Pre 1940s (non-Stetson) Westerns

[ScottF]

very old Cyrus Douglas hat

This one probably needs a 'Boss of the Plains' look - pop out the bash and add a 1" matching ribbon.

 

[Dinerman]

That's a pretty new hat, though. I think it's by dirty billy's, and looks like it may be their wool felt.

 

[ScottF]

That's a pretty new hat, though. I think it's by dirty billy's, and looks like it may be their wool felt.

Seriously? I never heard of them - saw the liner label and figured it was very old.

 

[Dinerman]

Maybe clearwater?

Looks very similar to this:

Here is my project hat! This hat was a gift from my Aunt about 20 years ago ... it seems to be good beaver felt (small fibers and it kind of smells like wet dog when you steam it) made by Clearwater hats (they are/were friends of my aunts and from what I have seen have recently had some success in making early period correct hats for Hollywood).

 

[ScottF]

That makes sense. It does look like Clearwater's interior design, but the stitching is tighter. Also, to me the felt looks like real fur, but guess I'll know soon. For $27, it's not much of a loss, and will be fun to mess with. I thought it was a genuine old hat, but with a new sweatband (still learning!)

 

[Dinerman]

How's that one look in person?

 

[Dinerman]

Here is is in the flesh. The specks are bits from a '40s straw hat which disintegrated nearby this hat after I tried to fix a wave in the brim with a spritz of water. I need to brush those off.

 

[rlk]

Here is is in the flesh. The specks are bits from a '40s straw hat which disintegrated nearby this hat after I tried to fix a wave in the brim with a spritz of water. I need to brush those off.

Keith Bros History: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2734.html

Ads seem to end in 1919
Great Hat!!

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Dinerman]

Keith Bros History: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2734.html

Ads seem to end in 1919
Great Hat!!

Thanks Robert! Thats really cool to see, especially the etching of the tiger.

 

[hatophile]

That last hat you posted Dinerman looks like James Arness' hat from Gunsmoke!

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Dinerman]

Filthy, but it looks as though it's all on the surface and should clean off pretty easily.

 

[hatophile]

Cool. That's a 10 gallon if I ever saw one!

 

[frussell]

Dinerman - any record of ownership on that one from Desmond's? I was born in Palm Springs, and my family goes back there to 1927 or so. Desmond's still exists, in a smaller form, but was the fancy menswear store in town. We used to have several western-themed festivals in town, some that lasted all week, with EVERYONE in town dressed in their finest western wear. If you were caught wearing "dude" clothing that week, you got put in a jail and had to have someone make a charitable donation to bail you out. That hat may have belonged to someone I know. Thanks, Frank

 

[Dinerman]

Dinerman - any record of ownership on that one from Desmond's? I was born in Palm Springs, and my family goes back there to 1927 or so. Desmond's still exists, in a smaller form, but was the fancy menswear store in town. We used to have several western-themed festivals in town, some that lasted all week, with EVERYONE in town dressed in their finest western wear. If you were caught wearing "dude" clothing that week, you got put in a jail and had to have someone make a charitable donation to bail you out. That hat may have belonged to someone I know. Thanks, Frank

I'm afraid I don't have any backstory on this one- just an ebay pickup. Does look like it got some pretty regular wear though, doesn't it?

Pretty neat story behind the town and the shop!

 

[frussell]

Too bad - I was hoping you got one of my grandfather's old hats. He lived in the apartments above Desmond's for a while, and wore nothing but cowboy hats his whole life, until he died at 99 in 2008. I believe the store itself has been in Palm Springs since around 1936. Let me know if you find any hidden initials! Love to see photos of it after you clean it up, it's a beauty. Frank

 

[danofarlington]

Cool. That's a 10 gallon if I ever saw one!

Ten gallon nothing. I could fit my 29-gallon aquarium in that hefty boy.

 

[hatophile]

I'm afraid I don't have any backstory on this one- just an ebay pickup. Does look like it got some pretty regular wear though, doesn't it?

Pretty neat story behind the town and the shop!

That's what's nice about these old hats, the stories behind them.

 

[Dinerman]

Better pics of the Dobbs.