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

[MattJH]

I put in a bid on this 7 5/8 Christy's Of London bowler hours before it ended and I somehow won it at a clearance price of $20.50. I don't even wear bowlers, really! I may give it away as a gift or relist it if the look doesn't grab me. In these economic times, I don't have any shame "flipping" a hat (although I don't do it exclusively). We'll see how it is when it arrives.

 

[billyspew]

I put in a bid on this 7 5/8 Christy's Of London bowler hours before it ended and I somehow won it at a clearance price of $20.50. I don't even wear bowlers, really! I may give it away as a gift or relist it if the look doesn't grab me. In these economic times, I don't have any shame "flipping" a hat (although I don't do it exclusively). We'll see how it is when it arrives.

That's a very high crowned one, any idea of the age?

 

[MattJH]

That's a very high crowned one, any idea of the age?

I don't have any idea of anything at this point, including what appears to be a piece of paper stuck into the ribbon:

​

I guess I'll find out when I get it. It also mentions "starch stains" on the crown, which may not be that at all -- we'll see how it looks after a nice brushing. And yes, a 6" crowned bowler isn't something I've really seen before. It may be a gem or it may be a fail.

 

[Brad Bowers]

The felt feels quite substantial, and slightly firmer than some very fine vintage hats I've seen but...not sure how to explain this...it really doesn't seem like stiffener, more like the quality of the felt itself. But not heavy - weight in size 7-3/8 is 146 gm or 5.15 oz.

That's Cavanagh felt for you. It's more substantial, more dense, than many other felts.

I was (wildly) guesstimating 40's to early 50's myself. I didn't know that Cavanaghs didn't change so much - wondering if that applies to labels, logos and such or to styles also? Were they late to switch block types, brim widths, sweatband width/color, all that? Still researching myself.

- Bill

All of the above.lol The Cavanagh logo has not changed from 1928 to today. The words below the crest can say several different things, but it might have more to do with where the hat was sold than a specific date. As for blocks, brim width, styles -- all of that remained pretty consistent while John Cavanagh was still alive, and remained consistent within styles of the period. Only after his death, and takeover of the parent company, do you see any experimentation, and drastic style changes, but then you're talking late-'50s, early-'60s, so there's no surprise there.

Brad

 

[Gilgamark]

But what's this about telling the wife how much you paid for a hat? Isn't that against the FL rules? :eusa_doh: Anyone? lol

Definite violation. The wife doesn't need to know. :whip:

 

[MattJH]

Lucky for me, it didn't work out for Dean, so I'll be sending payment on February 1st. Excited to have it! I really liked it, but completely misunderstood the auction description and thought it said the sweatband was black when they were actually referring to the ribbon. Dinerman says it's likely a late 50's. I'll post better pictures when it arrives in the first half of February.

Believe it or not, besides the Stratoliner I sold and the Whippet I'm selling in the Classifieds, this will be my only Stetson.

The hat arrived today and it's almost certainly a keeper. The proportions: 5 1/2" crown, 2 1/4" brim, 1 3/4" ribbon. Grey with bound brim. The sweatband is brown and the size tag is the same old oval style that usually just says "5/8" but this one says "7 5/8." So, I've been wearing my "tropic weight" Bott more than any other hat recently. It has the same proportions and color as my Stetson Whippet, but without the bound brim. Still, I decided to list my Whippet on eBay just yesterday because I couldn't justify keeping it, even if it was my only grey hat with a bound brim. Well, this one replaces it just fine, and it looks better on me than the Whippet. It's funny how things work out. Thank you, gtdean! A great, effortless exchange.

 

[gtdean48]

My pleasure, Matt. Glad it got such a nice new home, need to see some shots of it on your noggin!

 

[Woodfluter]

WF,

I have seen many different photos of you with many different hats. This, by far, looks the best on you. Don't ever sell that one.....it looks GREAT on you.
Congrats on an excellent buy.

Thank you, sir. I agree. Have no plans on letting this out of my sight! Only thing I can't understand is, why on earth the owner sold it. It looked good on him in the picture he posted, on horseback.

And to Brad Bowers - you are the god of Cavanagh knowledge - thank you for your help. I re-read your extensive "sticky" account about the edge again last night.

- Bill

 

[Rick Blaine]

Almost new Stetson O.R. 25

I pd. way too much for this but a 7 5/8 O.R. 25 was just too bloody tempting to pass by, even at one hundred and fifty samolians. I have a feeling this may well be my last hat purchase for some time. But as my Father-in-Law says "How many heads ya' got?"

 

[carter]

Somebody just won this very nice Stetson Sovereign in what appears to be a 7 3/4 size.

I won the Sovereign. LO, large size, mode edge. One minor nibble. Under $54.00. Works for me.

This hat arrived today and it is a terrific felt. It does need a good cleaning. It is actually a size 8 LO with a mode edge. It'll be going off to Jimmy Pierce for a clean, resize and reblock to a 7 5/8 open crown.

Rick, Dumbjaw, and Woodflutter, those are some nice lids, gentlemen! Congratulations.

 

[gtdean48]

I pd. way too much for this but a 7 5/8 O.R. 25 was just too bloody tempting to pass by, even at one hundred and fifty samolians. I have a feeling this may well be my last hat purchase for some time. But as my Father-in-Law says "How many heads ya' got?"

For that size & OR25, I say you got a deal. If I wasn't OR poor, I'd gone that & then some.

 

[gtdean48]

Nice one Carter

My recent OR has the Fifth Ave NY stencil in it = way cool!

 

[Carlisle Blues]

I bid and lost on this the winning bid was $142.

Don't even know if it was worth what I bid. Any thoughts?

If the item were in good condition I would have to get it blocked etc etc

 

[Garrett]

Carlisle, Difficult to say the worth on that one.....apparently $142. The WPI (28 in this case) makes a difference in what it goes for. Ask Panama Bob what he sells those for.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Thanks Garrett theoretically it has somewhere in the neighborhood of 784 wsi.

So that makes it worth the buck and more.

However, I could not discern the evenness of the weave, the condition of the the item itself.

When I have that many questions I won't put too much scratch on the lid [huh]

 

[citRon]

Did anyone here get those 2 Brunt's pure beaver felts in original boxes? One went for $5.50 and the other for $2.50.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280309650636

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280309645233

 

[Lefty]

Here are a few more recently ended auctions that weren't mentioned:
Tonak seal velour (protected images)

Cavanagh homburg

Stetson bantam weight

Nice 1926 Dobbs booklet

 

[cookie]

I had bid on this and I am sorry (Maybe) I did not snipe higher...but what do you guys think of this 61 minty Borsalino straw Fedora? Should I have bid USD150 and then there is the postage Down Under. USD145 is now AUD240!

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...m=230323319410&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013

 

[Woodfluter]

I had bid on this and I am sorry (Maybe) I did not snipe higher...but what do you guys think of this 61 minty Borsalino straw Fedora? Should I have bid USD150 and then there is the postage Down Under. USD145 is now AUD240!

It surely looks nice. Fine weave. Unusually large size. Not sure what the sweatband is like. I'm not sure what it's made of, maybe someone else here could enlighten us. Paglia means "straw" in Italian as far as I know.

I think I would have stopped where you did.

- Bill

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Here are a few more recently ended auctions that weren't mentioned: Tonak seal velour (protected images)

I went for and won this one, despite its close resemblance to Hitler's favorite fedora.

Seal velour felt is no longer used for hats. (And yes, it did come from seals.)

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