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Purplesage

One Too Many
Messages
1,995
Location
Boulder, CO
Stylefelt Backbow

I got this Stylefelt a couple on months ago, just haven't gotten around to posting it. Can't quite put my finger on the color. It has a 2 1/4" brim with bound edge and a 5 1/2" crown which is wrapped in a 1 7/8" grosgrain ribbon with backbow and wind trolley. I'm thinking early 40s or older! Any help pinning down when it was made would be welcome.

23b15d18-39a8-45c1-94e9-47177f601ea8_zps83868478.jpg

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ebbe214c-669e-4d3c-bc0e-9c681c9dbb4e_zps0b7da0c5.jpg

photo3-179_zps324c9c31.jpg

photo5-177_zps01c36079.jpg

photo5-176_zpsb5ead49f.jpg

photo2-158_zps8d719461.jpg

photo2-295_zpsa8245c17.jpg
 

Joao Encarnado

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,776
Location
Portugal
Went to the customs house today because they closed on the afternoon of December, 31 (stupid public service tradition) to get a hat. When I arrived, had another hat waiting for me (2 hats on the same day! yeee haw!).

Stetson Quality No 1 with 3,5" brim. Looks like someone tried to crease the brim without steam (hope to remove that with steam). Inside the sweatband there is 577815 printed in it. Size tag is black retangular.
stetn1a.jpg

stetn1b.jpg

stetn1c.jpg

stetn1d.jpg

stetn1e.jpg

stetn1f.jpg

Love the red liner. Maybe the cattleman crease will stay on this one. Gone through the "dating vintage stetsons" threads but was unable to find a No 1 crest like this one.
 

Joao Encarnado

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,776
Location
Portugal
The hat I picked up today at the customs house is a Nutria Quality Stetson

Because it was "free" inside the box, the brim in the front needs some attention. Again a hat with 3,5" brim (4" must be a rare thing in vintage hats). The sweatband seems to be dry because as more I mess with it the more it "shatters" as you can see it already misses some bits on the crest side compared it the store name stamp side.
Not a stiff hat like the No 1 (the felt is thinner too) very very soft felt.
Now the sweatband of this hat has something I never saw, it have a kind of plastic fabric just the size of sweatband between it and the hat body.
How old can this Nutria be?

nutria1.jpg

nutria2.jpg

nutria3.jpg

nutria4.jpg

nutria5.jpg

nutria6.jpg

nutria7.jpg

nutria8.jpg
 

TheDane

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,670
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
That's a beautiful nutria. The membrane is made out of oil-treated silk (often called "oilskin"). Stetson used it a lot in the 40s and 50s. It's disputed, if the membrane was a good or a bad thing. Some claim, that it trapped the moisture in the sweatband and made the leather rot faster. I have seen a lot of rotten sweatbands on hats with the membrane - but not more than without it [huh]
 

Joao Encarnado

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,776
Location
Portugal
That is a gorgeous Stetson Joao, congrats!
Thank you.

That's a beautiful nutria. The membrane is made out of oil-treated silk (often called "oilskin"). Stetson used it a lot in the 40s and 50s. It's disputed, if the membrane was a good or a bad thing. Some claim, that it trapped the moisture in the sweatband and made the leather rot faster. I have seen a lot of rotten sweatbands on hats with the membrane - but not more than without it [huh]
hm. Always learning. Maybe that's why this one is falling apart.
 

ManofKent

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,039
Location
United Kingdom
Nice finds Joao - I'm no Stetson expert, but the second one looks 50's and first one a fair bit younger (70's?).

You might be able to arrest or at least slow the sweatband deterioration with a leather balsam, but it will probably need replacing at some point.
 
Messages
15,083
Location
Buffalo, NY
Nice catches, Joao. :eusa_clap

The Nutria Quality could be 1950s-1960s. A size tag or manufacturing label can help with dating. The No.1 Quality displays the later variation of this mark. We've seen an example dating perhaps back to pre-WWII:

3.jpg


but most are from the 1950s on. Hard to date this one without other elements, but it appears late 1950s at the earliest and perhaps later.
 

TOuten2

Familiar Face
Messages
67
Location
North Carolina
image.jpg

This is my new Penman, or should I say...this is my "first" Penman. I'm sure I'll be back for another. This hat is better than expected. Someone in the lounge told me earlier that there would be a noticeable difference between a factory made, modern Stetson and a hand made custom...I get it now. Thank you John!!!

Tim
 

Joao Encarnado

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,776
Location
Portugal
You might be able to arrest or at least slow the sweatband deterioration with a leather balsam, but it will probably need replacing at some point.
Not sure where I can find such thing…

Nice catches, Joao. :eusa_clap

The Nutria Quality could be 1950s-1960s. A size tag or manufacturing label can help with dating. The No.1 Quality displays the later variation of this mark. We've seen an example dating perhaps back to pre-WWII:

but most are from the 1950s on. Hard to date this one without other elements, but it appears late 1950s at the earliest and perhaps later.

Thank you Alan,

This Nutria’s size tag was the round one. There is only a little bit still glued. Don’t know the typeface or if it had “stetson” in it. The bow is the same as this:
IMG_2098.jpg


This No 1 also have that sweat proof thing. Here is the No 1 size tag.
stetn1h.jpg


Thanks for the help.
 

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