Borsalino

[benstephens]

Hi,

I picked up a Borsalino yesterday, for not a lot of money. I had never heard of them before until I read some of the posts this morning!

Anyway, here is a picture of it, I wondered if anyone could tell me any more about them, ie dates and when they started this style etc. Although hard to see from the picture, it is a slightly greeny felt, with a green ribbon. Unlike most of the English made hats I have, it does not give the colour on the inside of the sweatband.

It is unused as well, and in a 7 1/8.

Many Thanks for your time,

Ben

 

[DocBob345]

Beautiful Hat!

Beautiful hat, Ben, and welcome to FL! I'm sure you'll be getting many replies here (as well as compliments). The point is, the Lounge is an incredible source of information. Many knowledgable members here will answer all of your questions, I'm sure.

Enjoy the Lounge, and your very sharp new hat!

Best,
Robert

 

[feltfan]

Looks to me like you did very well.
A classic Borsalino style and a brim treatment
no longer made anywhere. You can learn more
about the brim treatment by searching for
"cavanagh edge" on this site.

You can't buy a better hat, new today, at least
as regards materials and hat making expertise.

BTW, there's a lot of controversy about how
to date Borsalino hats. My entirely subjective
guess would put this in the 40s or 50s, simply
due to the silky lining. But it could have been
made as late as the 70s. Theoretically.

 

[John in Covina]

The Borsalino code!

Undre the sweatband you will often find a paper tag with a bunch of numbers on it. It is believed that one of the longer numbers may contain a date code.

Your "Borsalino Code" may or may not help but if you get a chance and can read it, please post it here.

 

[John in Covina]

Oh! Great hat too!

It looks like a nice one! What are your plans? Cleaning, reblocking?

And! What do you plan to wear it with?

 

[benstephens]

Hi thanks for the reply,

I dont think I will do any cleaning, as it seems to be very very clean (Well unworn) or do you think I should clean it?

I will more than likely wear it with my tweed fleck suit that has all sorts of colours in it, including this green.

When I get home tommorrow I will read the paper label.

Kindest Regards

Ben

 

[jamespowers]

How wide is the brim? Looks like a later 1950s offering if the brim is narrower than 2 1/2 inches.
You hat has it all. All the sought after things that make a hat great. High quality silk lining, high quality leather sweatband, wind trolley to keep from losing your hat, Cavanagh Edge and the famous aged Borsalino felt. All in all a nice hat. I have a hat similar to this with the box it came in dated 1957.
You did very well for a first time Borsalino purchase on a lark. :eusa_clap

Regards,

J

 

[benstephens]

The Brim is quite wide, I think in the photos it does not look quite so, but it must be at least 2.5 inches, so has the classic profile.

Cheers

Ben

 

[John in Covina]

A Brushing

I would suggest you get a hat brush for it and brush it regularly. If you hold it from the inside and are looking at the top of the crown you brush it Counter clockwise. Start of fairly lightly and then you can get a little more enthusiastic but not too hard or in one spot. There are a whole slew of hat care products for cleaning, including several different "sponges" and some sprays for cleaning. If you call up some of the big websites such as our sponsor guys you will usually find supplies for cleaning.

Some of the guys here have outlined cleaning proceedures really well and have done some deep cleaning as well as renovation work.

The sponges are like spot erasures.

The suggestion is that if you can't find a good hat brush or it will be a while before you get one, an UNUSED shoe brush, the type with the really soft bristles can be used in its place.

Owners of a large collection will probabl get a light color brush for light hats and a dark colored brush for dark hats.

 

[benstephens]

John in Covina thankyou so much for this advice, I have a few hats, and I very rarely do anything to them. I will get a good hat brush tommorrow, and do some much needed cleaning.

Thankyou so much,

Ben

 

[benstephens]

Hi,

Just to confirm, the brim width is 2.5inches, and the code reads

790 74875 A
ONTANO C.Slura GORA??U

I am not really sure about the last letters in the G word.

Kind Regards

Ben

 

[RBH]

Sweet hat!

No taper on that one.
Enjoy it !:eusa_clap

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Not content ...

... with taunting us with yer stunning suit wardrobe, now come the hats.

A beauty, Mr. Stephens.

bk

 

[ideaguy]

Ben- welcome to FL! wonderful hat, I'd follow John's advice and simply brush it,
keep it out of strong direct sun ( not likely in UK), and don't keep it in dark damp places-mildew likes old hats, as do moths- a few cedar chips in a hatbox helps.
Very nice acquisition, wear it well, and more photos, please.

 

[Dinerman]

Great hat, wear it often!

 

[DOUGLAS]

Oh yes, a beauty it is.

 

[The Duke]

You can't go wrong with a Borsalino, very nice!