Thanks, Martin. Excellent sleuthing work!I found :
Albert Mertés 1853-1924 (hat manufacturer)
His wife... Hermine HABIG from Wien (daughter of hat manufacturer)
Their daughter : Mimi Mertés
Thanks, Martin. Excellent sleuthing work!I found :
Albert Mertés 1853-1924 (hat manufacturer)
His wife... Hermine HABIG from Wien (daughter of hat manufacturer)
Their daughter : Mimi Mertés
Some Irish whiskey perhaps? I'd go for a hat in this colour.
Martin, Interesting. Last year I found this Mayser "Grosser Preis" / M. Mertés Hutfabrik.I found :
Albert Mertés 1853-1924 (hat manufacturer)
His wife... Hermine HABIG from Wien (daughter of hat manufacturer)
Their daughter : Mimi Mertés
Stefan, Super! I like everything about it. Looking forward to seeing it in action.Wegener Cornett in a grey colour called Olmütz (Wegener uses placenames for their colours). Size 56, with the bound brim at 6,5cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. Camber model, although it works just as well as a fedora.
Stefan, Great looking Homburg! W & G Schuchart go way back. I think it might have been made by Anton Peschel Dinkelsbühl.I suspect it will be green hats all around today, but there are other (better) ways to go to celebrate St Patrick's day. A hat in the colour of Guiness for example and a different nod to Ireland.
Dublin homburg hat in black. Size 56 with the brim at 6cm and the crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Model is called Basel and the quality is called Poniko. I need another black homburg like I need a hole in my head, but I couldn't resist. The label is by W&G Schuchart, a wholeseller who likely sourced from Wegener. Sláinte!
Martin, Interesting. Last year I found this Mayser "Grosser Preis" / M. Mertés Hutfabrik.
https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/3-mayser-hutfabrik/?do=findComment&comment=3066
Back in March 2022 I found that M. Mertés (I thought was a man ) was a wholesaler / representative in Cologne. I have a P. & C. Habig catalog that mentions her as their representative for Germany (see below).
P. & C. Habig Wien - Berlin Catalog (Late 1890s early 1900s).
Also found this. 1935 Cologne address book with M. Mertés.
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/german-austrian-hutmachers.32103/page-464#post-2899292
Founded 1841 so should be dad of Albert Mertés ... Found entry in adressbook of cologne from 1855 :
Martin, Thank you for additional information. It's good to see Mayser Ulm is listed so probably confirms that my Stiff Felt was made by Mayser Ulm.
Martin, Great looking Wilke!
Stefan, Super! I like everything about it. Looking forward to seeing it in action.
Thank you, Steve. And good to see you and Martin uncovering some cool information about Mertés.Stefan, Super! I like everything about it. Looking forward to seeing it in action.
Excellent information, Martin. Thanks for posting.....continued...
Of course, extraordinary difficulties had to be overcome after the war in order to get the lost exports going again and to gain new ground on the former foreign sales markets, especially since in individual competing countries the domestic industry there - similar to our hair hat industry - during the war technically very much improved and had become extraordinarily efficient. However, the tenacious efforts of the entrepreneurs succeeded in increasing exports to such an extent that in the years 1927/28 they reached 80 per cent in value of the total production. Unfortunately, the economic crisis brought about a change. The devaluation of many European currencies has exacerbated this over the past few years; After the North American market had been blocked some time earlier by the introduction of high protective tariffs for German imports, the devaluation of the pound sterling in particular made the hitherto considerable exports to the Nordic countries and to England itself almost impossible. The export share fell to half, that is to 15 per cent, of the total production, and figures can be used to show that the reduction in the number of employees which occurred during the crisis can be attributed exclusively to the drop in exports. In other words: throughout the crisis, the Gubener hat industry maintained its domestic sales in terms of employment. Certainly an achievement to be proud of and of which entrepreneurs and followers can be proud! Of the 48 hat factories in Germany in 1928, the crisis swept away 12, i.e. a quarter, so that in 1934 only 36 were still in existence. Only one of the twelve factories that were shut down was in Guben, so that at the time our town was often described as an economic oasis.
For various reasons, the National Socialist state's vigorous job-creation measures could not have a direct impact on the hat industry. They had to be aimed at the big picture, that is, cover those trades that could accommodate the largest possible number of workers, so that they could not be geared to the special conditions of such a narrow special industry. Then there was the fact that the hat is not part of a uniform, so that there was no animation from this side either. In addition, the hatless fashion that had existed for years continued to have a very detrimental effect on employment. So in the hat industry a certain improvement only became noticeable in the second half of 1934.
With around 6,500 employees, the hat industry is the largest provider of jobs for the commercial population of the town of Guben. If it were possible to increase exports more strongly again, a further large number of jobs could be filled; the number of employees in October 1927 was almost 7500!
The wool and hair hat industry is an industry that involves a great deal of labor, because it first produces a semi-finished product (so-called felt hoods) from the natural raw material (wool, noils, rabbit and hare hair) and then immediately afterwards produces the finished product from the semi-finished product, which as it leaves the factory, is used by the consumer. Men and women work in roughly equal proportions (46 to 54 percent). The decisive factor for the large number of female followers is the fact that on the one hand the material in the first steps requires more delicate processing by the lighter woman's hand and on the other hand the hat stitching and trimmings with their many sewing tasks are typical women's work.
On average, about 60% of the employees are pieceworkers.
If you estimate the sum of all wages and salaries that the Gubener hat industry pays per year, you still arrive at an amount of around 8 million Reichsmarks today (compared to a high of 12 to 13 million marks in 1927). If you take into account that the approximately 6,500 employees each support one relative from their earnings, then there are around 13,000 Guben residents who earn their livelihood directly from the hat industry.
From these figures it follows that the hat industry is the characteristic industry for Guben and that Guben is rightly called the "Hat City of Germany".
Steve helped with translation... Still so much here that i have to say that i didnt really read it at all ...Excellent information, Martin. Thanks for posting.
another entry inFounded 1841 so should be dad of Albert Mertés ... Found entry in adressbook of cologne from 1855 :
Mertés Joh. Math., Hutfabrikant, Hohestr.87