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Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

jlee562

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,103
Location
San Francisco, CA
I had no idea that brown is the kiss of death. Yellow I understand, but brown? I find it a versatile color in a hat.

I find myself sticking to darker felts or greys. I do have two brown hats, and I love my brown Dobbs Gay Prince. But I have my eye on another eBay hat that I want more as well :cool:

Speaking of the Gay Prince, somebody got a good deal on this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330812439137?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I almost bid on this one too, but I prefer my brown one (how's that for irony?)
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
I have an educated hunch that these "Wanderer" fedoras were Dunlap's answer to Knox's very popular "Vagabond" hats -- or vice-versa. In any case, the font of the lettering embossed on the Wanderer sweatbands is nearly identical to the distinctive lettering on the early Vagabond sweatbands. Coincidence? Don't bet on it.
I wouldn't take that bet, since they came from the same factory as the Vagabonds. lol


Interesting that the sellers had their dates backwards. The brown one listed as '50s is actually a '40s, and the grey one listed as '40s is actually a '50s.



Brad
 

Chowderhouse

One of the Regulars
Messages
158
Location
San Luis Obispo
Cross Country, Knockabout, Gadabout... everyone had a lightweight light priced traveling' hat.


True, but compare the distinctive lettering of the words "Vagabond" and "Wanderer". Pretty much identical. Even the "V" and the "W" could be twins.


Vagabond:

vagabond2.jpg



Wanderer:

Dunlap_wanderer_06_zps0ba78acb.jpg
 
Last edited:
Messages
15,083
Location
Buffalo, NY
True, but compare the lettering.

A number of trademarks of Hat Corporation of America use a similar a stylized cursive typeface.

Brad, tell us more how you date these two hats from the auction photos. I guessed both to be within a year or two of 1950. Do not have any examples of the "ovalized sixteenths" mark, which, along with the Wanderer dates back in first use to the early 30s, but seems to appear on size tags mostly in 1950s hats.
 
Last edited:

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
A number of trademarks of Hat Corporation of America use a similar a stylized cursive typeface.

Brad, tell us more how you date these two hats from the auction photos. I guessed both to be within a year or two of 1950. Do not have any examples of the "ovalized sixteenths" mark, which, along with the Wanderer dates back in first use to the early 30s, but seems to appear on size tags mostly in 1950s hats.

Oh, they certainly could be within a few years of each other. The '40s hat has the white size tag used for a while in that decade, as well as the '40s factory reorder label. The "Ovalized Sixteenth" size tag also says "Trade Mark," which means it dates after they received the registration in June of 1950. You're right, it really only shows up on size tags in the '50s, even though it had been around since 1933. I'd be interested to see which factory reorder label it carries.

Brad
 
Messages
15,083
Location
Buffalo, NY
Oh, they certainly could be within a few years of each other. The '40s hat has the white size tag used for a while in that decade, as well as the '40s factory reorder label. The "Ovalized Sixteenth" size tag also says "Trade Mark," which means it dates after they received the registration in June of 1950. You're right, it really only shows up on size tags in the '50s, even though it had been around since 1933. I'd be interested to see which factory reorder label it carries.

Brad

Thanks Brad. Interesting that there was a three year window between filing (1947) and registration (1950) of the ovalized sixteenths mark. To my knowledge of current usage, the TM mark is used for a trademark that is filed but not registered, at which point the ® replaces TM. No idea how this translates to the 1940s.
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
Thanks Brad. Interesting that there was a three year window between filing (1947) and registration (1950) of the ovalized sixteenths mark. To my knowledge of current usage, the TM mark is used for a trademark that is filed but not registered, at which point the ® replaces TM. No idea how this translates to the 1940s.

Alan, to tell you the truth, I hadn't given any thought to the the different symbols, so this prompted me to dig into trademark law history, and answered some of my questions along the way. The Lanham Trademark Act in 1946 spurred a mad rush to register (or re-register) trademarks after it took affect in 1947, which finally explains to me why Hat Corporation of America filed so many trademarks around that time. I can't find anything in the act itself on the use of the TM symbol using the simple PDF search feature, just the ®, but what you said makes sense. Since it was placed on the Principal Register, I'll have to revise my estimate then to 1947-1950. Need to go through our photo archives here and see if "Ovalized Sixteenths" turns up after 1950 with the ® symbol or "Reg. U.S. Pat. Off."

Brad
 

randooch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,869
Location
Ukiah, California
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170929686735?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 I only made my offer for the one on the left as the other two aren't my size. Any ideas on age or value of this? I haven't seen so much on 10x's before and was wondering if it's possible this is a 100% beaver?

Sam
That'll be a good score if it cleans up, Sam. My pure speculation says 60’s and not all beaver. The tiny hats keeping it company might fit your offspring soon. :)
 

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