Etchison Fedora's???

[Art Fawcett]

This is a new one on me Sergei...not bad looking though. More pics?

 

[Sergei]

Here are more pictures:

 

[Art Fawcett]

OK, I see now why it would remind you of a Marathon. Very close!! BTW, Marathons were made by the Lee hat co. for Penny's. Not bad quality. The pic makes the finish look a bit "fuzzy" but that isnt a bad thing. It looks like a good everyday hat.
Cheers!!
Lets see what JP can dig up on this name. Are you out there James Powers??

 

[jamespowers]

I think you are right Art. It has all the qualities of a Lee contract made hat. Same little ribbon, bound edge and a tall crown. It even has the same shape tags as a Lee of the era. I would like to see the tag with the Carter Feature on it more closely. That is interesting. Come to think of it. I think I will just buy the one I found and check it out.
The label says good hats since 1866 so they have been around a little while. As far as I can tell they were a small hatter in the North Carolina area. By the 1940s to 1950s when this hat was made, they were probably getting their hats made through Lee and reslling them or they got the hat and finished it out with their liners and sweatbands---though Lee would do that for a contract sale too.
The price of 7.95 was not all that cheap a hat in those days. Adam and Champ were selling cheaper hats than that directly from them. The only way to tell would be by feeling the felt. Lee's cheaper hats were medium weight. This looks to be a lighter weight so it had to be a bit better than the old Lee "farmer hat."
This is all guessing a bit until I get one in my hands to check out myself. Which should be in about 5-7 days.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Sergei]

Whoever "bulldogbaggins" is, bought these two Etchison fedora's that were on ebay. He paid some serious bucks for these two, $154 and $205. These fedora's must have been choice. I don't think a Lee's manufactured fedora would have gone that high. No mention of beaver content. I am really curious now on what this was all about. I thought I could pick these up for $50 tops.

-Sergei

 

[DBLIII]

A new member here, so hello to everyone.
I thought the same thing on those hats. I'm "LDLKennels" -- and that bidder just smoked past me on the long oval hat. I know very little about vintage hats, but it didn't seem from what I've learned here that this particular hat would be worth that kind of money.

 

[jamespowers]

I know what you mean about the bidding on those two items. My intention to bid got water thrown on it too. :kick:
When you think of it, that is nuts because you could have a 100% beaver hat made specifically for you for a small amount more than that---new. Defintiely too high for me. Now if it had been a rare Borsalino, Cervo, Barbisio, Panazzi or some other rare vintage hat then that is something else. ;-)
It makes me wonder. I picked up a much more rare 20's Nutria Stetson plush for $10 and this goes for $200. [huh]
More power to the seller I suppose.

Regards to all,

J

 

[DBLIII]

James: Absolutely. My background is cowboy hats, as I've worn one every single day for the past 20 years. It's just recently that I've been moving into the 20th century. Anyway, a stunning new very high quality cowboy hat is perhaps $500+, my beaver blend Rand's hats were in the $300 range... and I did get a Cavanagh hat off ebay last week for $60 (perhaps too much money, but my grandfather wore that brand, so I was willing to pay more than what it might be worth normally). My price point on this Etchison was that I'd been thinking about a new Christy's Trilby -- so I thought about half that would be ok ($75 as the halfway mark). I've yet to learn whether a Christy's is worth $150... but the Etchison must be worth over $200, since that's what someone paid for it. At this point, I need to go look out in my sheds to see if I have a stack of Etchison hats. If so, I must be quite wealthy!

 

[Art Fawcett]

Gents, there is often no ryme nor reason at auctions, even ebay. I've seen items that I sold years ago for $15 go for several hundred. I think it's called "auction fever". Any luck on researching the name further J?

 

[Sergei]

Well, I am absolutely dumbfounded. I have searched high and low on these Etchison's and nothing at all. For someone to pay those prices for one fedora, let alone two, there has to be a better explanation. If there is a true market for Etchison's, I am going to scour the world in making a profit like these two that sold.

 

[DBLIII]

Sergei: Sir, I agree. The people at work today thought I was more crazy than usual. I was running web searches on Etchison, I had my cousin (an attorney) researching the brand name and on and on. Finally, one of the IS guys came by and told me to quit using so much bandwidth - we have in-house servers, whatever that means........as we were even trying searches on the name in the hatband.
I found nothing. Oh, well. I suspect that James is correct. Auctions cause strange things to happen. At least I know my plan later today -- paint "Etchison" on a rusty shovel I have outside in the garden and list it on eBay.

 

[Danosaurus]

Whew I was watching these hats too, because it's rare anything vintage comes up on ebay in my size. Maybe that had something to do with it too, you don't see many larger sizes like 7 1/2 or 5/8.

 

[Canadave]

...it's rare anything vintage comes up on ebay in my size. Maybe that had something to do with it too, you don't see many larger sizes like 7 1/2 or 5/8.

I can relate, Dano. What is your size?

David

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Whew I was watching these hats too, because it's rare anything vintage comes up on ebay in my size. Maybe that had something to do with it too, you don't see many larger sizes like 7 1/2 or 5/8.

I bet he bought them for 4 reasons.
1 Color
2 deadstock
3 size
4 vintage

 

[jamespowers]

I think Sharpie has it pretty much down for the reasons why but there are others out there that sell for less.
A Lee contract hat is not all that rare but then again, in that size most Lees are rare. You can find a ton of them in 7 1/4 but it gets more scarce as size goes up. Then you reach a size point where very few people are at and then price goes down again.
It seems 7 1/2 and 7 5/8 are that scarce size that turns up once in a while.
As for Christy, they are probably more rare in this country. I think I might have a line on a 7 1/2 if anyone is interested.
The Cavanagh, in my opinion, is worth the $60 in your size. I would even pay more---depending on vintage. They were high quality hats.
Cowboy hats are sort of in a differenet world than fedoras because there are people willing to pay a ton of money for a new cowboy hat. Their market is quite stable. I don't know exactly why stiff hats like that are a big market but they are. I have a nearly white 40s stetson cowboy hat and I think it is probably much less stiff than the stuff of today. The 1920s Stetson Nutris cowboy hats were even less stiff. I suppose cowboy hats are sort of like a hard hat for the farm guy now. You ride through brush with it on and it doesn't get ripped up.
I am not going to complain about the market though because it brings a lot of stuff to us that would otherwise never be seen. If the market says an Etchinson is worth $200 in 7 1/2 then I need to find a couple of boxes of them.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Danosaurus]

I can relate, Dano. What is your size?

David

Well, the old melon actually measures about 61cm, which should be 7 5/8...but my 7 5/8 Keppler is too loose, and I also had to send my Adventurebilt in that size back in to be sized down. Also my size 61 Akubras are too big. So I guess, even though I measure in at 7 5/8, I am actually a 7 1/2.

As for Christy, they are probably more rare in this country. I think I might have a line on a 7 1/2 if anyone is interested.

I might be...PM me!

 

[K.D. Lightner]

My friend who buys and sells on Ebay said when people overbid on something, it is usually because they are new bidders and don't know the value of things, or they collect certain things and have to have it for their collection.

Sometimes, when I am in a bidding war, I check other bidders' profiles. If they are new to the game, anything goes. If they are the gotta win at any price types (and you can sometimes tell by how much they bid on other things), then you will probably lose. Probably at the very last second.

Sniping is not only an art form for some, it is an addiction.

The only thing you can do is figure out how much you are willing to pay for an item and then hope you are not outbid. If you are, so it goes.

karol

 

[Joedahat]

Hat Sizes

Good Day & Hello to all,
My first post and I am going to jump right in on the hat size discussion above. The Biltmore styles have the most consistant sizes in all of their qualities. The Borsalino hats are currently sized in both the UK, and USA sizes, which lists the UK 1 hat size larger than the USA size. When we order for our stock, we ask for the Borsalino Factory to size as 56 cm = size 7 US. They still seem to run on the small side. As far as sizing on the common Stetson, Dobbs felt hats, their sizing is all over the board, depending on the leather sweat sewn in. Quality control seems to be lacking in their sizing department.
I work in the retail side of the hat trade and have done so for the last 20 years. Even in that seemingly short time, the qualitiy of the fur used in the production of hats has declined, while the cost of the finished product has skyrocketed.

 

[jamespowers]

I work in the retail side of the hat trade and have done so for the last 20 years. Even in that seemingly short time, the qualitiy of the fur used in the production of hats has declined, while the cost of the finished product has skyrocketed.

Welcome. You are sort of within my frame of reference as well. Hats have indeed gone down in their quaility. To be more specific this is referring to the cookie cutter hats that are mass produced. A work a day stetson from the 40s and 50s puts most modern hats to shame. It is not only the materials but it is also the fit and finish. Hatters in those days made the most of what they had. Even "cheap" hats had style and flair.
Hats of today look like they are stamped out like cookie dough. I suppose this is because they are. The true masters of old are long gone and I doubt they imparted any of their knowledge to those currently producing hats on a scale such as Hatco is now.
I look at a modern Dobbs and just laugh when I compare it to my cheapest vintage Dobbs. The liner is unimaginative. The sweatband feels like cardboard and the felt is like sandpaper---not to mention stiff as a cowboy hat. I suppose it has to be stiff to mask the fact that the felt is about as dense as a common kitchen Collander!
So I do indeed commiserate with you concerning the quality and price of many manufactured hats today. I wonder what John B. would say of the current state of Stetson. :cry:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Joedahat]

Biltmore Royal

The Biltmore "Royal" Quality currently retails between $100.00 & $115.00. It has a smoother finish and more flexible body then the "Senator".