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Toppers Unite

fabiovenhorst

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,134
Location
Gaspar - SC - Brazil
The Melton & Co. topper and the Arno Weiske opera hat, together...
Toppers.jpg
 
Messages
18,466
Location
Nederland
Just to counterbalance the huge hat that Alan wears (that man manages to look good in any hat) here's an interesting bit of hat history (with pictures) about really small hats. This is the first installment of some mini-hats I own (a topper, an ascot (pictured below) and a formal bicorn hat. These were made by Jan Spoorenberg, using leftovers from manufacturing high hats. In an interview he stated he made them as a hobby, but these hats were in fact given to visiting dignitaries as memento. The ones I own were given to the mayor of Eindhoven Charles van Rooy in the early fifties. His daughter sold them to me when she moved house. If you look on youtube for "Het vervaardigen van een hoge zijden hoed.(Silk Tophat)" you'll find a movie of such a visit (in the movie it's mayor Kolfschoten who visits the factory and it's Jan Spoorenberg's father showing him around.
spoorenberg ascot_2.jpg
spoorenberg ascot_3.jpg
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Messages
18,466
Location
Nederland
I still owe the members of the lounge a post about Jan Spoorenberg, but before I do that I will post a hat made by the Spoorenberg factory of Eindhoven. They produced their hats under the brand name Burton. Here's the one I have. Size 56, 5cm brim and 13 cm high. The factory was closed in 1975 and the inventory was sold to P&C Habig of Vienna.


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