Pre 1940s Stetson Westerns

[TPD166]

That is a fantastic hat Alan! Wish one would "find" me.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

That is a fantastic hat Alan! Wish one would "find" me.

+1

 

[Joshbru3]

OOOOH! I love those shallow dents!! Lookin' awesome!! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[Chepstow]

Splendid Nutria, Alan! A sharp and fine hat you wear!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[vintage.vendeuse]

Greetings, everyone!

I've just acquired my first Stetson and it's a beauty. (I normally collect and deal in women's vintage clothing and accessories.) From the research I've done and with some invaluable help from a member here (Alan), I've found that this Boss Raw Edge is likely 1920s. A previous owner seems to have dressed it up with a bound edge. Can anyone offer me a correct name for the color of this hat? There are no paper stickers about the blocking, etc, so how would I measure the height of the crown, is that from table surface to top of hat? What other measurements are helpful to prospective buyers? (I am aware that a size 7 is a bit on the small side.)

There is an interesting tidbit of history to Ben Zindler's Sons store in Houston, Texas. It was a Jewish-owned men and boy's clothing store and supportive of freed black slaves. Subsequently, it became a target of the Ku Klux Klan.

Thanks, ~Donna

 

[g.durand]

vintage.vendeuse---another interesting tidbit is Ben Zindler was the grandfather of famous Houston television personality and, some would say, muckraking journalist Marvin Zindler, who took down the "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with his on-air reports about the "Chicken Ranch" in LaGrange, Texas, also referred to in the ZZ Top hit "LaGrange".

What a hat!

 

[vintage.vendeuse]

vintage.vendeuse---another interesting tidbit is Ben Zindler was the grandfather of famous Houston television personality and, some would say, muckraking journalist Marvin Zindler, who took down the "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with his on-air reports about the "Chicken Ranch" in LaGrange, Texas, also referred to in the ZZ Top hit "LaGrange".

What a hat!

Wow, that's quite a large tidbit of information, thanks!

 

[g.durand]

Wow, that's quite a large tidbit of information, thanks!

Well, as they would say in Texas, "everything is big here".

 

[alanfgag]

What a great first post, Donna - welcome!

Crown height is the measurement from the brim break (where the brim meets the crown) to the top of the open crown.

Jewish immigrants brought their mercantile (and tailoring) crafts with them and opened clothing stores all over the United States. Frequently when you search a store name on an old hat you will come up with a section from a book or article on the Jewish history of the region. It can come as a surprise to some that there were Jewish settlers in the south and west. It surprises me why it is so hard to find a good bagel outside of Brooklyn.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Nice hat.

 

[Joshbru3]

It surprises me why it is so hard to find a good bagel outside of Brooklyn.

LOL! Very true. However, I have had some great bagels here in Chicago.

 

[Joshbru3]

I've found that this Boss Raw Edge is likely 1920s.

I would say that 20's is a great estimate. It may even date to a little earlier, possibly the teens. The stitching on your sweatband is a vvvvvvvvvv pattern which was used pretty early. I am not sure when Stetson stopped using that type of two needle Singer sewing machine and switched to the machine that made the very tight IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII pattern, but it was some time in the teens/20's.

 

[vintage.vendeuse]

I would say that 20's is a great estimate. It may even date to a little earlier, possibly the teens. The stitching on your sweatband is a vvvvvvvvvv pattern which was used pretty early. I am not sure when Stetson stopped using that type of two needle Singer sewing machine and switched to the machine that made the very tight IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII pattern, but it was some time in the teens/20's.

Goodness, quite possibly very nearly 100 years old!
I've always been so curious about all the pieces I find... what are their stories? I simply can't imagine what roads this hat took from a men's outfitters in Houston, Texas to a Salvation Army store in suburban Detroit.

 

[splintercellsz]

If only they could talk!

 

[ScottF]

That's the first bound 'raw edge' I have seen.

 

[fedoracentric]

I have seen a few Boss Raws with bindings. I always wonder if it was a custom addition by a customer.

 

[alanfgag]

The ribbon and brim binding are later and perhaps much later additions. The ribbon bow is not frayed.

 

[vintage.vendeuse]

The ribbon and brim binding are later and perhaps much later additions. The ribbon bow is not frayed.

Here is another older (owner states 1900-1920s) BRE withOUT a frayed edge ribbon bow on the crown (scroll down to hat #12):
http://www.publiusforum.com/2012/01/01/my-collection-of-antique-stetson-western-hats/
It even has a lot number fairly close to mine.

I am certainly NOT a hat expert, lol, but I have been handling vintage clothing for over ten years and I think the ribbon may possibly be as old as the hat. Naturally, that doesn't mean it was original to the hat. As Alan says, it could have been added at any time. Or maybe it was a custom choice by the original buyer...?

And a bound edge "Raw Edge" is quite the oxymoron!

 

[splintercellsz]

I believe the ribbon to be a later addition as with the building

 

[carouselvic]

Here is another older (owner states 1900-1920s) BRE withOUT a frayed edge ribbon bow on the crown (scroll down to hat #12):
http://www.publiusforum.com/2012/01/01/my-collection-of-antique-stetson-western-hats/
It even has a lot number fairly close to mine.

I am certainly NOT a hat expert, lol, but I have been handling vintage clothing for over ten years and I think the ribbon may possibly be as old as the hat. Naturally, that doesn't mean it was original to the hat. As Alan says, it could have been added at any time. Or maybe it was a custom choice by the original buyer...?

And a bound edge "Raw Edge" is quite the oxymoron!

The person who owns that page is a three time former member here(he got the boot 3X). While he has a great hat collection, I don't give him a lot credit for his hat dating knowledge. The hat he shows as a 1900-1920 hat has a 1224 Chestnut St. stamp making it post 1912.