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THE MALLORY MILE

carter

I'll Lock Up
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5,921
Location
Corsicana, TX

buler

I'll Lock Up
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4,380
Location
Wisconsin
The Nokabout was a lightweight felt offering. I don't believe it was ever marketed as a rollable. Because of the low weight, the felt will be less stiff than other felt hats. Steaming the hat should reactivate any shellac that was used to stiffen the hat and may make it less floppy.

B
 

moontheloon

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Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
I picked this up recently and wondering if anyone can shed some light as to the model, felt quality, and rough age of the hat? Is it meant to be rollable? Is the front brim meant to sit flat? The rest of it snaps except the front. Despite being pretty soft felt, I don't want to do anything harsh to it.

There hasn't been a single source stating what Aristocrat Quality equates to, just bits, pieces and guesses. The department store on the sweatband lasted from 1927-1981 so that narrows it down to 54 years.

It will visit the local hat shop to see what they think and a possible sweatband re-stitch plus smoothing out the crown. Its a little worn; besides showing creases, it doesn't hold its shape very well nor does it crease well dry.

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very nice hat !!!
pre 1946 Stetson merger
 
Messages
19,409
Location
Funkytown, USA
I picked this up recently and wondering if anyone can shed some light as to the model, felt quality, and rough age of the hat? Is it meant to be rollable? Is the front brim meant to sit flat? The rest of it snaps except the front. Despite being pretty soft felt, I don't want to do anything harsh to it.

There hasn't been a single source stating what Aristocrat Quality equates to, just bits, pieces and guesses. The department store on the sweatband lasted from 1927-1981 so that narrows it down to 54 years.

It will visit the local hat shop to see what they think and a possible sweatband re-stitch plus smoothing out the crown. Its a little worn; besides showing creases, it doesn't hold its shape very well nor does it crease well dry.

It's a commonly held belief here on the lounge that the "1823" date on your liner logo indicates it was manufactured prior to Stetson acquiring Mallory in August of 1946. Your hat's pretty old!

Also, as Buler indicates, it was marketed as a lightweight felt hat, but not necessarily rollable. I wouldn't treat it that way, either. Hoping to see some shots after you hit it with a little steam and play with it a bit.

One other note: It's my size, let me know if you get tired of it! :D
 

Asudef

New in Town
Messages
29
Location
Bay Area
Thanks all for the helpful replies!

I'll likely be hanging on to it for now as it's been growing on me the longer it sits here.

There's not too much info on the Mallory's floating around. Looks like mine ranges anywhere from 1934 - 1946 based on the United Hatters Stamp and the 1823 liner logo. Its nice to own a piece of local history as well. I'll try my hand at smoothing and stiffening the felt.

Are there any good links around for that? The best resource I came across was from Kevin of JJ Hat Center in NY on Youtube. Not much info on smoothing worn out creases and the like though.
 

KarlCrow

One Too Many
@Asudef, No expert, I tend to briefly steam the crown over an open pot of boiling water before smoothing from the inside with my son's ideally sized globe of the Star Wars' universe's planet Hoth. Do not let steam inside the hat as the sweatband can easily shrink or disintegrate. I also watched that Kevin chaps clips which simply gave some confidence. There is a thread here on creasing that was bumped recently where members posted video clips of themselves creasing more perfect open crowns than i can make.
 
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buler

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,380
Location
Wisconsin
Thanks all for the helpful replies!

I'll likely be hanging on to it for now as it's been growing on me the longer it sits here.

There's not too much info on the Mallory's floating around. Looks like mine ranges anywhere from 1934 - 1946 based on the United Hatters Stamp and the 1823 liner logo. Its nice to own a piece of local history as well. I'll try my hand at smoothing and stiffening the felt.

Are there any good links around for that? The best resource I came across was from Kevin of JJ Hat Center in NY on Youtube. Not much info on smoothing worn out creases and the like though.


I'm not sure what you consider "not too much info", but Mallory is actually one of the hat makers that has a lot of information available. There is this thread and the ad chronology -> http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/mallory-madness-chronological-ads.58995/. Between these threads we have shared a wealth of information.

Side note: the images in my chronology thread (except for the last few posts) aren't displaying for me. Anyone else seeing them?

B
 

Asudef

New in Town
Messages
29
Location
Bay Area
@buler Wow, I hadn't seen that thread yet but its a treasure trove! Thanks for the uploading it all. Looks like Nokabout was a mid/low priced option. Still

@KarlCrow I'll give that a shot as I'm hesitant to touch it with sandpaper. I read on here somewhere about using cylindrical glass with a block or block substitute to smooth it out and may try that too.
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ

40Cal

One Too Many
Messages
1,689
Location
California
man oh man ...

one of those hats that just tickles that little nerve in me ... you know ... the one that makes you spend money on hats

I call it inspiration ... my wife calls it ... what the F#*$ is wrong with you ?
I have a little voice in my head that keeps saying , " What the F#*$ is wrong with you? " every time I purchase a new hat. I've learned to ignore it. haha
 

FedOregon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,134
Location
Oregon
I have a little voice in my head that keeps saying , " What the F#*$ is wrong with you? " every time I purchase a new hat. I've learned to ignore it. haha
I know what you guys are talking about. The downer is looking at your bank statement and seeing how much you actually spent on hats last month, or the last 2 or 3 months. My recommendation? DON'T do that!!!
 

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