FIFTY CENT...AKUBRA?

[Mr. Lucky]

I was scrounging around an old thrift shop in Glendale, right off the Burbank border, when, having just about given up on finding ANYTHING, I came across a TV sized cardboard box of hats, mostly womens. Well, I deceided to dig a bit and I came up with a doozy! I think it's an Akubra - there was no liner but it said "Imperial Quality Felt" on the sweatband and that's the only company I know of that uses that moniker. Anyways, the hat is stained and beat and has a small tear at the peak of the crown. It also fits like a glove and is some of the softest felt I've ever touched! And it was only fifty-cents! Okay, it was actuall 49 cents, plus tax. But, hell!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

They don't call you Mr. Lucky for nothing!

.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

I was scrounging around an old thrift shop in Glendale, right off the Burbank border, when, having just about given up on finding ANYTHING, I came across a TV sized cardboard box of hats, mostly womens. Well, I deceided to dig a bit and I came up with a doozy! I think it's an Akubra - there was no liner but it said "Imperial Quality Felt" on the sweatband and that's the only company I know of that uses that moniker. Anyways, the hat is stained and beat and has a small tear at the peak of the crown. It also fits like a glove and is some of the softest felt I've ever touched! And it was only fifty-cents! Okay, it was actuall 49 cents, plus tax. But, hell!

At 49 cents you deserve the Lucky Dog Award for the week. :eusa_clap

 

[Feraud]

.49 cents! You have reaffirmed my faith in the thrift store.
Post a few pictures when you can. I have always wondered what a .49 cent hat looks like.

 

[BigSleep]

I bet you were in that joint on Glenoaks.

I never found anything good in there. guess I'll have to keep digging.

 

[feltfan]

Andrew Gross?

I have a couple of custom fedoras, probably from the 50s,
from an Oakland, CA hatter that is no longer around, Andrew Gross.
They are both marked "Imperial Quality". If you found an Andrew Gross,
that's a lot more rare (and interesting) than most Akubras. You
can see them in this thread:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3787

Don't know if other companies/hatters used the phrase as well.
In any event, sounds like a good find.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I have a couple of custom fedoras, probably from the 50s,
from an Oakland, CA hatter that is no longer around, Andrew Gross.
They are both marked "Imperial Quality". If you found an Andrew Gross,
that's a lot more rare (and interesting) than most Akubras. You
can see them in this thread:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3787

Don't know if other companies/hatters used the phrase as well.
In any event, sounds like a good find.

I took a closer look at what was left of the sweatband and, opposite of the Imperial Quality embossment, it said Good & Good, Quality Hats, New York. Beyond that it's beyond me. If anyone knows of that hatter, please share the info. The only thing, sometimes, more interesting than the hat itself is its history!

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I bet you were in that joint on Glenoaks.

I never found anything good in there. guess I'll have to keep digging.

Right on the money! Glenoaks and Sonoma! And I can't tell you how man years it's been since I found ANY fedoras in a thrift shop of any kind! Oh, by the way, at this vintage store next to the American Way thirft shop on Magnolia (I think the place is called Hubba-Hubba), they have a forest green Stetson Gaylord in size 7 3/8! It seems almost new and is going for $30!

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

On Magnolia? Forest green you say? :whistling

 

[Mr. Lucky]

On Magnolia? Forest green you say? :whistling

Yep. About two blocks east of Hollywood Way on Magnolia right next to the American Way Thrift store, across from the DoIt Center. It was on the far back, right wall and was in VERY nice shape.

I just looked it up -

Hubba Hubba
(818) 845-0636 3220 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA

Give 'em a call.