Identifying Vintage Felt

[BNolker]

Greetings all! This is my first posting. I have a quick question about vintage hat felt. I have a beautiful dark brown fedora. It has the name of store from which it orignially came, but no other information. No "x's", nothing. It is quite old (30's) we think because the age of the store. The felt is supple, fine, light (not thick), holds shape well, etc. Is there any way to tell the make-up of the felt?

thanks!

 

[RBH]

Welcome to the Lounge.
What brand is the fedora? Also sometimes there is a tag under the sweat band. Sometimes that will give you a glue.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

As you described it, chances are it is either rabbit or beaver, or a blend of the two.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Photos Please.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

photos/description of the inside will be most informative.

bk

 

[BNolker]

My beautiful brown fedora

Thanks for the replys so far. The only markings in the hat say "Dearborn Toggery," which I was told was the store that originally sold it.

 

[deanglen]

Hello, Bnolker! Greetings to a new Lounger!

dean

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

From what you describe, it sure sounds like 1940s or before. Is the leather sweatband brown, wide (2" or thereabouts) and soft to the touch? That's another indication of a true vintage hat.

 

[BNolker]

Thank you for the kind greetings. I have been enjoying your exchanges for a few months. I have had a chance to buy/barter a few hats lately and am completely addicted already. 2 open roads (one beautiful vintage 7X); one grey Resistol thin ribbon (don't know the style name), and this brown fedora I asked the question about. I haven't had much luck uploading pictures this afternoon. I will try again later. Is there a size limit for photo posts?

 

[BNolker]

From what you describe, it sure sounds like 1940s or before. Is the leather sweatband brown, wide (2" or thereabouts) and soft to the touch? That's another indication of a true vintage hat.

Yes, brown sweat. quite soft. satin liner. I will post pictures as soon as I can. It just strikes me odd that there is no indication of the type or quality of the felt.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I have two vintage hats, a Dobbs and a Knox, that have no markings on the sweatband other than the store name. The Knox has a tag under the sweat from a repair shop, and that leads me to believe they were both renovated and had their sweatbands replaced a very long time ago, perhaps in the 1950s, when the soft brown sweatbands were still available.

That might be the case with your hat.

Oh and welcome aboard! I've learned a great deal here, and met some outstanding folks, and I'm sure you will, too.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

BNolker, Try hosting your pics in "Photobucket." Basic is free. The size limit here is 640 x 480. (At that, it's best if you crop the ends to make it closer to square. You'll soon see why.) To attach a photo from Photobucket, copy the second URL listed for the photo. Then go to the reply (or thread start) and paste it to your text. (This is a standard copy and paste procedure.) One final observation, you have to have made a certain number of posts before the Fedora Lounge will allow you to attach photos (Is it 20?). Don't give up. Have fun.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

But posting the URL as such should work, and you can edit your first posts later on, if you like.

 

[Patricia Kahn]

Do you still have the hat from Dearborn Toggery? Asking for a family member.