Toppers Unite

[JJ Katz]

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

View attachment 474160

Elegant as always, Mr. Katz. Please show us more of it - also and especially of the top hat.

 

[JJ Katz]

Here we go. I bought the hat second-hand at Portobello market. It came with a box, too, though some very stupid #@&%$ burglars wrecked it...

The hat itself is in very good nick, I think.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

A very nice one, Sir. Sorry for the box, which is still a beauty! Thanks for posting!

 

[Steve1857]

Here we go. I bought the hat second-hand at Portobello market. It came with a box, too, though some very stupid #@&%$ burglars wrecked it...

The hat itself is in very good nick, I think.

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A beauty of a Top Hat. Damn those stupid burglers

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Today: The opera hat - chapeau claque - Klappzylinder
from the possession of my grandfather with associated hat box.
In this hat he married my grandmother in 1951, however I assume
that this hat originally belonged to my great-grandfather,
as I believe it dates from the 1920s:

"Garantie-Klapphut" of the company "F.W.G.", as can be seen
from the initials in the logo on the lining and hat box.
I have so far no idea which company this is, but the collapsible hats
of this company can be found quite often on the net.
Maybe Steve or Steve know more...!?

 

[Steve1857]

Today: The opera hat - chapeau claque - Klappzylinder
from the possession of my grandfather with associated hat box.
In this hat he married my grandmother in 1951, however I assume
that this hat originally belonged to my great-grandfather,
as I believe it dates from the 1920s:

"Garantie-Klapphut" of the company "F.W.G.", as can be seen
from the initials in the logo on the lining and hat box.
I have so far no idea which company this is, but the collapsible hats
of this company can be found quite often on the net.
Maybe Steve or Steve know more...!?

Wonderful family heirloom, Matt.
I have no idea about the company, but I bet Steve can come up with a name.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

The other topper I would like to present was owned by my other grandfather:
neither previously owned by the family nor did anyone get married under it,
rather my grandpa, who was a great carnivalist, took a lot of old clothes
from people of the village to use for carnival. So over the decades he had
gathered a huge fund of stuff, from which also this top hat comes.
The hat box in turn, however, does not belong to it, but it is again from
the estate of the other grandfather and in it I found the folding hat.

No-name top hat with british coat of arms - maybe older than the other one.
I also believe - despite the so often used British-English coat of arms
- that it is a German product... But who knows exactly.
Unfortunately someone tried to make a collapsible hat out of this one too...
The usual and so common hat box is from Paul Pfab from Oelsnitz in the Erzgebirge
(where this part of the family comes from)

 

[Steve1857]

The other topper I would like to present was owned by my other grandfather:
neither previously owned by the family nor did anyone get married under it,
rather my grandpa, who was a great carnivalist, took a lot of old clothes
from people of the village to use for carnival. So over the decades he had
gathered a huge fund of stuff, from which also this top hat comes.
The hat box in turn, however, does not belong to it, but it is again from
the estate of the other grandfather and in it I found the folding hat.

No-name top hat with british coat of arms - maybe older than the other one.
I also believe - despite the so often used British-English coat of arms
- that it is a German product... But who knows exactly.
Unfortunately someone tried to make a collapsible hat out of this one too...
The usual and so common hat box is from Paul Pfab from Oelsnitz in the Erzgebirge
(where this part of the family comes from)

If I saw that one on Facebook Market Place or ebay, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

Another wonderful family heirloom, Matt.

 

[steur]

The other topper I would like to present was owned by my other grandfather:
neither previously owned by the family nor did anyone get married under it,
rather my grandpa, who was a great carnivalist, took a lot of old clothes
from people of the village to use for carnival. So over the decades he had
gathered a huge fund of stuff, from which also this top hat comes.
The hat box in turn, however, does not belong to it, but it is again from
the estate of the other grandfather and in it I found the folding hat.

No-name top hat with british coat of arms - maybe older than the other one.
I also believe - despite the so often used British-English coat of arms
- that it is a German product... But who knows exactly.
Unfortunately someone tried to make a collapsible hat out of this one too...
The usual and so common hat box is from Paul Pfab from Oelsnitz in the Erzgebirge
(where this part of the family comes from)

Two fantastic heirlooms, Matt.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Thank you, gentlemen!
I was really surprised that I had not yet shown the pair here,
although they have - in retrospect - laid the foundation of my love for hats:
I have pilfered both already as a child - they are therefore "the first hats in the collection"!

 

[mayserwegener]

Today: The opera hat - chapeau claque - Klappzylinder
from the possession of my grandfather with associated hat box.
In this hat he married my grandmother in 1951, however I assume
that this hat originally belonged to my great-grandfather,
as I believe it dates from the 1920s:

"Garantie-Klapphut" of the company "F.W.G.", as can be seen
from the initials in the logo on the lining and hat box.
I have so far no idea which company this is, but the collapsible hats
of this company can be found quite often on the net.
Maybe Steve or Steve know more...!?

Hello Matt,

Fantastic!

Felix Weissbach Klapphut Fabrik, Glauchau i Sa. (Saxony)

DHZ April 11, 1925

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Thank you

Hello Matt,

Fantastic!

Felix Weissbach Klapphut Fabrik, Glauchau i Sa. (Saxony)

DHZ April 11, 1925

Thank you! And as always, the phrase is true: If no one knows, Steve does!

 

[mayserwegener]

Matt, Thank you! Luckily it has the company initials which is not always the case.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Today: The opera hat - chapeau claque - Klappzylinder
from the possession of my grandfather with associated hat box.
In this hat he married my grandmother in 1951, however I assume
that this hat originally belonged to my great-grandfather,
as I believe it dates from the 1920s:

"Garantie-Klapphut" of the company "F.W.G.", as can be seen
from the initials in the logo on the lining and hat box.
I have so far no idea which company this is, but the collapsible hats
of this company can be found quite often on the net.
Maybe Steve or Steve know more...!?

As a supplement: While searching for my grandfather's wedding picture with top hat - unfortunately I have not found yet - another picture fell into my hands: Wedding picture of my great-grandparents from June 3, 1922 - on the right side of the picture exactly this Felix Weissbach, Glauchau opera hat, which not only gives me the proof that it was already in the possession of my great-grandfather like I thought, but also gives us a dating approach.

 

[ruvort]

Hello all.

I came across a top hat with the following logo inside, but can't seem to figure out the brand. Does anyone happen to know more about it?

 

[Faux Brummell]

Hello all.

I came across a top hat with the following logo inside, but can't seem to figure out the brand. Does anyone happen to know more about it?

Looks like Excelled By None is the brand name, not just a slogan.

 

[ruvort]

Looks like Excelled By None is the brand name, not just a slogan.

Thank you. I did a little more digging and it appears that this may be associated with "Kirby".

Is anyone familiar with this brand?

 

[steur]

P&C Top hat. That's not Habig, but the Dutch (originally from Germany) retailer Peek&Cloppenburg. Still located on Dam square in Amsterdam to this day. This one was made by Spoorenberg, who produced toppers under different brand names, mainly Burton and Ambassador. I bought this one because it's a size 60 and these things are rare in larger sizes. Brim at 6cm and 14cm high. Excellent condition except for some waviness on the sweatband. PM me if you're interested.

 

[Steve1857]

P&C Top hat. That's not Habig, but the Dutch (originally from Germany) retailer Peek&Cloppenburg. Still located on Dam square in Amsterdam to this day. This one was made by Spoorenberg, who produced toppers under different brand names, mainly Burton and Ambassador. I bought this one because it's a size 60 and these things are rare in larger sizes. Brim at 6cm and 14cm high. Excellent condition except for some waviness on the sweatband. PM me if you're interested.

Great catch, Stefan, especially in that size!