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Thanks Stefan. A lot of fun indeedReally cool finds in that lottery haul, Joe. Great fun to do those.
Thanks Stefan. A lot of fun indeedReally cool finds in that lottery haul, Joe. Great fun to do those.
Daniele, Great to see this classic. Habig made fantastic Homburgs.Another hat happened by chance on the trunk of the wisteria to be photographed
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Kindly reported by Stefan, I thought I'd buy it even if it's yet another example of a black homburg of which I have a fairly large collection
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I was attracted by the name of the Austrian manufacturer and its high quality reputation. So it is, despite the fact that the hat that arrived has been somewhat neglected over the years
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Patience, brushes and steam have brought it back to excellent condition
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Habig Special Qualitat size 59 centimeters or 7 3/8 in US.
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The felt is very soft with a fluffy finish and the rest of it is classy
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These are the measurements of the Austrian Homburg: the curled brims are at 5.5 cm., the ribbon is 5.5 cm. and the open crown is 14.5 centimeters.
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The Habig is elegant and classic with a hint of old Vienna even though it was sold in Linz
My new custom Tumwater fedora arrived this afternoon from Tony. Now comes the difficult part of bashing it just the right way. Crudely started.
Specs: 6" open crown, 2 3/8" raw edge brim with a row of decorative stitching. 22 linge navy ribbon with a triple bow.
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Thanks Steve and complients for the Gubener - Aquila wool bowler. Another example for the "Wool Consortium"Daniele, Great to see this classic. Habig made fantastic Homburgs.
Daniele, Thank you!Thanks Steve and complients for the Guneber - Aquila wool bowler. Another example for the "Wool Consortium"
Fun when that happens
Steve @Steve1857 has had succes with baking his hats (no, really!) and then conforming them to his head shape. Never tried that myself, but it seems to work.I had high hopes for this top hat, but I’m often more comfortable in a 7 ¾ (62cm), and the stiffness of the hat doesn’t conform at all to my long oval head. It is in fantastic condition without and of the normal wear or bald areas of the plush at the 90 degree bend at the top of the crown. The crown is 5 ¼” tall and the brim is 2 ¼” at the front and about 1 ⅞” on the sides with a nice D’Orsay curl. No tags that I could find behind the cream colored leather sweatband.
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This hat will need a new home so send me a PM if you’re interested.
I’m hoping @steur and @mayserwegener can tell me more about this hat
I'm hoping for a box like that to arrive! Would even be nice if a box I almost forgot about with only one hat would arrive (after almost two years).
Cool find, Steve. Nice crisp work on the sweatband and other finishings.Berlin - Gubener Hutfabrik, BGH, "Aquila", Wool, 57 cm possibly WWI era. There is only one other BGH on the FL and it's also an "Aquila" Stiff Felt although I believe it's later. Luckily some of the paper label is still present. It's my feeling that BGH was the source of much of the early 1940s and earlier no company mark Wool Stiff and Soft Felt Hats.
Some great sleuthing there, Stefan. What a history that shop location has had.Steve @Steve1857 has had succes with baking his hats (no, really!) and then conforming them to his head shape. Never tried that myself, but it seems to work.
I did find some information about the retailer.
The location was built in 1910 as a location for roasting and mixing coffee varieties.
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In 1926 it was one of the locations for the biggest hat retailer of the country J.S. Meuwsen.
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In 1957 J.A.N. van Zanten celebrated his sixtieth year in the hatting business. The newsclip names the location Prinsestraat 47 as his own business. So the hat is likely made somewhere between 1926 and 1957. A probable candidate as a manufacturer would be Jan Spoorenberg of Eindhoven as they produced tophats under different brandnames, Burton and Ambassador among them. They did use the white sweatbands and size labels that can be seen on this hat.
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These days the location has come full circle, because it is currently a coffeeshop again (no, not one of those).
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I imagine that slipping in a bandblock or a hatjack could work after the hat has softened enough. But you have more experience than I with that kind of thing (still need to try one).Some great sleuthing there, Stefan. What a history that shop location has had.
With regard to "baking" hats, I've had some success with Toppers and Bowlers, but I'm not a long oval myself, so don't know how Brent @deadlyhandsome would get on with the process if his Top Hat is more round than long.
It might be worth a try though if he's willing to give it a go.
Let me know Brent. I can give some advice if you want it
Ja, I use a hatjack then my own head as the block to further stretch and shape. Might work for Brent, too.I imagine that slipping in a bandblock or a hatjack could work after the hat has softened enough. But you have more experience than I with that kind of thing (still need to try one).
Some great sleuthing there, Stefan. What a history that shop location has had.
With regard to "baking" hats, I've had some success with Toppers and Bowlers, but I'm not a long oval myself, so don't know how Brent @deadlyhandsome would get on with the process if his Top Hat is more round than long.
It might be worth a try though if he's willing to give it a go.
Let me know Brent. I can give some advice if you want it