The Penney's Marathon

[TheOldFashioned]

Extra Quality:

Crown	5-1/4" (open)
Brim	2-7/8" with 3/16" binding symmetric
Ribbon	13/16"
Weight	108g

Weird proportions with a lot of flange, so I haven't quite figured out how to style it yet. But the ribbon is cool!

 

[gilligan]

These are pics of my first vintage hat, a 1940s JC Penny's Marathon that I purchased over 8 years ago on eBay. Not knowing anything about hats, I picked this up for less than 50.00 because I really liked the way it looked, and you could still get them fairly inexpensive. At first, I would wear it on and off for a couple of years and then I just kind of hung it on the wall. As I started becoming more knowledgeable about old hats, I took a second look at this hat and realized that out of all my hats that I would get rid of over time, I couldn't bear to get rid of this one. In a nutshell, I have always loved this hat. To me, the Penny Marathons fit me like a glove, and they made some of the most comfortable hats. Maybe it's my head, but I own two vintage Marathons and they are so comfortable. Not sure of the year on this, but I'm thinking maybe mid 40's. I've seen other ones on here but this one seems to be of an earlier age. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The hat is actually a green color

he

 

[gilligan]

Extra Quality:
View attachment 553096 View attachment 553097 View attachment 553098 View attachment 553099 View attachment 553100 View attachment 553101

Crown	5-1/4" (open)
Brim	2-7/8" with 3/16" binding symmetric
Ribbon	13/16"
Weight	108g

Weird proportions with a lot of flange, so I haven't quite figured out how to style it yet. But the ribbon is cool!

Wow, beautiful!!! By the looks, yours would be around the same time period as mine. What year do you think yours would be? Early to mid 40's? The only difference between the two other than the color is yours says extra quality on the sweat band and mine says superior quality on the sweat.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Wow, beautiful!!! By the looks, yours would be around the same time period as mine. What year do you think yours would be? Early to mid 40's? The only difference between the two other than the color is yours says extra quality on the sweat band and mine says superior quality on the sweat.

I'm not sure, really. Without something like an OPA tag or an actual date stamped on the sweatband nailing down a timeframe less than a decade is sort of difficult. There's less info known about Marathon hats and how to date them as opposed to say Stetson.

 

[gilligan]

Last week I bought this 1950s Penny's Marathon off of the internet for 24.00. The lady had it listed as just a "brown hat". I figured for 24.00, how could I go wrong and when I received it, I was really surprised how nice it was. My question is, and I hope some

one can clear some light on this. I have other JC Penny Marathons that I absolutely love, but they all have the bound edge. This one has the mode edge (I hope I'm calling this right). Does anyone know when they would have used this edge? I'm assuming from the liner, that this is a 1950's model.

 

[Frunobulax]

Last week I bought this 1950s Penny's Marathon off of the internet for 24.00. The lady had it listed as just a "brown hat". I figured for 24.00, how could I go wrong and when I received it, I was really surprised how nice it was. My question is, and I hope some View attachment 571517 View attachment 571518 View attachment 571519 View attachment 571520 one can clear some light on this. I have other JC Penny Marathons that I absolutely love, but they all have the bound edge. This one has the mode edge (I hope I'm calling this right). Does anyone know when they would have used this edge? I'm assuming from the liner, that this is a 1950's model.

Well, the photo of the brim is out of focus, but that doesn't look like a felted edge to me. It wouldn't be a Mode edge, as that's a Stetson feature.

The Cavanagh edge, Guild Edge, and Mode Edge are different proprietary names for similar features.

Also, please don't start a new thread every time you get a hat. The Marathon thread is here: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-penneys-marathon.1679/page-15

 

[gilligan]

Just picked this up online for 24.00 and the seller listed it as just a " brown hat ". One thing I noticed on this Marathon over others that I have is that it has the felted edge. I was corrected on this by an earlier post as I mistakenly called it a mode edge. Does anyone have any info as to when Marathon used the felted edge over the bound edge? I'm thinking this is a 1950's model.

 

[gilligan]

Well, the photo of the brim is out of focus, but that doesn't look like a felted edge to me. It wouldn't be a Mode edge, as that's a Stetson feature.

The Cavanagh edge, Guild Edge, and Mode Edge are different proprietary names for similar features.

Also, please don't start a new thread every time you get a hat. The Marathon thread is here: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/the-penneys-marathon.1679/page-15

As we speak, the photos in the Marathon thread now. As far as the brim goes, the pics are such that they aren't out of focus and they clearly show a three line stitching and definitely a felted edge. Every Marathon I've seen has binding on the edge.

 

[M Hatman]

Just picked this up online for 24.00 and the seller listed it as just a " brown hat ". One thing I noticed on this Marathon over others that I have is that it has the felted edge. I was corrected on this by an earlier post as I mistakenly called it a mode edge. Does anyone have any info as to when Marathon used the felted edge over the bound edge? I'm thinking this is a 1950's model. View attachment 571570 View attachment 571571 View attachment 571572 View attachment 571573

Yes, 1950's. It is a stitched over-welt. It is not felted. It IS one of my favorite brim treatments when stitched with multiple rows like that.
Here is my Marathon with the same edge here:

Nice get!

 

[gilligan]

Yes, 1950's. It is a stitched over-welt. It is not felted. It IS one of my favorite brim treatments when stitched with multiple rows like that.
Here is my Marathon with the same edge here:
View attachment 571578 View attachment 571579
Nice get!

Wow!!! Very nice, exact same one indeed. Thank you so much for the info. That's fantastic to know. Many thanks indeed.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

As we speak, the photos in the Marathon thread now. As far as the brim goes, the pics are such that they aren't out of focus and they clearly show a three line stitching and definitely a felted edge. Every Marathon I've seen has binding on the edge.

Looks like a nicely done overwelt brim edge with three rows of stitching. It’s not at all uncommon, and very different from a felted or Cavanagh edge.

 

[gilligan]

Looks like a nicely done overwelt brim edge with three rows of stitching. It’s not at all uncommon, and very different from a felted or Cavanagh edge.

Thanks Brent, I do appreciate the info.

 

[MikeinRome]

Marathon Extra Quality. Has 2 3/4 inch brim and 5 1/4 inch open crown. The hat has been stretched some, so the brim might have been 2 7/8 originally. Priced at $3.98, that has to be back in time a bit.

 

[MikeinRome]

J C Penney's Marathon boater, made in Baltimore, where the Solar Straws hats had been made for Penney's. Don't know if Penney's bought Solar Straws or had always owned the Solar Straws brand name or what exactly happened. This hat is on eBay.

 

[MikeinRome]

J C Penney's Marathon Supreme Quality 2X. It has that onionskin behind the sweatband. Has 3 inch brim and 6 inch open crown.

 

[MikeinRome]

Thanks, Bob! It's a pretty sweet little Marathon for a little less than $100.

 

[BobHufford]

Spaced out the end of this auction. Doh!

I think the “Solar Straws” branding was replaced with Marathon at some point— see the boater a couple of posts earlier.

Anyone here snag it for $7.00?