Atticus Finch
Call Me a Cab
- Messages
- 2,718
- Location
- Coastal North Carolina, USA
Well…..the mystery deepens. My e-bay Stetson arrived today. I'm at my office and have no access to my digital camera, but perhaps photos will be forthcoming tonight. I’m still not sure what this hat is or when it was made.
---It sure looks like an Open Road. It has a narrow hatband like an OR. It has a bound edge like an OR.
---It is clearly silver belly.
---The underside of the brim, measured from the edge of the sweat band to the outside edge of the binding, is exactly 2 7/8 inches. On the topside, from the bottom of the hatband to the outside edge of the binding, it is 2 3/4 inches. The brim is the same width all the way around. The seller said it was three inches, but he must have been only guessing.
---I don’t know how to measure the crown, but it looks about the same height as my modern OR. I can say this: It is 5 inches from the bottom of the hatband to an imaginary line extending outwardly from the highest point in the cattleman’s crease.
---The sweatband is black.
---The only thing printed on the sweatband is the Stetson crest with “John B. Stetson Company” in small letters beneath it, and “The Sovereign Stetson” in larger letters beside it. The words “The Sovereign” are printed in cursive. Nowhere appear the words “Open Road” and there is no “X” designation. I’ve no idea how the seller came up with his “XXX” notion.
---There is a square, red/orange size tag in the back.
I’ve been told that “sovereign” is one of many quality designations that Stetson has used throughout the years. I’m not sure where it falls in relation to, say, “Royal Deluxe” or, in another scale, “20”. But I’ve also heard that “The Sovereign” was once a style that looked like an Open Road or Stratoliner. If such a style existed, could this be one?
I’ll post some photos tonight and hopefully someone can educate me about my hat.
AF
---It sure looks like an Open Road. It has a narrow hatband like an OR. It has a bound edge like an OR.
---It is clearly silver belly.
---The underside of the brim, measured from the edge of the sweat band to the outside edge of the binding, is exactly 2 7/8 inches. On the topside, from the bottom of the hatband to the outside edge of the binding, it is 2 3/4 inches. The brim is the same width all the way around. The seller said it was three inches, but he must have been only guessing.
---I don’t know how to measure the crown, but it looks about the same height as my modern OR. I can say this: It is 5 inches from the bottom of the hatband to an imaginary line extending outwardly from the highest point in the cattleman’s crease.
---The sweatband is black.
---The only thing printed on the sweatband is the Stetson crest with “John B. Stetson Company” in small letters beneath it, and “The Sovereign Stetson” in larger letters beside it. The words “The Sovereign” are printed in cursive. Nowhere appear the words “Open Road” and there is no “X” designation. I’ve no idea how the seller came up with his “XXX” notion.
---There is a square, red/orange size tag in the back.
I’ve been told that “sovereign” is one of many quality designations that Stetson has used throughout the years. I’m not sure where it falls in relation to, say, “Royal Deluxe” or, in another scale, “20”. But I’ve also heard that “The Sovereign” was once a style that looked like an Open Road or Stratoliner. If such a style existed, could this be one?
I’ll post some photos tonight and hopefully someone can educate me about my hat.
AF