French Hats and makers.

[Daniele Tanto]

"Blessed are the small sizes because the vintage hat market will be theirs"

One of those hats that are rarely encountered in the life of an attentive collector. I bought it with my eyes closed, hoping ...

Morreton "Velrex"color is "Baltique", size 55-56 approximately

It has an internal opening of exactly 19x16 centimeters

It is certainly an antique hat, although, for me, it is difficult to date the creations of Morreton, one of the little-known French makers

I have the same type of black velvet hat with the same denomination and lining,
This is made of very fine blue velour and with a surface finish with a very short fur

The measures are these: the brims are 6 cm. and the ribbon at 2.5cm, the fully open crown is at 14cm.

This too is looking for a home, although I know a collector in the Land of Tulips who would have an astonish piece to add to his splendid collection. I'm sure he saw it but....maybe he is not believe it was such a beauty ;-)

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Mossant: brown felt with 5 1/2” open crown and a 2 1/16” brim with an overwelt. The size is French Point 5 or US size 7 1/8.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Flechet with a longer hair finish. The finish isn’t really long, and the hand is quite nice. The size is French Point 5 or US size 7 1/8. The open crown is 5 1/4” and the overwelt brim is 2 1/16” wide. I found it interesting that there was a “5” stamped in the felt behind the sweatband as this was the only indication of size.

 

[steur]

Flechet with a longer hair finish. The finish isn’t really long, and the hand is quite nice. The size is French Point 5 or US size 7 1/8. The open crown is 5 1/4” and the overwelt brim is 2 1/16” wide. I found it interesting that there was a “5” stamped in the felt behind the sweatband as this was the only indication of size.


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Two nice examples of French hatmanufacture, Brent. I like the Fléchet abit more, as it's style is not as common as the Mossant. Tough to tell what age they are, but likely late forties or early fifties.

 

[steur]

Mossant fedora in grey for Gérard Sools. Colour is called "charcoal" and it's unusual to find an English colour name on a Mossant hat. Size 57 with the raw edge brim at 6cm and the crown fairly low at 9,5cm at the center dent. Nice hand to the felt and the hat is lightweight at only 90 grams. Would have liked the flange in the back to be less steep though. Just one star ?

 

[steur]

Berry Welstaupe velour in black. Size 57 woth the raw edge brim at 7cm and the crown at 10 at the center dent. Unlined, but it probably did have one in the past. The brand name is French but I suspect the hatbody is likely Austrian in origin, because "Welstaupe" is not a French word, but German and translated as "Catfish". No other label than the size label inside, which does look French. Very high quality velour, which I think is thirties.

I couldn't find anything on the retailer.

 

[mayserwegener]

Berry Welstaupe velour in black. Size 57 woth the raw edge brim at 7cm and the crown at 10 at the center dent. Unlined, but it probably did have one in the past. The brand name is French but I suspect the hatbody is likely Austrian in origin, because "Welstaupe" is not a French word, but German and translated as "Catfish". No other label than the size label inside, which does look French. Very high quality velour, which I think is thirties.

I couldn't find anything on the retailer.

Stefan, Great find! Looks like a light weight and Seal Velour like.

 

[steur]

Stefan, Great find! Looks like a light weight and Seal Velour like.

Thank you, Steve. Well spotted: it is indeed quite lightweight at only 98 grams.

 

[steur]

Morreton baku. Let's face it: this is a wreck. It had only some slight damage before it was crammed in too small a box for shipping. Brim at 7 cm and the crown at 10cm at the center dent. Weighs 50 grams. This is actually the first baku straw from Europe I've ever seen, which makes it more heartbreaking that the seller was a moron to ship it like she did. Sigh.

 

[steur]

Willoughby Baku hat. Size 55 (I think) with the brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center crease. I bought it as a curiosity more than anything else, because only a few days before I stated in a post about a Morreton hat (right above this one in fact) that baku hats were extremely rare in Europe (they are). Lo and behold this one pops up right away. The quality of Willoughby is evident and it also weighs only 50 grams. It photographs well, but because of its size looks like an oddly tiny hat on me.

 

[steur]

Mossant Castor Hudson in grey made for Lalieu of Lille. Size 57 with the raw edge brim at 6,5cm and the crown at 10cm at the center dent. Castor Hudson was Mossants beaver fur quality. They did make nutria hats as well, but I've never found one of those.
This one is dated, but the date is hard to make out. Could either be 1932 or 1952. This is not a 1932 hat, so I'm going with 1952.

 

[mayserwegener]

Stefan, Two fantastic finds! I really enjoyed seeing both of them.

 

[steur]

Stefan, Two fantastic finds! I really enjoyed seeing both of them.

Thank you, Steve. Much appreciated.

 

[steur]

This is the Morreton @Daniele Tanto posted above, but this time in my backyard, as he kindly gifted it to me. Morreton Velrex in the colour Baltique. So it isn't black, but a very dark blue. Lovely velour with the raw edge brim at 6,5cm and the crown at 10,5 cm at the center dent. Morreton was a midtier producer with moderate prices hats, so this one is a bit of an oddity, as it is of very high quality. Weighs in at 117 grams.

 

[steur]

Everest qualité superieure fedora in grey. Size 60 with the overwelt brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. The heather felt is nice enough, but the hat lacks the high standard of earlier Ecuyer and Thomas production. The proportions of the hat are modest as well.

 

[steur]

Fléchet unlined fedora in black. Size 57 (and not 60 as advertised) with the raw edge brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 10cm at the center dent. This one has an excellent hand to the felt and has an unusual bow style. Sort of a loose and tilted backbow, but on the side. Judging by the lettering on the sweatband this is an early Fléchet.

 

[steur]

Thibet fedora in grey. Size 57, with the raw edge brim at 6cm and the crown at a fairly low 9cm at the center dent. Looks like this one has some woolcontent in the felt, but at 106 grams it isn't particularly heavy. It has that slightly rougher feel to the felt though. Thibet used to be made by Ecuyer and Thomas, but this one has "production isodaim" on the sweatband. Possibly production was outsourced in the later years, since Ecuyer and Thomas were around until 1997 and this is certainly earlier than that.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Morreton was a midtier producer with moderate prices hats, so this one is a bit of an oddity, as it is of very high quality. Weighs in at 117 grams.

Your claim about Morreton quality is 90% correct because every now and then, very rarely, I have had and have hats from this manufacturer of high quality, especially velour and "misti or melange". They are rare, but they are there. See this beauty

Everest qualité superieure fedora in grey. Size 60 with the overwelt brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. The heather felt is nice enough, but the hat lacks the high standard of earlier Ecuyer and Thomas production. The proportions of the hat are modest as well.

Ecuyer & Thomas signed a few hats on their own and I believe this happened until the Second World War. They are fantastic, as is their Thibet production. The post-war era was difficult for French manufacturing and it seems that at some point, before all the surviving brands were merged into a single brand, there was continuous exchanges of felt and manufacturing. Some felts are common among too many manufacturers to have been made specifically for one. The "Everest" production disappoints very often, I can testify with regret

Fléchet unlined fedora in black. Size 57 (and not 60 as advertised) with the raw edge brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 10cm at the center dent. This one has an excellent hand to the felt and has an unusual bow style. Sort of a loose and tilted backbow, but on the side. Judging by the lettering on the sweatband this is an early Fléchet.

This is the hands down champion of the day. I wish it had been a 60 cm. ... I would have taken advantage of it.
A beauty that I had never seen and is, from the lettering, very old.

Thibet fedora in grey. Size 57, with the raw edge brim at 6cm and the crown at a fairly low 9cm at the center dent. Looks like this one has some woolcontent in the felt, but at 106 grams it isn't particularly heavy. It has that slightly rougher feel to the felt though. Thibet used to be made by Ecuyer and Thomas, but this one has "production isodaim" on the sweatband. Possibly production was outsourced in the later years, since Ecuyer and Thomas were around until 1997 and this is certainly earlier than that.

What was said for Everest applies to the "Thibet". Ecuyer & Thomas were active up to twenty years ago, but for a poor quality production. Sorry to say, but that's the way it is. The hats had to arrive on the market at competitive prices, it means low and their quality was low, except for some rarity, when the felt was taken from the leftovers, then there was the possibility of running into something interesting.
However, the finishes were always average and very little reminiscent of the French hats of the past.
However it is a nice collection of hats. Congratulazioni!

 

[steur]

Your claim about Morreton quality is 90% correct because every now and then, very rarely, I have had and have hats from this manufacturer of high quality, especially velour and "misti or melange". They are rare, but they are there. See this beauty


Ecuyer & Thomas signed a few hats on their own and I believe this happened until the Second World War. They are fantastic, as is their Thibet production. The post-war era was difficult for French manufacturing and it seems that at some point, before all the surviving brands were merged into a single brand, there was continuous exchanges of felt and manufacturing. Some felts are common among too many manufacturers to have been made specifically for one. The "Everest" production disappoints very often, I can testify with regret


This is the hands down champion of the day. I wish it had been a 60 cm. ... I would have taken advantage of it.
A beauty that I had never seen and is, from the lettering, very old.


What was said for Everest applies to the "Thibet". Ecuyer & Thomas were active up to twenty years ago, but for a poor quality production. Sorry to say, but that's the way it is. The hats had to arrive on the market at competitive prices, it means low and their quality was low, except for some rarity, when the felt was taken from the leftovers, then there was the possibility of running into something interesting.
However, the finishes were always average and very little reminiscent of the French hats of the past.
However it is a nice collection of hats. Congratulazioni!

Thank you, Daniele. Your assessment of the hats is spot on. The Fléchet is by far the best in quality and I had indeed bought it with you in mind, knowing your interest in the older French hats.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Thank you, Daniele. Your assessment of the hats is spot on. The Fléchet is by far the best in quality and I had indeed bought it with you in mind, knowing your interest in the older French hats.

Grazie per il pensiero