yep. This is a picture of the framed cover of Farmers' Wife for June 1932 (the Magazine for Farm Women, More than A Million Circulation) that hangs on the wall over my computer.



- Bill

 

[mingoslim]

Great Looking Hat

And it does look very 30s to me . . .
But the lining, sweat, and logo all beg it as being late 1960s or early 1970s, in my honest opinion . . .

Still . . . very sharp . . .
And it just goes to show that the Vita-Felt tag did survie the War years . . .

Mark

 

[Woodfluter]

And it does look very 30s to me . . .
But the lining, sweat, and logo all beg it as being late 1960s or early 1970s, in my honest opinion . . .
Mark

Yep, that was what I was thinking...I was guessing 1960s based on sweat and logo, possibly near end of Cavanagh brim treatment. But the style is ambiguous.

Like I said, this is truly amazing felt. As a sort of measure, with its slightly lower crown and shorter brim it still weighs 5.2 oz which is the same as the Federation IV Deluxe and an Open Road I have in the same size. Yet is isn't stiff at all, very soft but dense and thick, and possessing a kind of plastic memory. I really don't want to start another thread to ask this, but does anyone make felt like this anymore? Do any of the custom hatmakers that frequent this board have access to this quality?
- Bill