Knapp Felt Fold Away

[jamespowers]

Running through a few antique stores in the area yesterday, I found an interesting hat under a pile of junk hats. Here you go:

It is a Knapp Felt hat dubbed the Foldaway. It is probably one of the lightest weight hats I have ever felt (no pun intended). It will actually foldaway quite easily and pop back into its block with a little coaxing. Knapp and Crofut and Knapp have been around a very long time but they died in the early 1960s with all the other smaller hatters. Really a shame because they made a nice hat with high quality styling. An ad from 1930:

1906

1920s

This example I have is in an odd color that I think they call heathered. Sort of light gray and light blue sprinkled all over. It is a self ribbon made out of the same felt as the hat. This is a better example of a self ribbon in my opinion because it actually looks like a ribbon. $35 plus tax? I took it. :cool2:

Regards to all,

J

 

[tonyb]

Cool. How old you figure it is?

 

[jamespowers]

I am guess 40s-50s in there somewhere. Until I find the exact ad I have to guess. :cheers1:

Regards,

J

 

[besdor]

It's older than that . I'd say 1930's at most . C&K I believe was swallowed up by Hatco .:cool2:

 

[jamespowers]

It's older than that . I'd say 1930's at most . C&K I believe was swallowed up by Hatco .:cool2:

Crofut and Knapp were taken over by Hatco but I have found several hats with the Knapp Felt label that were likely produced after the 1930s. I prefer to remain conservative on the date until I can prove it is that old. One thing for sure is that not many of them survived until now.
Interesting to note that Dobbs was using the Game bird name less than two decades after Knapp Felt used it in that ad. At that time Dobbs was part of HCA.
Looking back at the history of Crofut and Knapp, it is obvious that they were quite old. When Stetson started, Crofut and Knapp were not far behind or maybe even ahead. James Knapp had two partners. They were Andrew Crofut and Henry Gilliam. Both had their specialties that contributed to the success of Crofut and Knapp. Crofut's specialty was stiffening felt and Gilliam was a brim curler. Without them it can be argued that there would be no such thing as the Cavanagh edge. John Cavanagh was a foreman, general manager and eventually president of Crofut and Knapp. I think he might have learned something from this company. This traces through to the creation of Dobbs in 1908 and Cavanagh's partnership with Dobbs creating Cavanagh-Dobbs Inc. in 1928. From there all hat brands end up into HCA then Byer Rolnick to A.D.J. Caps to Hatbrands, Inc. (now known as HATCO). It gets confusing because you really have to be sure when who acquired what and what they continued to produce or drop from production. This is why dating something is a matter of guess work only truly exact when the model and the advertising of it are known. Sort of my reason for collecting as many ads as I can lay my hands on.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Mr. Rover]

I love the old Knapp ads- it's a shame that not many of their hats survive today.

 

[Dinerman]

that's an interesting bash in the 1930 ad.
can you imagine a hat ad today showing anything less than a perfect crisp bash?

 

[Visigoth]

That *is* a perfect bash!

Now, try to reproduce it...

 

[DOUGLAS]

That is a really nice hat James. I would love to find one of those.

 

[Dinerman]

That *is* a perfect bash!

Now, try to reproduce it...

didn't say I didn't like it...
stuff today just looks so artificially perfect.
That looks like the real deal.

 

[jamespowers]

Holy crimony! The thread lives after I thought no one was interested.
It is a nice and has all the qualities you could want in a light weight crushable fedora. I wish they still made them like this. I would be in line for one of each color.

Regards,

J

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

So when did they stop using the Knapp-Felt name? I have a Knapp-Felt bowler, and it looks nearly new. Here are a few details to knaw over:

 

[jamespowers]

I am not quite sure how new it could be with that label. Looks to be a little before the ball point pen. That hat is in great shape for its age. Probably 30s-40s at least in my opinion. C & K was on its own when that hat was made so it is likely from then. I can't see the C & K logo stamped on the sweatband but it looks something like that in the 1906 Derby ad. What does the rest of the hat look like.

Regards,

J

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

What does the rest of the hat look like.

Regards,

J

Like every other black bowler. It's in really nice shape, and it fits me as if it were custom-made for me.

It's weird, all the details look like they're from the 1930s or before, but I just don't see any sign of age in the hat. I guess it must have been deadstock, hidden away in a warehouse away from light, moths, and even much oxygen.