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

RBH

RBH

Bartender
Messages
15,308
Location
Thin Ribbon Ranch-Crowley's Ridge Arkansas
ScottF said:
Just won this greenish Brock, along with a couple of others. I don't know anything about Brocks - anyone else?

!BZSpy3g!Wk~$(KGrHgoH-EIEjlLlzEZJBKl+Jpm5!Q~~_3.JPG


!BZSp5IwB2k~$(KGrHgoH-DcEkJw1)bDiBKl+KCvHCg~~_3.JPG
Click to expand...
It would seem Brock was made by Stetson in Canada.
The first Brock hat ad I found was from 1922.

brochhats.jpg
 

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CRH

CRH

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,272
Location
West Branch, IA
munchausen said:
Holy crap, having seen how much the last ones have gone for the buyer got an absolute bargain!!! ...
Click to expand...

That's me in the middle but if I can get my head into a Whippet for $22.50 I'll make a deal with the devil to be the guy on the right :eek:.

beetlejuice.jpg
 
Lefty

Lefty

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,639
Location
O-HI-O
RBH said:
It would seem Brock was made by Stetson in Canada.
The first Brock hat ad I found was from 1922.
Click to expand...

I wonder how many different names Stetson was using. There's the Penn-Craft homburg a few pages back, but that one says that Penn-Craft is made by the John B. Stetson Company. Here, the hat doesn't say Stetson, but the ad isn't shy about it. I suppose that these could be other companies that Stetson purchased and wanted to continue to trade on their names, or they could just be attempts to launch different names for different styles/markets (the Penn-Craft hat is very dressy, though I don't see anything about the Brock that would separate it from other Stetson designs). Any thoughts?
 
jimmy the lid

jimmy the lid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,647
Location
USA
Lefty said:
I don't see anything about the Brock that would separate it from other Stetson designs. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

From Snyder's Stetson Hats and the John B. Stetson Company:

In 1935, as it became increasingly difficult to market their hats overseas, Stetson began setting up plants in other countries to thwart the tariff restrictions. Their first foreign plant was located in Canada. Stetson "acquired a substantial interest" in the Wolthausen Hat Corporation in Brockville, Ontario. One of the largest manufacturers of men's fur hats in Canada, Wolthausen producing [sic] Brock hats and other lines known throughout the Dominion. These continued to be produced, along with Stetsons. It was the first time Stetson hats had ever been produced outside of Philadelphia. Other foreign branches were soon opened in Mexico, Australia and elsewhere.


Cheers,
JtL
 
Lefty

Lefty

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,639
Location
O-HI-O
Thanks JtL. :)
Does Snyder specify what those difficulties were? I'm also curious as to what happened to those companies when the difficulties ended.

Oh, and, um...Canada...overseas...? [huh]
 
jimmy the lid

jimmy the lid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,647
Location
USA
Lefty said:
Does Snyder specify what those difficulties were? I'm also curious as to what happened to those companies when the difficulties ended.

Oh, and, um...Canada...overseas...? [huh]
Click to expand...

Snyder doesn't really explain it, although he does note "the American government's imposition of strong tariff barriers." Although I am not a fan of citing Wikipedia, it may provide some quick insight:

"When the Great Depression hit, international trade shrank drastically. The crisis baffled the GOP, and it unwisely tried its magic one last time in the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. This time it backfired, as Canada, Britain, Germany, France and other industrial countries retaliated with their own tariffs and special, bilateral trade deals. American imports and exports both went into a tailspin."

So, my sense is that, by 1935, when Stetson acquired a substantial interest in the Wolthausen Hat Corporation, it was looking for a way around any export or import tariffs that were hampering its access to overseas markets. Of course, hard on the heels of this came WWII, which presented its own challenge to Stetson's overseas business, as detailed here.

Cheers,
JtL
 
ScottF

ScottF

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,755
jimmy the lid said:
From Snyder's Stetson Hats and the John B. Stetson Company:

In 1935, as it became increasingly difficult to market their hats overseas, Stetson began setting up plants in other countries to thwart the tariff restrictions. Their first foreign plant was located in Canada. Stetson "acquired a substantial interest" in the Wolthausen Hat Corporation in Brockville, Ontario. One of the largest manufacturers of men's fur hats in Canada, Wolthausen producing [sic] Brock hats and other lines known throughout the Dominion. These continued to be produced, along with Stetsons. It was the first time Stetson hats had ever been produced outside of Philadelphia. Other foreign branches were soon opened in Mexico, Australia and elsewhere.


Cheers,
JtL
Click to expand...

Thanks jtl, CRH, Lefty. It appealed to me because it had a Playboyish look to it, so if I'm lucky it will be of similar felt quality.

It's been 'green week' - 1st three, and all within seven days.
 
ScottF

ScottF

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,755
Stetson Panama

I hope someone didn't make a mistake here - after reading the odd comment about 'originally sold as..', I emailed the guy and only got very cryptic responses - he refused to answer my questions about possible damage.

Stetson panama on Ebay
 
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