Dating a Tonak Made Huckle Patchwork Fedora

[Ron Mack]

Hello to All,

My name is Ron. I've been lurking for about a year and finally became a member of the forum. I would like to ask the forum members to help me obtain some info about this Patchwork Huckle that I recently aquired at a vintage clothing store here in NYC. It was very dirty so I cleaned it with mild soap, and water. I didn't submerged it water. I scrubbed it
gently, removed the soap and dried it. I also had the 4" brim cut down to 2-1/2", and had a new sweatband and lining put in the hat. I know a lot of the members wouldn't where a hat like this, but i like it a lot. All the other fedoras that I own are a bit more conservative. It has a long hair beaver finish, but is probably rabbit or hare. This is defintely the
flashyist hat that I own.

On the original sweatband it says "Huckle, Imported by Borsalino USA, and styled by John David". There is a separate label on the inside crown that says "Tonak". See photos
I trying to date this hat, and i would like to know who John David is, the designer of the hat(?)

Has anyone ever seen a hat like this before, thanks?

 

[Chepstow]

Hi Ron, a heartfelt Welcome here. That is a fine hat the Patchwork Hückel made by Tonak!
The sweatband looks old for me. But Steve ( mayserwegener ) is an expert for question about Hückel, maybe he can help to date the hat!

 

[Ron Mack]

Hi Manfred,
Thanks for the warm welcome, I really appreciate it. I'm glad you like the hat. Before I had the brim cut down to 2-1/2" the hat almost looked like a sombrero, but I
really liked the patchwork, and I'm a sucker for long hair finishes. I hope Steve drops by, thanks.

-Ron

 

[mayserwegener]

That is definitely a unique hat! Does / did it have a liner? My guess would be late 50s maybe early 60s. I will have to see what I can find on John David who I assume is the master mind. Interesting that it was imported by Borsalino USA. TONAK is still known for multi color felts (primarily for women's hats). They are very protective of the process.

 

[mayserwegener]

John David was a men's store. They had a flag ship store at 5th Avenue and 43rd Street, NYC. I found this 1938 advertisement.

Also this from 1929.

Still I have no idea what this hat is about. Maybe Patchwork was some type of fashion trend?

 

[Dinerman]

Borsalino USA was incorporated in 1985.

 

[mayserwegener]

That would make sense with the Patchwork design. The sweatband looks older though.

 

[Ron Mack]

That is definitely a unique hat! Does / did it have a liner? My guess would be late 50s maybe early 60s. I will have to see what I can find on John David who I assume is the master mind. Interesting that it was imported by Borsalino USA. TONAK is still known for multi color felts (primarily for women's hats). They are very protective of the process.

Hi mayserwegener,
Thanks for taking the time to dig up the John David ads. Interesting. Below is a picture of the lining.

 

[Ron Mack]

Hi Dinerman,

Thanks for the info.

I was wondering if the Huckle's serial number on the Tonak label that i posted would help date the hat, but since Borsalino USA was formed in 85 probably not, because i think that the serial number is 79354

 

[mayserwegener]

The parts are very similar to older TONAKs. I am not up on TONAK part numbers and nobody else on here would have any idea. My focus is on older pre WWII JHS hats and post WWII Hückel Weilheim. You may want to check and see what happened with John David stores. This would at least give you some idea if the 1985 time line is correct. It is also possible there was a older incarnation of Borsalino USA. I am checking with some Czech sources so I will update if I hear anything back.

 

[Ron Mack]

Thanks mayserwegener , I will look a little deeper into John David stores.

 

[mayserwegener]

I searched around but I couldn't find anything recent about John David. I am also checking with some Novy Jicin sources so I will let you know if I find anything out.

 

[splintercellsz]

Not sure if this is the same John David, but here is a clipping from THE NEW YORK TIMES . November 16, 1937

"John David of New York, founder and proprietor of the large chain of men's clothing and haberdashery stores in New York and Brooklyn, died here today in the Hotel Claridge of a heart attack after an illness of several months."

Here is another ad from May, 1939.

 

[Dinerman]

Borsalino USA appears to have begun operations in the early 1970s, based at 14 Medford Road, Morris Plains, New Jersey. They later contracted out to Bollman for USA-made Borsalino labeled hats. So while they incorporated in '85, they were operational earlier. John David was formerly a chain of clothiers in the New York area. The name was sold in the 1960s, and remaining operations were out of business by the mid 1970s. Those two timelines overlap about 1970-1975.

 

[mayserwegener]

Spencer, Thanks for the additional information. I have only seen SELCO imported TONAK - Hückels from that time period and they have similar parts / construction to this Borsalino USA hat.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/6-johann-hueckel%c2%b4s-soehne-hueckel-hutfabrik-weilheim/#entry162

This Tonak Hückel Guama Somberero for the Venezuelan market also has similar parts / construction.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/6-johann-hueckel%c2%b4s-soehne-hueckel-hutfabrik-weilheim/page__st__80#entry652

 

[Ron Mack]

I searched around but I couldn't find anything recent about John David. I am also checking with some Novy Jicin sources so I will let you know if I find anything out.

I contacted Tonak early last week but didn't receive a response. Thanks again mayserwegener

Borsalino USA appears to have begun operations in the early 1970s, based at 14 Medford Road, Morris Plains, New Jersey. They later contracted out to Bollman for USA-made Borsalino labeled hats. So while they incorporated in '85, they were operational earlier. John David was formerly a chain of clothiers in the New York area. The name was sold in the 1960s, and remaining operations were out of business by the mid 1970s. Those two timelines overlap about 1970-1975.

So it's possible that the hat could have been made in the 1970's. When I first saw the hat the size of the brim screamed 1970's (remember I had it cut down) as well as the multi colored pattern. Is It now possible that the 79 in the serial number could indicate the date?

Thanks Dinerman.

Hi splintercellsz,

I used to work in high end retail on 5th ave and never saw a John David shop. Also, i got no google hits so i guess the store were closed long ago. Thanks for posting the ad.

 

[splintercellsz]

No problem! I can't find when the chain closed down, but here are some article bits from the 40's. Seems like they had quite a few stores in NY.

New York Times - Jan 3, 1929
"The latest addition to the John David chain of men s clothing stores in the new forty-story Lefcourt National Building at Fifth Avenue and I Forty-third Street."

New York Times - Jan 5, 1940
"The tenth unit in the chain of clothing stores operated by John David, Inc., will be established in downtown Manhattan."

New York Times - Mar 27, 1941
"JOHN DAVID OPENS UNIT; Clothing Chain Holds Trade Preview of New 42d St. Store"