Knox Forty - from 1920

[buler]

Nope, don't have the hat. But found it surprising that this hat was introduced in 1920! When you could have bought a very nice hat for around $5.

A model, the "Forty", named after its price. Made from undyed clear belly beaver and other top shelf components.

They also had a "Twenty" in 1915.

B

 

[zetwal]

Yes indeed, that was a lot of money in 1920. As you point out, it's interesting too that the natural undyed beaver was described as clear ...

This must have been a tremendous hat.

 

[rlk]

Great info!

 

[Rabbit]

Wow, that's a very large sum indeed!
According to this USD inflation calculator:
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
...the "Twenty" in 1915 and the "Forty" in 1920 would both be equivalent to USD 450,- in today's currency.

 

[buler]

Also, somewhat interesting, is the Twenty was a derby in 1915. 5 years later the Forty is a soft hat. The article says they are also making a natural beaver derby, but don't say that its priced at $40.

B

 

[jimmy the lid]

Great stuff, Bill. Thanks for posting! This article addresses a lot of the things we have previously speculated about concerning the higher end hats. Really interesting that a high-end hat like this one actually tended to lead to two sales -- the lower quality hat would be worn more often in order to make sure that the "40" remained minty fresh.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[alanfgag]

Wow, that's a very large sum indeed!
According to this USD inflation calculator:
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
...the "Twenty" in 1915 and the "Forty" in 1920 would both be equivalent to USD 450,- in today's currency.

Very interesting ads! Using the inflation calculator, twenty dollars bought more in 1940 than it did in 1920 and almost as much in 1950. The great inflation years were yet to come.

 

[dhermann1]

"Show me your hat and I will tell you what you are." !!!

 

[Fedora Jay]

Wow, a 1920's Knox Forty! I think I found my unicorn. . .

 

[Joshbru3]

VERY cool, Bill! Thanks!

 

[buler]

Knox 1918

They also had a clear beaver for $20 and a Knox 30 (Kohinoor) in 1918.

B

 

[Brad Bowers]

This is fascinating stuff! There probably wasn't another hatter willing to ask those prices at that time. No wonder John Cavanagh wanted to add Knox to the company - C&K would have most of the high-end market cornered.

Brad

 

[Joshbru3]

I'll take that one in "Knox Gray," PLEASE.

That is one beautiful hat. It must have been at least a 2 1/4 inch ribbon.

 

[carouselvic]

Way cool stuff

 

[buler]

"By (or buy) the numbers".

Just bumping because the latest round of "100" hats reminded me of this thread.

B

 

[alanfgag]

Grail for sure. My heart leaped for a minute thinking one had surfaced from the mist.

 

[fedoracentric]

So, imagine this... in 1920 the average income seems to have been around $1,200 annually. So, someone paying $40 for a hat? Wowsers!

In 1950 the average income was around $5,000. Imagine spending $100 on a Stetson 100 at that time.

The costs boggle the mind when thought of in those terms.

 

[besdor]

People understood quality more back then. To get someone to spend 200 for a hat today is quite a task. Back then, a person spent 10 on a hat quite often.

 

[Shanghailander]

One of my favorite hats is a Knox 25. Bought it about five years ago, haven't found another one since

 

[-30-]

I am surprised that no one Here & Now has posted something like this:

http://corporate.ford.com/news-center/press-releases-detail/677-5-dollar-a-day

$40.00 for a hat?!

(Quit complaining, we've never had it so good.)
LOL.

Regards,
J T