The Cavanagh Club

[DavidJ]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66866377@N03/6086598544/in/photostream/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66866377@N03/6086050963/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66866377@N03/6086053917/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66866377@N03/6086599944/in/photostream/

Couldn't figure out the whole posting pictures thing, so here are links. Hope you enjoy them! Check out my fedoras if you want, the rest are either Dobbs, or just cheap things from dilliards.

 

[Brad Bowers]

David, you've got a nice Cavanagh Homburg, probably late-'50s through the '60s. It has the classic narrow binding and distinctive Homburg curl that Cavanagh used for many decades. It works with the brim turned down in front, but it wasn't meant to do that. Looks like it might be their popular Midnight Blue color.

Brad

 

[DavidJ]

Huh, didn't think that it was a homburg. My mom found it at a garage sale for 50 cents. You can bet that I've started going to garage sales on my own! My guess is that it was an estate sale and they didn't know what they had. It was pretty dirty, and it looked like someone had sat on it... multiple times. Thanks for sharing Brad, it's nice to know what I have.

 

[Brad Bowers]

50 cents was a bargain! Great find for that price.

Here's an early-'50s Cavanagh Homburg in black felt to compare to yours.

Brad

 

[DavidJ]

Thanks for photos, Brad. I can see my hat in those pictures. I may end up reshaping it back to it's former shape. I think it would be more meaningful to have it in its original shape.

 

[Dreispitz]

My guess is that it was an estate sale and they didn't know what they had.

Hm, I reckon they did exactly know what they had. A stinky old lid that went out of fashion long before modern caveman started new age trail migration in the late sixties

[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=l945lQw1Ub4&feature=player_embedded[/video]


...... not!?

 

[Sam Diamond]

I found this hat in a local thrift store yesterday for 20 dollars. It was in the old ratty hat bin. I don't know what kind of felt it has, it's very soft. I think the band is a bit unusual, and I prefer a wider brim. Slightly large for me, I wear a 7 3/8, but I should be able to pad the band. If anybody can date it or offer any trivia about it I would be extremely interested. The original price tag in the brim reads 27.50. I'm glad I was able to rescue this hat!

 

[nightshade13]

I love my Cavanaghs. Not all in the best shape, but beautiful hats nonetheless.

One of my favorite summer hats, a brown straw with green band:

Probably the one that is in the worst condition, but also the first Cavanagh (and one of the first vintage hats) I ever purchased. It is hard to tell in the photos, but it is dark brown in color:

One of my favorite hats, and one I can pull out soon hopefully as the weather gets cooler (which knowing Florida, may not be until January). This is a tan suede hat and was apparently previously owned by an executive of the Checker motor company (which made the original Checker cabs):

And finally, the one in probably the best condition - a nice grey felt:

 

[alanfgag]

I passed along my only Cavanagh a while back... loved the construction, but a very narrow brim that I almost never wore. I've been looking for an older example without much success, but did recently buy this mid century chocolate brown with a 2 1/4" brim. This one will see more time out in the fresh air.

 

[DavidJ]

Nice hat Alan! Was it you that was asking about converting a homburg in the question thread? If so, there's my converted homburg at the top of the page.

 

[delectans]

Very nice Cav, Alan. It is a brother to my milk-chocolate example. The 2-1/4" brim works well with the general proportions of the hat, and along with the straight, tall crown and frayed ribbon, lends it a very distinguished, '30s look.

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks for your comments, AL. The crown height appearance is somewhat accentuated at this camera angle... the hat has signature fifties lines I think, with that Cavanagh formality. I have tried to create as straight a crown as possible with the crease. As I am often guilty of, I think I prefer the brim unsnapped. The felt is excellent quality.

(ps... thank you for weighing in on my iris in that other thread... welcomed and comforting! 8^)

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Very nice Cav, Alan. It is a brother to my milk-chocolate example. The 2-1/4" brim works well with the general proportions of the hat, and along with the straight, tall crown and frayed ribbon, lends it a very distinguished, '30s look.

+1 to Al's comments. The distinguished look benefits from how the hat proudly rises from the top of your head, IMO. The features are singularly classy. The Cav line continues to impress.

Eric -

 

[delectans]

Thanks for your comments, AL. The crown height appearance is somewhat accentuated at this camera angle... the hat has signature fifties lines I think, with that Cavanagh formality. I have tried to create as straight a crown as possible with the crease. As I am often guilty of, I think I prefer the brim unsnapped. The felt is excellent quality.

(ps... thank you for weighing in on my iris in that other thread... welcomed and comforting! 8^)

Interesting to hear your take on the hat's lines. How tall is the crown as you have it creased? I think that beyond camera lens distortion, the smaller size of the hat changes its lines relative to a larger example, further accentuating the appearance of crown height. If the ribbon is 2", as I think it is, I am guessing the crown to be between 4-3/4" and 5".

Regarding my comment on your iris...

 

[alanfgag]

AL, your ribbon guess is right on the money - 2" exactly. The crown open is about 5.5"... as creased, a hair under 4.5".

 

[delectans]

Ah, that explains it. Your ribbon is slightly narrower than the one on my example, which has the same brim width but sports a higher crown.

 

[alanfgag]

I went back to look at your milk chocolate again... definitely cousins of a similar vintage with different proportions.

 

[Levallois]

Bought this off ebay and I can't wait for it to arrive to share. I know Brad Bowers expressed some concern about the Cavanagh edge being ironed? but everything else looks pretty good to my untrained eye for an older Cavanagh hat? Is this hat 1940s-era?

More photos once I get it but here are the auction photos. Thanks for looking.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Most definitely '40s.

A couple of things I noted about the edge led me to believe that it's been ironed by someone - first, the edge doesn't appear to have the usual plumpness one expects from Cavanagh, and second, the read edge of the brim appears to have an unevenness to it that might result from ironing. Cavanagh-edged hats never had their brims ironed at the factory, at least not at Hat Corporation of America. The pleasing flange of the brim was completely natural from the process itself. The hat might have been reflanged at some point in its life.

Either way, it's a beautiful hat, and relatively rare. Most Cavanaghs we see anymore are from the late-'50s onward.

Brad

 

[Levallois]

Thanks Brad. When I get it, we can check it out closer. I need to go back a reread the edge primer thread.