ADAM ALLEY

[PutALidOnIt]

Adam's aunts - and uncles?

Hmmm...an awful lot of coincidences for a good neighborhood...

When I first got that one, I too noticed that it resembled the Stetson outline and wondered if Adam was part of Stetson, like Mallory was later.

JP, wasn't Adam was an economy line of Miller back then, or was it originally a separate brand? [huh]

...of course, it's all one big Hat Company now...

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Nice Lid Tony!:eusa_clap
Does it have the sweat barrier (membrane) between the sweat band and the hat? I have one of the Premiers and it is a total joy to wear.

Cheers!

Dan

No, it doesn't, and the liner is held in with that kraft paper tape stuff, so maybe it got cleaned and blocked somewhere along the line.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Tony, is there a hat that you don't look good in??? :eusa_clap

How 'bout a stingy that's too small?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

My Adam:

For the aficianados: This hat has at some time shrunk. It is a 7, and fits like a 6 3/4 (ie. no chance in hell of it fitting). Check the sweatband. I suspect the folding is a result of the shrinkage. The leather can't go anywhere and so folded up on itself.

Very thick felt. The thickest i own.

DeLuxe quality. With the cool top hat adorned Adam logo. Some kind of oil cloth-like material covering the liner top. Cavanagh edge.

Came in original box ...

 

[jamespowers]

Hmmm...an awful lot of coincidences for a good neighborhood...

When I first got that one, I too noticed that it resembled the Stetson outline and wondered if Adam was part of Stetson, like Mallory was later.

JP, wasn't Adam was an economy line of Miller back then, or was it originally a separate brand? [huh]

...of course, it's all one big Hat Company now...

Adam was a stand alone company at one time. I think Miller bought the name in the 1960s. Adam was always an economy hat company so it kind of fit into Miller's economy line easily enough with a recogizable name. Adam used to sponsor boxing matches at Madison Square Garden if I remember correctly. Either them or Champ. [huh]

Regards,

J

 

[feltfan]

Adam was a stand alone company at one time. I think Miller bought the name in the 1960s. Adam was always an economy hat company so it kind of fit into Miller's economy line easily enough with a recogizable name.

As I recall, Adam's big thing was that they had
nation-wide stores. Didn't we discuss this a while back?
So Miller might have bought them to get the outlets.
Then again, by the 60s most of the stores were probably gone...

 

[PutALidOnIt]

Thanks for the info on the Adam lineage, guys!

fftopic: I am eagerly awaiting my copy of "Hatless Jack", hopefully to gain a little more insight and details as to how we lost interest in the fedora. I would like to have a few references on the stuff we discuss here, but I'm not looking to furnish a hat library . I know one can't get from a few books all of the knowledge (from experience, collections of ads, and hands-on) that many of our esteemed FL members share with the rest of us. But your gracious indulgence is appreciated, even if you feel like you're talking to the kids in the guitar shop that can't understand why the beat up pre-CBS production Telecaster is $25,000, and the new USA Custom Shop version is $2500, and the overseas one is only $250...

 

[jamespowers]

Thanks for the info on the Adam lineage, guys!

fftopic: I am eagerly awaiting my copy of "Hatless Jack", hopefully to gain a little more insight and details as to how we lost interest in the fedora. I would like to have a few references on the stuff we discuss here, but I'm not looking to furnish a hat library . I know one can't get from a few books all of the knowledge (from experience, collections of ads, and hands-on) that many of our esteemed FL members share with the rest of us. But your gracious indulgence is appreciated, even if you feel like you're talking to the kids in the guitar shop that can't understand why the beat up pre-CBS production Telecaster is $25,000, and the new USA Custom Shop version is $2500, and the overseas one is only $250...

You might also want to check this out:
http://community-2.webtv.net/marcus-stevo/AdamHatsOnLineMuseum/
Interesting that so many celebrities were used in the 40s for Adam. I am also running down when Adam was a subsidiary of Miller. So far I can prove that they were one and the same in 1959.

Regards,

J

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Cheap? Or just inexpensive?

I think it tells a lot about Golden Era American industry that the Adam was a maker of "economy" hats, and yet mine seems very well made. WildRoot will tell you that Plymouth cars of the time, while being a low-price brand, were also very well constructed.

One of the interviewees in the book "Hat Talk" mentioned that it was actually more of a challenge to make a low price hat that would hold up under daily use.

It was easier, in a way, to take the best of everything and price it as high as neccesary. It took some innovative design and manufacturing to keep costs down and yet keep the quality up. We need to rediscover that.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

This is my "Adam" fedora. The logo has block "3-D" lettering, with top hats above.

 

[feltfan]

Here's another Executive

Here's my Adam Executive. It's a full 7 5/8 and
in decent condition (looks better here than in real life,
but it's in good shape). I apologize- should have captured
the cool bow better.

Here's the inside:

Funny hat. It looks a bit beat in my hands, but it looks
great when I wear it. The felt is not the greatest- a bit
crumpled in parts. But I like it. And it's a nice light color.

 

[jamespowers]

One of the interviewees in the book "Hat Talk" mentioned that it was actually more of a challenge to make a low price hat that would hold up under daily use.

It was easier, in a way, to take the best of everything and price it as high as neccesary. It took some innovative design and manufacturing to keep costs down and yet keep the quality up. We need to rediscover that.

I remember reading that. I think the companies did the best they could with what they could afford. From what survives today, they did well.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'm a big fan of these kinds of makers. I'd include the designer Raymond Loewy in the hall of fame. His goal was to offer great designs for the masses: affordable, practical, durable, beautiful. And he succeeded!

.

 

[scotrace]

My Adam

Which now lives with another Lounge member.

 

[tonyb]

Real nice-lookin' lid, scotrace. Is its color close to how it appears in those photos?

 

[scotrace]

As I remember, it was a light buff - the photos make it seem more yellow than it was. It was a favorite but was several sizes too small.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Adam Premier

Another Adam, this one's a Premier. I've had this one a while, when it arrived it looked in sice shape except that it had shrunk terribly. I've stretched it a bit, but ultimately this one will have to go to a pro.

I think it's worth it, it's fundamentally in good shape and has a lot of style.

Here are some details for the hat mavens and boffins: (click the thumbnails)





One price tag is the address, "New York 12, N.Y." The "12" is a postal zone number used in large cities beginning on 1 May 1943, so that gives me some idea when it was made.

A weird thing, the button for the wind trolley is actually fastened to the hat body, and the end of the cord has a loop which can be hooked over the button. This is the first one I've seen like it.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

A weird thing, the button for the wind trolley is actually fastened to the hat body, and the end of the cord has a loop which can be hooked over the button. This is the first one I've seen like it.

My '40s Adam fedora also has this.

.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Was that an Adam "trademark" I wonder? They also seemed to favor unconventional bow designs in the ribbon.