1927: a good year for hat stretchers

[Marc Chevalier]

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Waiting for the flying monkeys to bring this one. Patent number is from 1927. Once electric, now not. What I really like about it is the needle which indicates exactly what size the hat is being stretched to.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-PIONEER...47QQihZ003QQcategoryZ2998QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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[Rick Blaine]

Glad to see it was you

who got that one!
But have you noticed that the sizes are different than our contemporary sizes?
For instance:

7 is given as 23"
7 1/8 = 23 1/2" And so on... weird huh?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... weird huh?

Ah, but there might be a practical reason for this, Rick.


The hat you'd put in this stretcher wouldn't have its leather sweatband attached yet. Therefore, the hat would have to be stretched out more in order to take into account the thickness of the sweatband that would be put in afterward.

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[dnjan]

I can't believe that a 7-1/8 hat (without sweatband) would need to be stretched out to 23-1/2 to accomodate a sweatband! The outside of the crown on my 7-1/8's isn't that big.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

You have a point there! Maybe leather sweatbands were thicker back in 1927? I have no idea.


Some mathematical calculations are needed here ... but I'm not the one to do them. Perhaps Art Fawcett could explain this strangeness?

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[dnjan]

1927 was a period of rapid inflation, wasn't it? My guess is that inflation affected hats as well ...

(either that, or the scale on your hat stretcher was designed by a predecessor of the people in charge of women's clothing sizes today)

 

[Dinerman]

Maybe it's to accommodate shrinkage after stretching?

 

[Orgetorix]

The right-hand column says, behind the needle, that it's for women's hat sizes. Maybe women's hat sizes don't correspond to inch measurements?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

The right-hand column says, behind the needle, that it's for women's hat sizes. Maybe women's hat sizes don't correspond to inch measurements?

*bingo*


Except that Ladies sizing -does- use inch measurements...

A female's average head is size 22 1/2 inches.

http://www.hatsuk.com/hatsuk/hatsukhtml/bible/hatsize.htm

Explains it all.

 

[bolthead]

Nice Find.....

Very Cool find Marc.....:eusa_clap

 

[Marc Chevalier]

*bingo*

Except that Ladies sizing -does- use inch measurements...

So we're back to where we started. Ladies' sizing uses inch measurements; yet those inch measurements on the hat stretcher seem awfully large for the men's hat sizes to their left. What's the deal? [huh]

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[Dinerman]

9,999- one more to go.
Maybe women wear their hats smaller/ higher up on their heads?

 

[Art Fawcett]

This one defies logic Marc...I have no idea!! To get the size just divide the circumference by PI and you should have it. Math is math..oh wait...this was before the "New Math" right?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Ladies hat sizing uses the Circumference of the head..in inches.

Mens hat sizing uses the diameter of the head ...in inches.




Why?

I have no idea...

But the woman's measurement is not 'too large'to correspond to the men's...

You are just used to smaller numbers...so 22 seems -large-....but erm go measure your head and see how close to a 7 and whatever...your head actually is -around-...

To me, its far more logical to just measure around the head and use that....then to have the whole divide the Circumfrence by pi and get another number...system that men's hat sizing uses....

Which one is -more- work? lol

 

[Art Fawcett]

Actually Miss Neecerie, I did a quick math on the circumference vs the listed sizes on the mans side and they don't match up. 24" should be a 7 5/8..but not according to this chart. That's what's odd

 

[Rick Blaine]

At any rate Mr. Chevalier, it is a nice acquisition. I have a broken down old Garvey stretcher that is entirely inaccurate as to the true circumference to which it is stretching your hat. Still in all, it is a marvelous appliance that has expanded my pool of available vintage hats down a size. And it looks pretty cool on the table too!

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Actually Miss Neecerie, I did a quick math on the circumference vs the listed sizes on the mans side and they don't match up. 24" should be a 7 5/8..but not according to this chart. That's what's odd

ahhh...ok..I get it now...hmmmm...

then it is a mystery...

 

[dnjan]

When it arrives, Marc, put one of your hats on it and snug it up. (not stretch, just snug), and let us know which size numbers are closer to correct.

the curious await ...