Has anyone seen this happen or know this brand?

[vonwotan]

My first failed gamble on eBay. I noticed what appered to be a medium brown homburg made by a company called Castorino, with a beaver on their logo, and Castorino Melior stamped on the sweat band. I had never seen the color or the brand before and let my curiosity get the best of me. I was the only bidder so I figured I'd take the chance...

I had what turned out to be a dark brown homburg over the clothes steamer when my neighbor knocked on the door. The conversation took longer than expected and when I returned the very thin sweat band looked like this.

Has anyone seen this happen before?

Here are some shots of the logo and the one remaining tag. Does anyone recognize the brand?

And a few of the hat

 

[Baron Kurtz]

yes that happened to one of my sweatband the first time i wore the hat. The old leather did not take well to moisture (sweat).

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I steamed a vintage fedora once, and the leather sweatband -- which looked supple and strong -- became twisted beef jerky within seconds.

.

 

[vonwotan]

Ah the pitfalls of collecting vintage hats...

Ever heard of Castorino before? Am I safe in assuming (and we all know what that means) that this hat was sold in Europe given the two size tags list only the Continental 56 cm and UK 6 7/8?

 

[feltfan]

My first failed gamble on eBay.

Why do you call that a failed gamble? That looks to
be a top drawer vintage hat. One of the nicest
homburgs I've seen, and maybe 30s, from the look
of the label, to boot. If you were the only bidder,
you probably made out like a bandit.

A new sweatband won't cost all that much.
Just make sure you get a good one.

 

[tonyb]

Yeah, I, too, will admit to cooking an old sweatband once, although not as thoroughly as you cooked that one.
It was partly the fault of the old sweatband, but mostly mine. I just let it get too hot for too long.
And no, I can't say I've ever heard of Castorino. But it looks quite nice. You got it cheap, I assume?

 

[besdor]

There were dozens of factories that existed in Europe before the 1950's. Sadly most of them are gone.. Castoro is Italian for beaver if that helps.
As for pulling down the leathers , I'd be careful .Many vintage hats have brittle leathers as they tend to dry our after some time.







Steven
www.bencraft.com

 

[vonwotan]

I have to agree with you, it was just the disappointment of receiving something that differed from my expectations. It is a rather nice looking homburg, and do plan to have it cleaned and a new sweat sewn in. I have been wanting a good homburg for some time and this does fit the bill.

Thank you for your comments. Taking a step back it was quite a steal.

Why do you call that a failed gamble? That looks to
be a top drawer vintage hat. One of the nicest
homburgs I've seen, and maybe 30s, from the look
of the label, to boot. If you were the only bidder,
you probably made out like a bandit.

A new sweatband won't cost all that much.
Just make sure you get a good one.

 

[Stoney]

I had my eye on that one as well. I'm very glad that you were able to get away with it.

Enjoy,

Stoney

 

[Snrbfshn]

Been there, done that...

I did the same thing to a '30s Stetson Melrose:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jtban1/album/576460762329106627
I was disgusted that I didn't pay closer attention. When I'm steaming a vintage hat now, I put a stretcher in it just to cover up the sweatband.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I did the same thing to a '30s Stetson Melrose.

What a great, great hat! Please put me in your will. Please!

.