Help with mystery Gay Prince imitators

[lauro13]

In my search for a Gay Prince (that just sounds odd) I recently purchased two hats that are similar and I'm trying to find info on them. One is by Stetson (sovereign) and one is by Knox (twenty). If anyone has any additional info on the history of these models please enlighten me.
Knox on the left, stetson on the right.

Knox:

Stetson:

 

[jlee562]

I believe Alan has one of the Stetson Gay Prince clones.

Err, looks like he sold it a while back: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?57609-1950-s-Royal-DeLuxe-Stetson-Tijuana

Dug this up from the Lounge archives with a google search:

 

[Sprinkles]

Great looking hats, quite unique!

 

[lauro13]

The Stetson I know more about. It's the Knox that I can't figure out.

 

[alanfgag]

The one that Jared posted was a soft felt heather finish Royal DeLuxe. I have another - suede finish 3X Beaver Quality which is closer kin to the Gay Prince we see most often, though unlike the Dobbs (and like the Knox) the style name is not marked inside the hat. The Stetson suede finish was sold in numerous styles... a few shown in this thread.

I have three Princes Gay, two in the usual suede finish with differing dimensions and one more unusual in a non-sueded heather felt with no overcast on the self ribbon.

Lauro13's Knox looks like an offspring from when a Gay Prince mated with Billyspew's Champ.

My guess is many companies gave it a go, but only Dobbs got it to stick.

 

[alanfgag]

An additional perspective from Brad's early 1940s GP.