Stetson Flagship

[Dinerman]

I was wearing this hat today when we went to visit some old friends of my dad. My dad's friend commented that he had a few old hats that he had picked up years ago which he never wore anymore, and would I like them.
He went to the closet, and pulled down two hats, this Stetson Flagship, and a Knox superfine homburg.

The Flagship was originally sold at V and V mens shop in oakley, CA for $12.50 (according to a sticker under the sweatband).

The hat has an underwelt, but the stitching doesn't come through the top of the felt like on the welted edges I have on other hats.

Brim is 2-3/4 inches.
5-1/2 inch crown.

and I love the ribbon color.

 

[cooncatbob]

Nice score.
BTW how many hats do you have? I'm new here and it seem like every day you have a new acquisition.

 

[Dinerman]

I have far far too many (over 30?) I can't be completely sure without counting. And I've been on a bit of a buying binge recently as well.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Very cool. The brown felt/orange-ish ribbon combo is a unique look. If memory serves me, your Flagship is almost identical to the Flagship that Douglas posted a few months back...You gotta love your Dad's friends!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[DOUGLAS]

Very Nice aquisition Dman!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[tonyb]

what's the difference in age between a Royal stetson deluxe and a Royal deluxe stetson?

I was wondering the same thing. You almost gotta think those naming decisions were made rather willy-nilly back then.
As I recall, the Flagship was an upmarket offering. But that $12.50 original price wouldn't have been particularly expensive by mid-1950s (and later) standards, so that sorta indicates that the hat predates that. But, who knows? (James?) I have a Mode Edge Stetson Fifteen (as in $15 new) that dates from the late '40s or early '50s, as best the sleuths here can determine, and that hat of yours seems every bit as old. And I have a similarly styled beater Disney Ahwahnee with an almost identical ribbon color; I've seen a magazine ad dating from 1941 that shows the very hat.
Does that underwelt provide a clue? Anyone?

 

[Razzman]

Wow, the Stetson Flagship is fantastic. Great color and ribbon combo. You're a lucky guy. You seem to be in the right place at the right time.
Congratulations, you have some fine lids. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Dinerman]

Yeah- when he said he had some old hats, I was expecting some beat up '60s hats, not nice '40s stuff.

I'm guessing this hat originally had a liner, because the felt is pretty heavy weight.

Also of note, this hat has the thin sweatband, but it is made of the smoth leather instead of the textured stuff that they used later.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Dman your liner probobly looked something like this

Mine is dated 1951 and also sold for $12.50.
It also started with an underwelt.

 

[Dinerman]

Douglas, your hat (prior to restoration) and my had do have some differences. It's all little stuff, but I think it's interesting.

Your underwelt had stitching that goes through the top of the brim, mine does not.





Your sweatband originally had the john B Stetson script under the crest. Mine does not.
Yours had the Royal DeLuxe stetson script, mine has the Royal Stetson Deluxe old english lettering
yours was reeded. Mine is sewn directly to the felt.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Yeah, it is interesting how much variation there can be in one model. My sweatband has Royal DeLuxe Stetson printed however the liner has Royal Stetson DeLuxe. Perhaps yours is a bit older than mine since I think the finer details were usually used when the model was first produced. I could be wrong though.

 

[Duck]

Very nice, Dinerman. I would like to add a Flagship to my meager collection.

 

[fastball]

Flagship

Nice Flagship,
I saw and ad showing the stratoliner which is a royal model and a flagship which I think higher grade of the same model because it was a Royal Deluxe.
the strat was 10.00 and the flagship was 12.50. I used to do gold stamping years ago and I bet stetson just has different dye designs, in the same shop or in different locations that they use. It might just depend on which dye the printer puts in the hot stamper that day. Dyes wear out and they could have just made a new one with a different design. I know that stetson has had different plants over the years and the sweatbands may not all be made in the same location. I think they were in Philadelphia, St. Louis and Texas. I think some stetsons were also made in Mallory shops and some may have been made in Montreal Canada.
fastball

 

[carter]

A Blast From the Past

Here's some more information for the Stetson Flagship thread.
This is a Royal De Luxe Flagship in mid-grey with a 2 3/4" brim - 1/4" overwelt - 3 rows of stitching, 7/8" coordinating ribbon - top and bottom stitched, and a 5 1/4" Open Crown. It was cleaned and reblocked by Jimmy Pierce and the sweatband was replaced. I retained the old sweatband in the box.

One of the American Airlines Flagship hatboxes, in better condition, sold here:
http://www.cabinclass.com/items/airline/souvenirs/14115.htm

 

[Rick Blaine]

STUNNING

Here's some more information for the Stetson Flagship thread.
This is a Royal De Luxe Flagship in mid-grey with a 2 3/4" brim - 1/4" overwelt - 3 rows of stitching, 7/8" coordinating ribbon - top and bottom stitched, and a 5 1/4" Open Crown. It was cleaned and reblocked by Jimmy Pierce and the sweatband was replaced. I retained the old sweatband in the box.

Man-o-man Oh Manishevitz! I dunno if I have ever seen such a silver beauty, what a heart stopper. >Whew< Oh, man is that ever sweet... and I really love the ribbon. Just lovely, Carter! Top flight all the way. One more for the list of gotta-haves.

 

[carter]

RB, Glad you like it. The earliest reference I have for the Flagship is 1946 when Stetson partnered with American Airlines and their Flagship Fleet in Stetson's National Branding Campaign. Stetson featured a hat they named for the tie-in. Thus, the Stetson Flagship. Dates somewhere from 1946 to the early 50's is my best guestimate.

 

[RobFedoraField]

wow...

Here's some more information for the Stetson Flagship thread.
This is a Royal De Luxe Flagship in mid-grey with a 2 3/4" brim - 1/4" overwelt - 3 rows of stitching, 7/8" coordinating ribbon - top and bottom stitched, and a 5 1/4" Open Crown. It was cleaned and reblocked by Jimmy Pierce and the sweatband was replaced. I retained the old sweatband in the box.

if that's a 7 1/4 or 7 3/8 and you ever get bored of it, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PM me!

 

[GoneSolo]

Carter. What a Flagship! This is yet another model that had changes throughout the years. Here are two more examples:





Here is a rare color - Cadet Blue I've never seen one in this color.

 

[Lefty]

Nice hats!
GS, I've got a date on that ad of 1949. Here are a few more.

1947 - the ribbon looks pretty thin on this one.

1948 (based on the date of The Emperor Waltz)

1950

Carter, please show the '46 ad.

 

[GoneSolo]

Here is a post by Daniel Jones with the '46 ad.


Apparently, the flagship was also sold as a straw hat (#3).