Stetson Quality Experiment "Think Tank"

[Brad Bowers]

and sell it to Hatco.

:eusa_clap


Brad

 

[GWD]

Dinerman's "3x Beaver Quality" is Dated 1942 and has the same "Logo" configuration as the rest of the "Quality" Liners. My Boater is a "Superior Quality" with the same logo configuration.

I would like to ask all those interested to look inside their sweatbands for Date Stamps. I recently sold a Sovereign with a date stamp of 1949. I think they are probably far and few between but it couldn't hurt.

 

[HATCO]

Sorry I can't comment too much at the moment guys busy with a number of projects. I'll try to get the ranking..

I do know that no.1 qualiity didn't mean it was top quality. It actually meant it wasn't a 2nd.

hope that makes sense...

 

[Dinerman]

I'm most curious about the early, different logo.

 

[GWD]

Thanks HATCO! Any help here would be great!

 

[tonyb]

I would like to ask all those interested to look inside their sweatbands for Date Stamps. I recently sold a Sovereign with a date stamp of 1949. I think they are probably far and few between but it couldn't hurt.

The ones sold at the old Chestnut Street factory store in Philadelphia often had a date stamped in ink on the underside of the sweatband. I happen to have one, and I've seen others. I purchased mine, a sky blue Ambassador marked DEC 23 1957, from a seller in the greater Philly area who said it had belonged to her grandfather. On mine, the Chestnut Street mark is pressed into the leather, but without gilding, so you gotta look for it.

 

[GWD]

The ones sold at the old Chestnut Street factory store in Philadelphia often had a date stamped in ink on the underside of the sweatband. I happen to have one, and I've seen others. I purchased mine, a sky blue Ambassador marked DEC 23 1957, from a seller in the greater Philly area who said it had belonged to her grandfather. On mine, the Chestnut Street mark is pressed into the leather, but without gilding, so you gotta look for it.

Thanks Tony, That makes sense, the one I sold was also sold at the factory.

 

[GWD]

Stetson Standard Quality from Johnnyphi's inventory.

Looks to be an older hat due to the un-reeded sweatband. Does anyone have a "Select Quality" liner?

 

[GWD]

This is what I have come up with so far.

The earlier generation I'm guessing 1930's to early 40's range of hats were as follows from low to high;

Standard Quality
Select Quality (I suspect this to be very early 30's The only ones I have seen are a different logo)
Superior Quality
Extra Quality
3X Quality
5X Clear Beaver Quality

I think "No.1 Quality" predates the above.

Next Generation, early 40's-60's I'm guessing is as follows

Royal
Royal DeLuxe / Royal Stetson DeLuxe
Medalist
Sovereign
Imperial
Premier

I'm not certain as to the placement of the "Medalist" and the "Premier"

I've only been able to find two hats with the "Royal Stetson DeLuxe" moniker and they were the "Stetsonian" and the "Flagship" but according to the pricing that Jimmy Dug up they were the same price as the Royal DeLuxe.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I've been told that the No. 1 Quality designation does go way back but has been in use on and off for many decades even into the modern era.

The hat that I've got with that designation does seem to be a real oldie though.

?

 

[GWD]

QUICK BUT IMPORTANT QUESTION

Does anyone here have a Stetson "Fifteen, Twenty, Twenty-Five, Fifty or One Hundred that isn't a Clear Beaver or Open Road?

I'm working on a theory.

 

[tonyb]

Does anyone here have a Stetson "Fifteen, Twenty, Twenty-Five, Fifty or One Hundred that isn't a Clear Beaver or Open Road?

I'm working on a theory.

Yup. Right off the top of my head, I can think of a couple -- a 15 and a 20 -- and if I were to dig through some boxes I may find another lid or two to meet your criteria.

The 15 is a no-model-name job with a Mode edge and a widish brim and a pleated bow. Real nice lid, early '50s or maybe late '40s, I suspect.

The 20 is the Ambassador I alluded to earlier in this thread. It also has a Mode edge. As well as being a 20, it is also identified as a Sovereign.

 

[Dinerman]

a 50 is a clear beaver.

 

[jimmy the lid]

The 20 is the Ambassador I alluded to earlier in this thread. It also has a Mode edge. As well as being a 20, it is also identified as a Sovereign.

Yup -- and The Sovereign just posted by Carter in the eBay thread is also a Stetson Twenty.

Something seems to tell me that I have seen a reference to a Stetson 100 that was not a silver belly OR-style -- I'll see if I can find it.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[GWD]

Thanks! Please post some pictures of Liners and sweats if you have the means and time.

This is fun!

 

[carter]

Yup -- and The Sovereign just posted by Carter in the eBay thread is also a Stetson Twenty.
Something seems to tell me that I have seen a reference to a Stetson 100 that was not a silver belly OR-style -- I'll see if I can find it.
Cheers,
JtL

The Sovereign Twenty I posted also has a mode edge.

I also have a Stetson Twenty-Five OR with a bound brim. THe reorder number is on a tag under the sweatband as well as printed on the reverse of the sweatband. The number is B300424.

I'll post some pictures later this week.

 

[Lefty]

a 50 is a clear beaver.

This alone is enough to keep me flummoxed. What are the designations for clear beaver? We've got both the 7x and earlier 5x marked as clear beaver. According to one of the sources in Debbie Henderson's book, a longtime employee of Stetson, the Stetson 100 and the 7x are the same hat (I assume that the difference is the fancy case). Now you're adding the 50 as a clear beaver (which I now just saw for the first time on another site), which would make the early 5x, 7x, 50 and 100 the same hat, at least in terms of ORs...right? [huh]

 

[Lefty]

Here's something to add to the fun. Check out the second full paragraph.

 

[jimmy the lid]

For related musings, you may want to check out this thread (which includes that same passage from "The Cowboy at Work"). Unfortunately, I'm not sure how much that thread actually "clears" things up.

Here's a related ad that also offers a glimpse of quality grades in Stetson western lids, based on price:

To address something Lefty said above -- I have always wondered what it was about the Stetson 100 that actually commanded double the price of a 7X Clear Beaver. I have a Stetson 100 -- it is a beautiful lid. But twice the price ? Hmmmmm....

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Lefty]

That old thread goes to prove something that I've known for quite a while - you and feltfan are miles ahead of most of us. You're right about the thread's value though. You guys asked all the right questions, but the answers just didn't come.

I was thinking of that ad as I typed my post. It raises the question of whether there was a 7x that was not designated as clear beaver.