Pre 1940s dress hats

[MikeinRome]

Here's a Crofut & Knapp fedora being sold on eBay as a 1920's to 1930's Cavanagh Edge hat, size 7, for about $225, if anyone is interested. It appears to be a velour. I'd have grabbed it if it was my size

 

[alanfgag]

The liner imprint in this private label for Rogers Peet takes my breath away. I browsed the store with my Dad when I worked down the street at the NY Public Library… fifty years ago.

 

[buler]

Alan, amazing hat in all respects!

 

[jeff]

Now there's a stunner! Great find, Alan.

 

[M Hatman]

Emerson "Special". Found a while back, now on display....creased as found.

 

[Blare]

Emerson "Special". Found a while back, now on display....creased as found.
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Very cool

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I believe based on the union label this is mid-1930s or earlier. 2 ⅛” inch bound brim and the open crown is approximately 5 ¾ inches.

 

[Blare]

I believe based on the union label this is mid-1930s or earlier. 2 ⅛” inch bound brim and the open crown is approximately 5 ¾ inches.




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Nice find, Brent.

 

[MikeinRome]

Pre-1917 T W Hobson & Co hat. Has 3 inch bound brim and 6 1/4 inch open crown. The edge binding is mostly on the bottom side, 1/2 inch binding. Has 2 inch sweatband and 2 1/8 inch ribbon. I'm dating this before 1917 because the Union label doesn't have the little Printers Union "bug" in the upper left corner, which seems to have begun in 1917 if I'm not mistaken. This hat could date anywhere from about 1885 to 1917, per the label, but Thaddeus W Hobson didn't incorporate the T W Hobson Co until 1895, so I guess that's the earliest this hat was made.

 

[Steve1857]

Pre-1917 T W Hobson & Co hat. Has 3 inch bound brim and 6 1/4 inch open crown. The edge binding is mostly on the bottom side, 1/2 inch binding. I'm dating this before 1917 because the Union label doesn't have the little Printers Union "bug" in the upper left corner, which seems to have begun in 1917 if I'm not mistaken. This hat could date anywhere from about 1885 to 1917, per the label, but it might be later than 1885 because I forgot when Hobson got his business going good. I'm thinking it was late 1880's or early 1890's, but might be wrong.

Wonderful hat, Mike.

I'd put it closer to the 1900 to 1917 mark rather than somewhere before the 1900s because of its overall shape and ribbon and bow treatment.

That's just me though coming from a European perspective.

 

[MikeinRome]

Actually, what the brim width is can be debated. If you think the hat should be as pictured, with the brim edge turned up somewhat like a Homburg, then the finished width is about 2 1/2. If you think the hat has shrunk with age and the brim needs to be steamed flat, then it's 3 inches.

 

[MikeinRome]

Wonderful hat, Mike.

I'd put it closer to the 1900 to 1917 mark rather than somewhere before the 1900s because of its overall shape and ribbon and bow treatment.

That's just me though coming from a European perspective.

Thanks, and you could well be correct. At any rate, it's a good or very good quality hat, judging by the feel of the felt, that much I can tell.

 

[Steve1857]

Thanks, and you could well be correct. At any rate, it's a good or very good quality hat, judging by the feel of the felt, that much I can tell.

The quality of it was never in doubt in my mind, Mike.

 

[MikeinRome]

The quality of it was never in doubt in my mind, Mike.

I understand and wasn't reading anything otherwise into your remarks. Just thought I would remark on the hat's quality while I was at it, since I didn't mention it before.

 

[Steve1857]

I understand and wasn't reading anything otherwise into your remarks. Just thought I would remark on the hat's quality while I was at it, since I didn't mention it before.

Mike, all the hats you post are quality hats.

The MikeinRome hat posts are always a seal of approval, so no misunderstanding from my part, my friend.

 

[MikeinRome]

Mike, all the hats you post are quality hats.

The MikeinRome hat posts are always a seal of approval, so no misunderstanding from my part, my friend.

I found the article online about the founding date of the T W Hobson Co and it was in 1895, so that must be the earliest this hat was made.

 

[MikeinRome]

Pre-1917 "The Sheridan", made for the Bloom Shoe & Clothing Co, Sheridan , Wyoming by Thanhauser Hat Co. These are seller's photos. Edit: After receiving this hat, I found that it was actually made by Stetson and has a Stetson Lot Number on the sweatband.

 

[MikeinRome]

Pre-1917 "The Sheridan", made for the Bloom Shoe & Clothing Co, Sheridan , Wyoming by Thanhauser Hat Co. These are seller's photos. Edit: After receiving this hat, I found that it was actually made by Stetson and has a Stetson Lot Number on the sweatband.

I couldn't tell until I got this hat if it resembled a Homburg or Derby in any way, but it doesn't, it's just an early fedora. Has 2 1/4 inch brim with 3/8 bound edge. 5 inch open crown, the ribbon is 1 7/8 inch. Combining what I think about the date of the Union label and now with the Stetson Lot Number, I think this hat probably dates about 1912 approximately.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

J. Hückel's Söhne "Chamois" in a wonderful dark blue
The pictures are too dark, but one fits in terms of color.
open crown at 14 cm, brim at 5 cm; maybe late 30s
Unfortunately it's small, but my wife chose the hat anyway
(Sorry, Panos, this is the second one, but your stack is not in danger)
I think this is the first pre-war Hückel chamoise we have -
at least I've only found wonderful hats here with this finish
that are from the 50s and well known.
But maybe Steve has something up his sleeve?

The hat was sold at L. R. Zeumer, a shop belonging to the
well-known and traditional family of furriers and hat makers:
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/german-austrian-hutmachers.32103/post-1285010
https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/84-l-r-zeumer-hutfabrik-mannheim/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pelzwaren_N._R._Zeumer,_Mannheim_1903.jpg
At the last link there is also a slightly more detailed version of the data
on the Zeumer family that Steve compiled/obtained from the Mannheim archive:
Company history:
According to a document, the Zeumers have been working as hat makers since 1639.
In 1786, at the age of 39, Johann Heinrich Zeumer became self-employed as a hatter
and furrier in Schleiz, Thuringia. He will be 73 years old.
1785 Birth of the son Johann Sebastian, who also learned his father's craft and
was already a master craftsman when he married in 1811.
1821 Birth of his son, Heinrich Gustav, who also took up the profession.
When he married in 1844, he had already passed his master's examination.
In 1857 their son Louis Richard Zeumer was born, who also learned the craft
of furriers and hat makers. After a time in London, he set up his own business
in Mannheim on December 1, 1886 (see advertisement).
In 1888 he moved to Breite Straße.
In 1885 he moved to the last location (1987) at Mannheim H 1, 6.
The renowned Zeumer bathing establishment also opened in 1885.
As part of a contract with the city of Mannheim, this was one of
Mannheim's five private pools until the city's Herschelbad was opened.
The two sons Richard and Arthur also learned the hat making and furrier trade.
In 1921 Richard Zeumer went to America, where, after a number of years of travel,
he ran a renowned fur business in Argentina until 1956.
In 1926, Louis Richard Zeumer took over the H 1, 6-7 business after his father
retired to his retirement home, a farm on Lake Constance, where he died at the age of 84.
In 1927, the Heisel hat shop, located next to H 1, 7, was taken over and connected
to the previous business premises with a major renovation. At the beginning of the 1930s
it was the largest hat and cap shop in southern Germany. Even after the Second World War,
40 waitresses often sold 2,000 or more men's hats on Christmas Saturdays and Sundays,
not counting the caps.
On September 6, 1943, the company building was completely destroyed in a bomb attack.
The relocated machines were soon relocated to a new location, Mannheim S 1, 3,
and fell victim to another bomb attack that same night. After purchasing new machines,
initially installed in S 1 5, then in Mannheim S 1, 2, production of Wehrmacht canine vests
was resumed. The business continued even after the main business was rebuilt,
although it was not satisfactorily profitable due to its unfavorable location.
It was not until 1948, three years after the end of the war, that Arthur Zeumer's son,
Richard, returned from captivity. He had a sister. He studied agriculture before
joining the company. He took over the newly opened branch in Bad Kreuznach,
the former Heinrich Erkenroth store.
In 1949 the first phase of the old, bombed-out house was restored.
In 1966, the completely rebuilt Kreuznach branch was converted into its own company,
and in 1980 it was enlarged as part of another renovation.
In 1966, the former company Janzer + Block in Weinheim/Bergstraße was also taken over.
In 1987, the 7th generation, wholesale and foreign trade merchant Thomas Zeumer,
son of Ingeborg and Werner Zeumer, celebrated the company's 200th anniversary.
The main company had now undergone some major renovations. Henning Zeumer,
son of Richard Zeumer, was supposed to take over the business in Bad Kreuznach.
Richard Zeumer was also chairman of the Bad Kreuznach retail association at the time;
Werner Zeumer Senior master of the Southwest Furriers' Guild and long-standing
board member of the Central Association of the German Furriers' Trade as well as
one of the vice presidents of the Rhine-Neckar Chamber of Industry and Commerce,
as well as a commercial judge and employee in the economic development committee
of the city of Mannheim.

Source (google translation):
M. S.: Zweihundert Jahre Zeumer. In: Die Pelzwirtschaft Nr. 1, 14. Februar 1987,
C. B. Verlag Carl Boldt, Berlin, S. 48 (Bild). --- Pelz-International Januar 1987,
Rhenania Fachverlag Hamburg, S. 26-27, 34 (Ohne Autorenangabe: 200 Jahre Zeumer)
(Firmengeschichte) / Collection G. & C. Franke

 

[M Hatman]

from a 1935 Sears catalog