The International Wool Felt Consortium

[steur]

Here is a French Wool homburg and recent find, probably from 20s-30s

@mayserwegener , @Daniele Tanto , @steur , @Mean Eyed Matt and all woolie-lovers would you care to post some of these "inferior" hats here?

That is a beauty, Panos. The bow is out of this world obviously.

 

[steur]

I've posted a few a couple of pages back, but here's another.
Negretti bowler. Negretti is a sheep-variety of the distant past, so a woolfelt. Steve (@mayserwegener) posted one a few pages back. Size 57 with the brim at 5cm and the crown at 12 cm. I comment now and again that I would buy a hat for the liner alone, but I rarely do. This is one of those cases though. It's colour purple makes me wonder if this might have been the pope's leisure hat. When it arrived there was so little life in it left that for a moment I thought it was a homburg. Steam brought it back, but it's not nearly as stiff as other bowlers I have. Interesting is the designation "Real Russia" on the sweatband. It refers to a tanning process which originates from Russia and uses birchbark for the tanning. There's a tiny hole in the front brim and some damage to the brim binding. Very interesting if only for historic reasons. Very old, but I'm not certain which decade exactly. No label inside the hat unfortunately.

 

[steur]

St. George Cappellificio Monzese fedora in a blue grey. Size 57 with the bound brim at 6,5cm and the crown 10cm at the pinch. Woolfelt hat that is not in a great condition, but the colour is nice and I got it cheap. Interesting enough to bring it along. I put a new ribbon on it and I may change the liner too. The hatters from Monza were known for their woolfelt hats.

 

[steur]

Attaboy in black size 57. Raw edge brim at 6cm and crown at 10 cm at the pinch. Unlined with a cloth crown patch. This is a woolfelt hat that was shaped in an ugly low crown shape. With a bit of steaming it took its current form perfectly however, which I didn't expect from a woolfelt hat. Attaboy was a brand made by the Denton Hat Company in Denton, England. There were several hat companies in Denton and there still is one today called Denton Hats. I'm not sure if it's the same company though.
The hat was sold by Jacobs & Vles which was based originally at the Keizersgracht 407 in Amsterdam. The company was bought in 1976 by a man called Petje ("caps") Mulder of NNP (Noord Nederlandse Pettenfabriek) based in Musselkanaal, Groningen. The company still exists but deals in textiles these days.

 

[steur]

Peltrier of Bonneval, France woolfelt hat with backbow from the turn of the previous century. Size 55 (but I can just wear it) with the generous overwelt brim at 5cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. Seller wrote that he found it wrapped in a newspaper from 1899 (pity he didn't send that along). The felt is coarse, it doesn't want to hold a shape very well and the finishing materials are pedestrian to say the least. But as a survivor hat I think it's great and it shows the kind of hat likely worn by a majority of people.
The initials in the coat of arms are MJ it seems, but I can't think of a manufacturer with those initials.

 

[steur]

Extra Light backbow fedora in woolfelt. Size 55 (but with a small nudge made it fit me) with the raw edge brim at 5cm and the crown at 11,5cm at the center dent. Belgian seller had it listed as a bowler hat, because it was open crown. The hat is pre-war and probably Belgian made. With some steam it holds its shape very well. Certainly not a refined hand and the brim was cut by hand with scissors, because it feels somewhat uneven. The crease that was showing makes me think it had a crease clip once. I gave it this crease because it seemed to fit its age. Extra light for a woolfelt of the time maybe, but still weighs 134 grams. A nice woollen survivor.

 

[steur]

"Sedeco" homburg in black by Zimmermann&Co Hutfabrik, Bern. Size 56 or 57 (no label inside the hat). Unreeded sweatband that was reattached at some point, text embossed on the sweat. Unlined with cloth crown patch. Wide ribbon with boxpleat bow. Brim at 6 cm and crown 11 cm at the pinch. With a wind trolley that seems to be damaged. I think this one is from the thirties. Maybe woolfelt, but probably a mix.

 

[steur]

Germania hat in what appears to be grey, but is actually more lilac (and it says so on the label). Unreeded sweatband with a sweatband cord all the way around, unlined (and never was) and crown patch missing. Raw edge brim with four rows of stitching at 6,3 cm and crown at 10 cm at the pinch. The hat has a back bow that is slightly off centre, as is the sweatband. The finishing not consistent with the blocking therefore. If not completely wool, then at least a high wool content of the felt. Very soft and supple; it seems like hardly any shellac was used. It can be worn with the brim down, but it kind of naturally sits with the brim curved up this way.

 

[steur]

Harald backbow in black. Size 57 with the brim at 6cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Probably a woolfelt or at least in large part wool. Unreeded sweatband with the cord running all the way round. No labels inside the hat unfortunately. Something tells me this is German manufacture. The flat brim flange is very unusual (and the reason I bought it). Probably 1920's or 1930's.

 

[steur]

E. Trescher fedora in black woolfelt. Size 57 with the raw edge brim at 6cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Some shape to the brim, but the crown is very soft. Certainly pre-war. E. Trescher was called Hut Trescher later. Allright, so it is woolfelt and it needs some work, but man, that liner. Unfortunaltely no label inside the hat, so no telling who the manufacturer was. The liner logo is not one I recognize.

 

[steur]

Sools de Luxe fedora in sand/grey. Very hard to make out the exact colour. Again no label inside the hat, but most likely Mossant is the maker. This hat is a very early one, probably thirties. Brim with overwelt edge with four rows of stitching sits at 6,5cm and the very tall crown is creased now with the (deep) pinch at 11,5cm (to match their advertising poster). Wide ribbon on this one. Unlined with just a cloth patch inside the crown. Very soft hat with a lovely hand to the felt. Likely a mixed felt of wool and fur.

 

[PanosChris]

Fantastic woolies, Stefan! Thank you for replying to the call These old wool hats are on a different league and have nothing to do with modern wool hats obviously, neither they are more prone to shrinkage

 

[mayserwegener]

I've posted a few a couple of pages back, but here's another.
Negretti bowler. Negretti is a sheep-variety of the distant past, so a woolfelt. Steve (@mayserwegener) posted one a few pages back. Size 57 with the brim at 5cm and the crown at 12 cm. I comment now and again that I would buy a hat for the liner alone, but I rarely do. This is one of those cases though. It's colour purple makes me wonder if this might have been the pope's leisure hat. When it arrived there was so little life in it left that for a moment I thought it was a homburg. Steam brought it back, but it's not nearly as stiff as other bowlers I have. Interesting is the designation "Real Russia" on the sweatband. It refers to a tanning process which originates from Russia and uses birchbark for the tanning. There's a tiny hole in the front brim and some damage to the brim binding. Very interesting if only for historic reasons. Very old, but I'm not certain which decade exactly. No label inside the hat unfortunately.

Stefan, Super! It definitely looks like it could have been made by the same source as mine. How much does it weigh? From what I can remember mine is very light weight.

Here is mine for comparison purposes.

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/58-negretti/?do=findComment&comment=321

 

[mayserwegener]

Harald backbow in black. Size 57 with the brim at 6cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Probably a woolfelt or at least in large part wool. Unreeded sweatband with the cord running all the way round. No labels inside the hat unfortunately. Something tells me this is German manufacture. The flat brim flange is very unusual (and the reason I bought it). Probably 1920's or 1930's.

Stefan, I am pretty sure it's German. The sweatband type and small stamps are similar to a series of WWII era or earlier German Wool Soft and Stiff Felt hats that don't have company marks. For example the "Germania" you posted above.

 

[PanosChris]

Here is another black pre-WWII woolie that fits here, probably from a Guben source with similar small stamps

 

[PanosChris]

Not as fancy or good as the Negrettis shown above, but another relatively light weight wool bowler. Unknown brand, probably English, l am thinking 30s. Also soft and flexible, nearly wanted to be bashed

 

[steur]

Fantastic woolies, Stefan! Thank you for replying to the call These old wool hats are on a different league and have nothing to do with modern wool hats obviously, neither they are more prone to shrinkage

Thanks, Panos. Good to have them all in one place. Indeed very different from modern woolfelts.

Stefan, Super! It definitely looks like it could have been made by the same source as mine. How much does it weigh? From what I can remember mine is very light weight.

Here is mine for comparison purposes.

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/58-negretti/?do=findComment&comment=321

Thank you, Steve. Can't tell you how much mine weighs right now; it has been sitting on my hatter's bench for quite a while to have a small hole fixed.

Stefan, I am pretty sure it's German. The sweatband type and small stamps are similar to a series of WWII era or earlier German Wool Soft and Stiff Felt hats that don't have company marks. For example the "Germania" you posted above.

Thanks again, Steve. Yes, everything points towards Germany as the source of this hat.

 

[steur]

Here is another black pre-WWII woolie that fits here, probably from a Guben source with similar small stamps

Very similar to the Germania, down to the stitching on the brim. All these old woollies are survivor hats; great to see.

 

[PanosChris]

Heinrich Balke, Bremen, upbrim wool and in special felt finish -as noted in the sweatband-, "Velvet". Straight from the Edwardian era. Offset bow.

 

[steur]

Heinrich Balke, Bremen, upbrim wool and in special felt finish -as noted in the sweatband-, "Velvet". Straight from the Edwardian era. Offset bow.

Talk about survivors! Incredible.