German & Austrian Hutmachers

[mayserwegener]

Franz Gober München Advertisement (December, 1936)

(From: Deutsche Hutmacher-Zeitung, December 15, 1936)

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Steve, as always: not only is your hat collection the bomb,
but so are the papers, brochures, magazines, etc. - a goldmine!
I wonder how you keep track of the sheer abundance of material:
Do you have your own archive system!?

 

[mayserwegener]

Steve, as always: not only is your hat collection the bomb,
but so are the papers, brochures, magazines, etc. - a goldmine!
I wonder how you keep track of the sheer abundance of material:
Do you have your own archive system!?

Matt, Thank you! Most of what I have are my own digital archives. I usually know where to look but sometimes I just stumble upon something.

 

[steur]

Stefan, Thanks! Here is Wilke with a similar paper label fthat Manfred found a while ago.

The F.W.S. on the paper label is Friedrich W. Schneider Köln and as you know they are still in business today and own Stetson Europe.

I actually found a F.W.S. advertisement (in a 1954 German Hat Exhibition booklet I have photo archived) that mentions the Wilke mark.

I believe F.W.S. sourced their hats in this time period because I haven't found evidence of any production facilities. F.W.S. also purchased the Berlin Gubener Hutfabrik (B.G.H.) mark post WWII.

I spotted it on your website, Steve. Different model, but other than that very much the same.

 

[steur]

Hückel Extra velour hat. Size unknown, but feels like a size 56 (maybe a 55). Overwelt brim at 5cm and crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Dates from before WWII, but feels a bit smallish in its proportions for a hat of that age. Someone has taken a pair of scissors to the sweatband at one point for some reason, because it is uneven. Unfortunately no label inside the hat. Made for the French market.

 

[PanosChris]

Hückel Extra velour hat. Size unknown, but feels like a size 56 (maybe a 55). Overwelt brim at 5cm and crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Dates from before WWII, but feels a bit smallish in its proportions for a hat of that age. Someone has taken a pair of scissors to the sweatband at one point for some reason, because it is uneven. Unfortunately no label inside the hat. Made for the French market.

Always nice to see Huckel velours. Pity about the sweatband and the missing label. I am wondering if the "extra" would have been mentioned on the label too, but we'll never know

 

[PanosChris]

Wilke, Homburg in black, I found locally. Marked size 59, but probably a bit bigger than that. Unfortunately no liner or crown patch on this one and neither any clear evidence of them once existing actually, stitches or glue. Evidence for a broken wind cord is concrete.

Even more confusing is the label. I am guessing a retailers label, but is in English (given that it was imported in Denmark). The "Wilke 59" is the size tag, once attached to the sweatband, the other one is attached to the felt. The felt quality and overall shape/form make up for the flaws, I think

 

[mayserwegener]

Wilke, Homburg in black, I found locally. Marked size 59, but probably a bit bigger than that. Unfortunately no liner or crown patch on this one and neither any clear evidence of them once existing actually, stitches or glue. Evidence for a broken wind cord is concrete. View attachment 333047 View attachment 333048 View attachment 333049 View attachment 333050 View attachment 333051 View attachment 333052 View attachment 333054 View attachment 333055 View attachment 333057 View attachment 333058
Even more confusing is the label. I am guessing a retailers label, but is in English (given that it was imported in Denmark). The "Wilke 59" is the size tag, once attached to the sweatband, the other one is attached to the felt. The felt quality and overall shape/form make up for the flaws, I think

Panos, Looks great! It appears to be from the 1950s but I don't believe I have seen a Wilke sweatband like this before. The unmarked size label is very similar to ones I have seen in Wegener and Rockel hats. As I mentioned above the Wilke mark was owned by F. W. Schneider Köln in Germany but I have no idea if this extended outside of Germany.

 

[mayserwegener]

Hückel Extra velour hat. Size unknown, but feels like a size 56 (maybe a 55). Overwelt brim at 5cm and crown at 10,5cm at the center dent. Dates from before WWII, but feels a bit smallish in its proportions for a hat of that age. Someone has taken a pair of scissors to the sweatband at one point for some reason, because it is uneven. Unfortunately no label inside the hat. Made for the French market.

Stefan, Very interesting! Is the Over Welt blind stitched? I tend to think it was modified.

 

[steur]

Always nice to see Huckel velours. Pity about the sweatband and the missing label. I am wondering if the "extra" would have been mentioned on the label too, but we'll never know

Thanks, Panos. I certainly was hoping for a label and I've been looking some distance under the liner too, but nothing.

Wilke, Homburg in black, I found locally. Marked size 59, but probably a bit bigger than that. Unfortunately no liner or crown patch on this one and neither any clear evidence of them once existing actually, stitches or glue. Evidence for a broken wind cord is concrete. View attachment 333047 View attachment 333048 View attachment 333049 View attachment 333050 View attachment 333051 View attachment 333052 View attachment 333054 View attachment 333055 View attachment 333057 View attachment 333058
Even more confusing is the label. I am guessing a retailers label, but is in English (given that it was imported in Denmark). The "Wilke 59" is the size tag, once attached to the sweatband, the other one is attached to the felt. The felt quality and overall shape/form make up for the flaws, I think

Very nice, Panos. It has some presence to it.

 

[steur]

Stefan, Very interesting! Is the Over Welt blind stitched? I tend to think it was modified.

Thanks, Steve. It is, or rather it was. I unmodified it today. Would have sat on a shelf wasting away otherwise I think. Your reaction gave me the nudge I needed to just go for it. Went remarkably well and it’s a totally different hat and much more on par with what you’d expect from a hat from that era. It was quite easy to be honest. Took out the stitching, wetted both sides of the brim edge, folded the welt back as far it would go and worked it a bit with my fingers, put cloth over it and steam ironed it on both sides. After that it was a question of multiple brushings back and forth to bring back the nap. You’d have to take a pretty good look to know it was an overwelt before. I'll post it again in its new guise as soon as I take pics of it.

 

[mayserwegener]

Thanks, Steve. It is, or rather it was. I unmodified it today. Would have sat on a shelf wasting away otherwise I think. Your reaction gave me the nudge I needed to just go for it. Went remarkably well and it’s a totally different hat and much more on par with what you’d expect from a hat from that era. It was quite easy to be honest. Took out the stitching, wetted both sides of the brim edge, folded the welt back as far it would go and worked it a bit with my fingers, put cloth over it and steam ironed it on both sides. After that it was a question of multiple brushings back and forth to bring back the nap. You’d have to take a pretty good look to know it was an overwelt before. I'll post it again in its new guise as soon as I take pics of it.

Stefan, Unfortunately some of these hats end up that way. I look forward to seeing your de-modification. Thanks for saving it!

 

[Koechinggendoet]

Hello guys,today my hat just arrived from my friend,for only 30 dollars
An black wegener homburg
I dont know at what year its made
Here some photo of it
Can someone help me how to fix the misshapen brim?thankyou

 

[Steve1857]

A nice looking Wilke Homburg, Panos. Wish I could help with that H.J.H., but it's not ringing any bells. I'll see if I can find out anything.

Wilke, Homburg in black, I found locally. Marked size 59, but probably a bit bigger than that. Unfortunately no liner or crown patch on this one and neither any clear evidence of them once existing actually, stitches or glue. Evidence for a broken wind cord is concrete. View attachment 333047 View attachment 333048 View attachment 333049 View attachment 333050 View attachment 333051 View attachment 333052 View attachment 333054 View attachment 333055 View attachment 333057 View attachment 333058
Even more confusing is the label. I am guessing a retailers label, but is in English (given that it was imported in Denmark). The "Wilke 59" is the size tag, once attached to the sweatband, the other one is attached to the felt. The felt quality and overall shape/form make up for the flaws, I think

 

[mayserwegener]

Hello guys,today my hat just arrived from my friend,for only 30 dollars
An black wegener homburg
I dont know at what year its made
Here some photo of it
Can someone help me how to fix the misshapen brim?thankyou

Why don't you display the photos so they are visible? You can go back and edit post.

Can you post a photo of the paper label behind the sweatband?

Just hit the brim with steam and reshape. You can use a steam kettle or buy a hat or similar type of steamer. Just make sure to avoid steam hitting the sweatband.

 

[Koechinggendoet]

Why don't you display the photos so they are visible? You can go back and edit post.

Can you post a photo of the paper label behind the sweatband?

Just hit the brim with steam and reshape. You can use a steam kettle or buy a hat or similar type of steamer. Just make sure to avoid steam hitting the sweatband.

sorry i was in such rush last night

 

[Koechinggendoet]

Here you go all the photos

 

[Steve1857]

Your photos are still not visible. I'm not sure how you're trying to attach them, but try clicking on the "upload an image" button.

Here you go all the photos

 

[Koechinggendoet]

I will try it again,something must have been gone wrong

 

[Koechinggendoet]

There you go