German & Austrian Hutmachers

[RobStC]

Meteor (Hermann von Heesen)

Can you please post photos (side, front, liner, sweat, paper label behind the sweat) of the "Meteor" Fedora you picked up? I have some German hats with unique names and no hat company mentioned. A hatter friend in Germany said that gave individual shops something unique to market.

Picked this one up yeserday from a bunch of hats that appeared in a local vintage clothing shop. Hermann von Heesen (Bochum) seems to be a clothier/outfitters in Germany.

No paper labels under sweat, apart from a simple '58' size tag. Stamped 'Meteor' on the sweat, but that's the only marking I can find. Sweat is gray leather - a bit wrinkled! Whole hat was rather squashed but has responded well to a good steam and shaping. Good but quite stiff felt - nice soft mid-gray colour, with a hint of green. Silver ribbon with neat bow detail, and matching edge binding. 2 3/8" brim, and approx. 5 1/2" open crown. A bit of taper, but not excessive.

A nice everyday hat, and definitely a good £20~ worth

RobStC

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[mayserwegener]

Rob, Thank you for posting the photos. From the construction I can't tell the manufacturer. I have some hats that were made for German clothing stores and hat shops. If you look back in this thread you will see some examples. The double loop back ribbon / bow work on this one is really nice / unique. Does it appear to be factory blocked? Is the liner sewn in? Very nice find!

 

[Mario]

Sweet. I really like the bow detail.

 

[RobStC]

Does it appear to be factory blocked? Is the liner sewn in? Very nice find!

Hi MW,
Seemed to want to take a standard-ish teardrop, so I suspect it's either lived in that shape for a long time or else it was originally factory blocked. I returned it to open crown for cleaning and steaming, but couldn't remove all the original crease marks. Fortunately, not too different from how I like them..... And yes, the liner is sewn in. I have to say I'm really taken with the bow/ribbon details on this one - don't recall seeing any triangular knots before.

Will go back to the shop again tomorrow and see what else is there!

RobStC

 

[RobStC]

Sweet. I really like the bow detail.

Thanks Mario - me too!!

 

[mayserwegener]

Hi MW,
Seemed to want to take a standard-ish teardrop, so I suspect it's either lived in that shape for a long time or else it was originally factory blocked. I returned it to open crown for cleaning and steaming, but couldn't remove all the original crease marks. Fortunately, not too different from how I like them..... And yes, the liner is sewn in. I have to say I'm really taken with the bow/ribbon details on this one - don't recall seeing any triangular knots before.

Will go back to the shop again tomorrow and see what else is there!

RobStC

My guess is it was factory blocked. That becomes more common in the late 50s. I haven't seen a bow like that either. Really fantastic!

Hopefully you can take photos of the other hats.

 

[RobStC]

Eleganter Sporthut

I couldn't resist..... A mystery 'long-ish hair' hat that I picked up from among the recent load of German and Austrian hats. Very soft felt, but rather mothed. Most obvious bald patches are on top of the crown where it doesn't really get seen, and at the base of the ribbon and also under the brim. Hmmm, pesky little creatures.....

2 1/8" brim, open crown of 6". No other labels apart from stamping on the sweat band. No trace of any liner. Approx. 55cm, so unfortunately too small for me

Looks like 30's sort of proportions to me. Any thoughts?

A nice hat (apart from the mothing), but will probably go onto the Classifieds at some point. Mind you, I suspect my son has taken a fancy to it.....

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[hatophile]

Sweet, Rob, I say 30's for sure. Let your son keep it, it's special.

 

[RobStC]

Sweet, Rob, I say 30's for sure. Let your son keep it, it's special.

Thanks, Hatophile. I couldn't just let it sit there looking so forlorn, and it possibly end up as a fancy dress hat for somebody who doesn't know one end of a hat from another - I just had to give it a caring home.

I love the idea of my son, who's now 10, having access to nice stuff (he has a nice little collection of various hats, about a dozen or so, all oldies), but at the same time I'm slightly hesitant about the delicacy of old sweatbands and 80 year old stitching in the hands of an exuberant child :eeek:

In the meantime, I'm happy just to look and stroke.....

RobStC

 

[mayserwegener]

Rob, That's a real beauty. The lighter color ones are even more rare (no matter the size) but usually moth damaged like this one. It could be 1930s but it could easily be 1920s or older. Super find!

 

[Mario]

I couldn't resist...

You did well. To resist that hat would be some sort of crime...I love it!

2 1/8" brim, open crown of 6". No other labels apart from stamping on the sweat band. No trace of any liner. Approx. 55cm, so unfortunately too small for me

A nice hat (apart from the mothing), but will probably go onto the Classifieds at some point. Mind you, I suspect my son has taken a fancy to it...

Should you want to get rid of it - I'd buy it...! Exactly the kind of hat I've been trying to hunt down this past year or so. Color is perfect, too! *hint hint*

 

[Mario]

lol Steve...I just came across the photos of that wonderful Hückel again and I have to confess that just the sight of it makes me one happy heavy breather...! :eeek:

 

[mayserwegener]

Mario, Thanks! This one should be in a museum. That was the week of Austrian Velours.

 

[RobStC]

Assorted hats - some of the ones I didn't buy!

Various hats from the recently found batch at a local vintage clothing shop. Sorry about the poor photos, as well as the generally crumpled state of the hats. They were pretty much just all crumpled up together, and quite a few with liners missing.

Rockel Echter Velour - size 56

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'Hairy' Alpine - size 57

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Suppless - 58

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'Elegant' Black Velour - 58

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[RobStC]

And some more.....

Mayser - 57

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Rockel - 57

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Fraenkel - 56

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[RobStC]

And finally.....

VEB Luckenwalder - 57

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Huckel 'Suede' - 60?

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Antilope - 6?

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Wegener Blue Suede - 55

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[RobStC]

Watch this space!

According to the salesperson, there is another whole batch of hats from the same source (Amsterdam) still due to be priced and put out on display. So needless to say I'll be popping in to the shops regularly over the next few weeks.

Will also post details of the ones I did buy..... (10 or 11 in total ).

RobStC

 

[RobStC]

'Imperator'

Presumably German, liner missing (traces of glue), only stamped 'Imperator' and T.W. (initials) on the very soft and supple sweatband. Very nice felt indeed, not thin but very light and flexible - a new bash every time you handle it! Puts my two vintage Borsos to shame; the only thing I've felt that is nicer is my Dunlap Superior. 2 1/2" brim and 5 1/2" open crown. Approx. 55cm. Perfect condition apart from missing liner

Label under the sweat reads: Form 427, Qual Foulard, Farbe Schwarz, 4714.

Anyone (ie Mayserwegener!) got any idea what it is? Grateful for any input

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[mayserwegener]

Rob, Thanks for taking and posting the photos. They look to be early/mid 1960s to mid/late 1970s. I really like the Lukenwalder Hutfabrik (DDR) Velour, Fraenkel Wien, ? Antilope (this is the finish), and the ? Imperator.

The Imperator is a German City style hat with a lighter weight (Foulard) felt. It's of German or Austrian origin and probably from 1960s but still has a very classic look.

 

[RobStC]

The Imperator is a German City style hat with a lighter weight (Foulard) felt. It's of German or Austrian origin and probably from 1960s but still has a very classic look.

Thanks for this, Steve. I remember you've posted a Huckel 'Foulard' in the past, and I initially wondered if this one might be related in some way - even though it has no branding by which to identify it. I didn't realise that 'Foulard' was simply a term for lighter weight felt :eusa_doh:.

Still really nice felt, whatever it is.....

RobStC