Vintage clothing on Everest

[tonyb]

More on Mallory

Between other tasks today, I cleaned and rebashed and slightly stretched a Mallory Dallas I bought for next to nothing. (Gloat.) It now looks nearly new and fits fine. I'd like to get some sense of how old it is and how it compares to the competition of its day. It's very much like a Stetson Open Road, but its color is a bluer gray than any of the gray hues I've ever seen in the Stetson offerings, and the felt seems finer than that of my assorted vintage ORs--of the 3X, Royal, and Royal Deluxe varieties. (I've never come across a Stetson 100 Open Road, though, and I hear they're pretty nice.) The Mallory has a faux windstring, one of those permanently attached jobs that seems more than a bit affected to me. (Really now, why not a genuine windstring?) The liner says "Established 1817--Mallory Fifth Ave. New York--For Youthful Smartness" (gotta love that part), and "Premier Quality." On the brown leather sweatband is embossed "The Dallas" and "Mallory Pliafelt." The size tag is cloth, not paper. There's a paper union label hiding under the sweatband.
Mallory was bought out by Stetson in 1946, according to Time Magazine's issue of Aug. 26 that year. I kinda doubt that my Mallory predates 1946, so I'm left to wonder why Stetson would have one of its divisions market a product that directly competes with one of its own models. Was Mallory an up-market brand? Or was the Stetson Co.'s marketing strategy already going down the wrong path 50 or 60 years ago?
The Mallory Dallas really does seem superior to the garden-variety Open Roads. The felt, the leather, the lining and the size tag are all a bit finer than my old Stetson ORs. I'm hoping that jamespowers just happens to have some old ads, and others have some other info, to either support or debunk my theory that Mallory remained a "luxury" brand for a number of years after it was acquired by the John B. Stetson Co.

 

[chilidawgguy]

Would you please post some pictures of the hat?

 

[tonyb]

Would you please post some pictures of the hat?

I would, if I knew how. Care to give me a tutorial? If so, send a PM.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Tony, Mallory was always at the top of the hat game, with Knox, Dobbs, & Borsalino. I have always like the styling offered and have used them as part of my own style.
As for post '46...my guess would be that Stetson used them as an "upper" line and tried to appeal to the youth.

 

[Wild Root]

I'm a Mallory man!

I have two and they're from the late 30's I believe. I love them with their wide brim and tall crowns! The first one I found is a nice tall crowned Mallory 15 and the last one I got from Art is a Mallory 20. Very great vintage!

=WR=

 

[jamespowers]

I have to agree with Art here. Mallory hats were up there in quality with the best. I thought Mallory was bought out later than 1946 but if it was in Time Magazine then it was likely true. George Rafferty was Superintendent of Mallory at the time Stetson took it over. He seems to believe that Stetson had the "world by the Tail and they let it go." They had the name and were sort of snobbish about it. Mallory had a great plant design across town. The bodies started at the top floor and by the time they got back to the bottom floor they were ready for sale. Stetson left that plant idle after it bought Mallory because they simply wanted to keep their own plant operating with the increased business. They later bought out Lee for the same reason---consolidating business to keep their plant running at full capacity. Stetson must have taken on more than it could run adequately because soon after that they were contracting with Steven's Hat Company to make bodies for them. Eventually Stevens and Stetson formed a partnership in the 1960s to reopen the Mallory backshop to make bodies for both of their businesses.
The hat industry was a merry mix up back then and it is only now that we have a huge consolidation that encompasses all the old hat brands except Cavanagh and the real Knox. The two top hat brands were thrown by the wayside and the others have kept producing. I suppose it is fitting and in step with what is being produced today. Charles Knox and John Cavanagh wouldn't want their names associated with that dreck anyway.
Your Mallory was of equal quality to anything made by Mallory when it was a stand alone company. Stetson kept it up and produced a decent Mallory hat up until the 1960s. From then on Mallory stunk. You can tell those hats because they literally say Mallory produced by Stetson. You don't want those.
Here are some Mallory ads:
1945 Mallory

1940 Mallory

1950 Mallory

The quality looks the same to me over this period. Here is a 1942 Pliafelt ad:

Looks like Mallory was advertising to all ages here but it still says Youthful Smartness inside. Does this look something like yours? I hope these ads won't slow the download of this thread too much.

Regards to all,

J

 

[J.B.]

Say thanks, jamespowers for posting those too-cool Mallory ads!

 

[jamespowers]

Say thanks, jamespowers for posting those too-cool Mallory ads!

No problem. I also fixed the last one to actually show. Give that one a look as well. It is one of my favorite Mallory ads.

Regards,

J

 

[tonyb]

Thanks for coming through again, jamespowers. That appears to be my new/old hat on that guy in the 1950 ad. I found that Time Magazine mention with a quick Google search. It was on Time's website, where they give you the first hundred words or so free. If you wanna read the whole story, you gotta subscribe. Can't blame 'em for that.

Anyway, here's what it says ...


Aug. 26, 1946

In the quaint and wonderful business of making hats, an historic event took place last week. The John B. Stetson Co., largest hat dispenser in the world, bought out the Mallory Hat Co., one of the runners-up in the trade and the oldest hatter in the U.S.The absorption of Mallory, which has been controlled by one family during its 129 years, marked the end of an old and famed company. But Mallory's quiet history, mostly in the cities of the U.S., is as nothing compared to Stetson's colorful story.It began in 1863 when the first John Batterson Stetson, the sickly son of a New Jersey hatter, joined...

 

[tonyb]

Now that I've learned how to post photos, I border on the dangerous. Anyway, here's the cleaned and rebashed and slightly resized Mallory.

And the interior,

Yup, it's quite clean. The color in the photo is pretty close to how it actually is.

 

[D. Hats]

Dang it Tony...

This is the second thread I've read of yours today that's made me envious.
First I see that Strat your "Lovely" bought you, and I think to myself..."that's the best Strat I've ever seen".
Now I happen across this thread of yours and I see a Mallory like no other.
Another Felt Beauty. And for next to nothing !!
Great Job on cleaning it up, Awesome Lid... :eusa_clap

 

[besdor]

Tony , that hat of yours is one fine hat . It looks to me to be from the 1930's .
They don't make them like that anymore . I have the linning dies that were used to make the Mallory Hats in my collection . When National Hatters Supply Company in New York closed up three years ago they threw out all of their printing dies . I took them all for nothing . :cool2:

 

[Dylanfan]

Mallory date

Great looking hat. Does anyone know why some Mallory liners say established 1817 and others are labeled as 1823? Thanks for any info.
Jeff

 

[tonyb]

Thanks besdor. It does have that earlier look, eh? I don't know how old it actually is. I expect to keep it in nice condition--stored in its box, worn only on clear days, brushed every now and then. Next to my custom from Art, it's the nicest lid I own--clearly superior to my later-model Borsalino Alessandrias.
It's great that you professionals are preserving the cast-offs from the old hat factories, especially when you have no immediate or even practical use for them. I have a fantasy of coming across the blocks and flanges and sandbags and such from an old hat shop stashed away in some dusty basement. I bet it's all out there, somewhere, and the building owner probably thinks it's just a bunch of long-obsolete junk. (Imagine how much of that stuff ended up in landfills back in the 1970s.) I could be wrong about that, though. As more and more people go online, it makes it almost too easy for them to get a sense of what they can charge for what they once would have thought worthless stuff.

 

[besdor]

Last year a man called us from a small town in Mass . He had bought a building that had a hat store in it for 100 years and had closed up about 15 years ago . Inside were hundreds of old blocks and some machines. The problem is that everything was stored bad and it was all rusted up . I told him to donate it to a museum .
You never know!!:cool2:

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Stunning

Now that I've learned how to post photos, I border on the dangerous. Anyway, here's the cleaned and rebashed and slightly resized Mallory.

And the interior,

Yup, it's quite clean. The color in the photo is pretty close to how it actually is.

You've made me drool and you've seen my collection! My camera is on the fritz and I know I owe ya'll some pcitures of the $300 Blue Open Road LOL Anyhow, great hat!
DR

 

[tonyb]

I don't know enough to know what's good and what ain't, besdor. But if I came across such a thing within a reasonable drive from here, I'd borrow my buddy's 16-foot box truck and claim it all. When I see what is being charged for blocks these days, I figure that if my efforts resulted in but a single usable one, that alone would pay for the diesel.

 

[EricH]

Wow Tony that is a beauty. Hanging around this group is not a good way to keep one's desires in check especially with everyone posting pictures. I wish the Mallorys were easier to find in this neck of the woods. I like them more than many of the better known classics.

 

[feltfan]

A similar hat

Hi Tony,

I have a Mallory Premier of similar vintage and
thought you might find it interesting to compare.
Mine came "open crown" and, while I had originally
planned to bash it as an "Open Road", I decided on
a fedora as more useful. Note that mine has a slightly
narrower ribbon than yours. Also it's white.

Here is the inside, which should look familiar
(though it does not say "The Dallas"):

Here is a sort of "top front right" view:

And here's a top view of my inexpert home bash
(which I like):

Finally, if you can stand it, here I am wearing it:

I have always assumed it was an early 1950s Mallory.
I like it a lot.

 

[John in Covina]

Detective work.

As more and more people go online, it makes it almost too easy for them to get a sense of what they can charge for what they once would have thought worthless stuff.

********
The Ebay effect can go both ways, people that collected animation cells have found out there is a lot more of it available then was originally thought and now the price has gone down!

I am not sure, but somewheres in the city commerce offices should be records of the businesses in the city. It may be posible to find out where all the old hat businesses were located and see if that could lead to tracking down these items.

Sincerely,