The Bowler or Derby Hat

[alanfgag]

Thanks for reposting this Al, very interesting indeed.

 

[alanfgag]

One more photo of the premier derby after steam cleaning and dent removal.

 

[randooch]

C'est fantastique! Nice work removing the dents. Was that a tricky process?

 

[alanfgag]

Actually, no.

I expected it to be a pain. Stetson used a thin paperboard backing behind the crown liner. In my 40s Royal DeLuxe derby the silk was glued directly to this and it would crease if you pressed from the inside to raise the dents. The liner really needed to be removed in that case (which I did). On this one the board is separated from the silk allowing a light press from inside. But most of the lumpiness came out on its own with steam and brushing.Only a few isolated dents remained, and I was able to press these out pretty easily.

 

[bowlerman]

bowlers in the night

 

[randooch]

I'm a little disappointed to see that you weren't even going 30 MPH when you snapped that shot. Or were you doing 110+ in a residential?

 

[bowlerman]

Randall, how did I know you'd be the first to catch that!?
I had kids in the car, man!

 

[mayserwegener]

Here are some interesting Melone from the Novy Jicin, Czech Republic City Hat Museum.

 

[randooch]

Boy, did they ever mail that the hard way!

 

[bowlerman]

lol


Steve-- I've said it before, but those photos are wonderful. Were there some more that you posted quite awhile back? Those long hairs (a natural looking one and the teal) just blow me away.

 

[mayserwegener]

Thanks! There are a couple others. I wish could have taken better photos. I have to believe they have the finest hat collection in the world. The total collection is around 6000 hats (a few hundred on display). Here is the link to all the photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26044488@N04/sets/72157626379615437/

 

[Chepstow]

Steve, a great collection of wonderful Photos.

 

[LocktownDog]

Asked this in the question section, but to no avail. Repeating it here for the experts.

I just saw the Hercule Poirot episode Four & Twenty Blackbirds from 1989 on Netflix. In it, Suchet wore a flat black "derby". I am looking for a photo of it and where to find one. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[bowlerman]

I haven't seen this Poirot, but when you say "flat black derby" the elusive Bowker hat immediately comes to mind.http://www.polyvore.com/live_history_in_london_churchill/thing?id=16668684

Close?

No idea where to find them. you might ask around to see if any of the hatters around here have a block like that.

I once came across a website that claimed they could do "any" old time style of hat, and provided sketches of the bowker, along with many other versions of bowlers and derbies. I don't believe anyone here has posted any hats from this company, at least not since I've joined. If I can find the website I'll edit this post to include it.

Actually here it is:

http://www.morenohats.com/customhats.htm

 

[LocktownDog]

That is indeed very close. I may try to get a screen capture from the episode and post it. Thanks!

 

[LocktownDog]

Screen capture of the hat ... the best I could do.

 

[bowlerman]

From that shot, the hat appears like a regular low crowned derby to me. There have been so many different blocks used for those hats, some flatter at the top, almost like a loaf of bread, but the top of the sides still appear too rounded for it to bump up into the bowker category.

I have a couple of Dobbs derbies that seem to have a similar profile and scope, not that I would suggest he's wearing a Dobbs, but the blocking looks similar. I will post those here when I get the chance.

 

[bowlerman]

Some profile comparisons. I tried to arrange all of my bowlers (straws excluded) at a similar angle as your screen capture. Sorry for the poor lighting. I didn't have the time to bring them all up from the basement to the natural light.

Almost all my vintage ones (I have one currently out there waiting to get a new sweatband):

Of those, these would be real vintage (1928 thru 1940s); L to R: 30s Mallory Frankenbowler, Stetson royal deluxe, Sarnoff -Irving, 1928 Kaufmann.

The Mallory has one of my favorite profiles, with just a slight taper on the front and back of the crown, the last two look more like the profile you're looking for, and the Stetson is considerably more bulbous.

These are "later vintage" probably from 1960-1980s. L to R: Mallory torino, Anonymous navy blue, Dobbs in black, Dobbs in grey, Eilermann. The Eilermann is a small hat with a neat, slightly tapered profile and a flatter top than the others. The Dobbs hats are fuller-- all of these are more conforming than the first group.

My custom bowlers: Knudsen chocolate Bat Masterson (note the higher crown and wider, western brim curl. It also has a front and back taper due to my own oversteaming.), Dark Moss bowler by Baron Hats, and Clearwater Hats black derby.

The Baron has a more straight sided high crown, but still domes more on the top than most of the vintage models. They even tried to handshape something reminiscent of the D'Orsay curl. The Clearwater is a nice soft felt, not pounced much, with a wider brim and kind of western evenly curled pencil roll.

 

[Chepstow]

Oh man, what a great collection. Respectful Jeff

 

[LocktownDog]

Thank you for this. I appreciate the effort you put into it.