HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOMBURG!

[Ephraim Tutt]

Today, on this here thread, we pay tribute to Homburg - both the hat and its city of origin. Because today, dear citizens of FL, is the 127th birthday of that felted lid.

For those of you who haven't kept up, Dreispitz discovered:

"According to a Wikipedia entry (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homburg_(Hut)) the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) commissioned Hatter Mockel of Bad Homburg on the 29th of August 1882 to make a Homburg hat for him. He was not the inventor, however. His German nephew Emperor Wilhelm II already wore one in green for hunting. Edward had an affection to like it and had one made in gray."


So, this being 29 August and the the famous hat's birthday, let's use this thread to pay tribute to all things Homburg - the hat, its creators and the city. Go ahead and post:

- pics of your favourite homburgs,
- pictures of homburgs you don't own, old and new that are worth sharing,
- photos of the City, or of King Edward in a homburg,
- information on the hutmacher Phillip Mockel

And if any of you have any pics of a hat made by this famous hutmacher, we'd all love to see 'em.

Today is declared Homage to Homburg Day! Let's pay our respects and get posting!

King Edward VII in Bad Homburg - in a Homburg!

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Bump!

 

[marvelgoose]

Now that you told me that Prince Wilhelm was the first person to wear a Homburg, I can safely say that I'll never willingly wear one. He started the arms race that let to the war that saw millions slaughtered. All to salve his ineffable vanity. In my book, the Homburg now occupies the same place occupied by the Hitler mustache and the Stalin cap - a spot marked "never to be worn"

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

That's right - blame the hat!
Who'da thought the homburg would be considered a weapon of mass destruction!
Actually, it was Prince Edward of Britain who modified Wilhelm's hunting hat and turned it into what we now know as the homburg.
So relax.

 

[WideBrimm]

Here's the same wikipedia article in English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homburg_(hat) I was going to ask for an explanation of how to differentiate the Homburg from the fedora, but the short article explains it. So now I know the difference lol

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Wiki gets it close, except that the crown of a homburg is often soft, not stiff.

Anyhow, I can see where the Wilhelm might cause some bad feelings, but Tutt is right. The actual 'burg is on King Eddie's head.

Vive la Homburg!

 

[metropd]

Now that you told me that Prince Wilhelm was the first person to wear a Homburg, I can safely say that I'll never willingly wear one. He started the arms race that let to the war that saw millions slaughtered. All to salve his ineffable vanity. In my book, the Homburg now occupies the same place occupied by the Hitler mustache and the Stalin cap - a spot marked "never to be worn"

Hitler wore a fedora, so what.......so did allot of good people including my grandfather who survived 8 concentration death camps including over three years in Auschwitz. He still loves fedoras. I am 100% positive that there were many wonderful and great people who wore homburgs then as well.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Aussie poet, Banjo Paterson's, rather stylish upturned homburg that started this discussion in the first place:

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Info on Mockel hat factory supplied by mayserwegener

Möckel Bad Homburg, Germany
A industrialized hat factory was started by Phillip Möckel in 1856.

A hat called Homburg
The Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII of England, and Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, have one thing in common: their love of the Homburg. The former created it, the latter then turned it into a fashionable hat in more recent times. During his visits to Homburg, the English Prince occasionally met his nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II., who liked to wear a special hunting uniform, which comprised, amongst other things, a green hat with the brim rolled slightly inwards on one side. Edward, who had the reputation of being one of the best-dressed men at the close of the 19th century, decided to have the hat made in an elegant shade of grey – by the Homburg-based hat manufacturers Möckel, who were even awarded a patent for their “Homburg”. The new hat quickly took the world of men’s fashions by storm, surpassing the stiff top hat and bowler hat that had until then been the usual mode of attire. The lightweight, casually-elegant “Homburg” was representative of the new joy of living. Later on, the “Homburg” was also manufactured in blue and black, although Adenauer always preferred the original grey.

Also there is hat museum in Bad Homburg.


http://www.taunustipp.de/Hutmuseum.html

 

[Dreispitz]

Hm, Homburg Day!

It came about in the 19c, spread allover the world and is very hard to come by, today.

Here´s to the Homburg! :cheers1:

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Banjo Paterson on the right camping in the bush.
Is it the same Homburg, battered but not beaten, as above?

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Bumppppppppp

 

[mayserwegener]

Now that you told me that Prince Wilhelm was the first person to wear a Homburg, I can safely say that I'll never willingly wear one. He started the arms race that let to the war that saw millions slaughtered. All to salve his ineffable vanity. In my book, the Homburg now occupies the same place occupied by the Hitler mustache and the Stalin cap - a spot marked "never to be worn"

And the English and Churchhill were saints.

 

[mayserwegener]

This is a early one. Maybe a Möckel.

Hat museum in Bad Homburg.

http://www.taunustipp.de/Hutmuseum.html

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Welcome aboard mayserwegener! Good to see you.
and thanks to Germany for the homburgs - and the fedora for that matter!

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

This is a early one. Maybe a Möckel.

Hat museum in Bad Homburg.

http://www.taunustipp.de/Hutmuseum.html

Looks to be grey too - which was the colour of Prince Albert Edward's first homburg.

 

[Lefty]

It looks like the big birthday is over for another year and posts about homburgs should just go in the well-established thread about...homburgs.