Pre 1940s Stetson Westerns

[Dinerman]

This one seems to be '40s, but I think it's worth including.

 

[Dinerman]

 

[ScottF]

I am very patiently awaiting this one - two boxes with 11 hats total. The others are all 7 1/4 - 7 3/8, but she gave me smaller measurements for this one - hoping she's wrong. Will post good pics in a day or two!

 

[ScottF]

The 3X Boss Raw Edge is also mine. Took it apart, scrubbed the daylights out of it, and it looks exactly the same

The plan is to dye it black and add a wider ribbon, similar to the one on Dinerman's 'former-Garrett' hat. The sweatband is awesome and soft - the nasty stuff at the front is stain, but not really stiff.

 

[Dinerman]

You sure about dying it?

I really liked that one- reminded me of Douglas's boss raw edge, which I would say is one of my all time favorites.

 

[ScottF]

You sure about dying it?

I really liked that one- reminded me of Douglas's boss raw edge, which I would say is one of my all time favorites.

It reminded me of Douglas' also. That's what the bash was meant to look like. The main difference is that it's got the reduced curl at front and back. By the way, since we haven't seen many old 3X westerns - the felt is very similar to the 3X felt on the early '50s Open Roads - just a little less floppy and more substantial. Not as thick as the old 3X dress hats.

As far as dying, I see no choice - those brown spots are not going away, and they really look bad.

If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears - I would much rather keep it tan. I scrubbed it good with a Woolite solution, and also with a dishwashing liquid solution - no results at all.

 

[ScottF]

Spanish-American War era Stetson?

I think this one was well worth the price, just not with $$ out of MY pocket :eusa_doh:

This one has all the outward characteristics of a Spanish-American War era Stetson - brim stitching, bow design, bash, etc., but if it's really that old, then any hat with the small sticker size tags and/or that particular sweatband stamping might be older than we have thought. Also, the tags under the sweatband look newer than some of mine.

The seller is going to email me a pic of the original owner wearing it - by a really weird coincidence, the original owner is a cousin of mine, very far removed.

Spanish-American War era Stetson?

 

[Dinerman]

This was sold as a campaign hat. The lack of grommets and private purchase means it's more of a boss of the plains type hat.

 

[Dinerman]

Ebay photo grabs.

 

[Dinerman]

 

[ScottF]

This was sold as a campaign hat. The lack of grommets and private purchase means it's more of a boss of the plains type hat.

Several of those No. 1's with the logo upright on the sweatband have been popping up lately. I am guessing those came before the 'lying down' No.1's we normally see, so maybe 10's or early 20's? I've also seen the upright logo with no gold embossing, on hats that were probably 1890's or right around 1900.

Nice grab!

 

[ScottF]

I think this one was well worth the price, just not with $$ out of MY pocket :eusa_doh:

This one has all the outward characteristics of a Spanish-American War era Stetson - brim stitching, bow design, bash, etc., but if it's really that old, then any hat with the small sticker size tags and/or that particular sweatband stamping might be older than we have thought. Also, the tags under the sweatband look newer than some of mine.

The seller is going to email me a pic of the original owner wearing it - by a really weird coincidence, the original owner is a cousin of mine, very far removed.

Spanish-American War era Stetson?

Here's a cabinet photo I just won that shows soldiers at Camp Shipp, Anniston, AL, preparing for the Spanish American War, and presumably wearing their John B. Stetsons, similar to the one above. Camp Shipp was only around for the period of the war - 1898-99. The photographers (Russel Bros.) not only took pictures of the volunteers who were stationed there, but apparently leveraged the situation into a photographic trip to Havana - some of their photos of Cuba are posted around the internet. This was a surprise pick-up at $28.

 

[ScottF]

circa 1900-20 campaign hat

Here's a beautiful No.1 sweatband logo from an old campaign hat - similar to the 'Boss of the Plains' Dinerman posted, but with grommets:

 

[DOUGLAS]

If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears - I would much rather keep it tan. I scrubbed it good with a Woolite solution, and also with a dishwashing liquid solution - no results at all.

It is so good looking in tan it would be a shame to dye it. I have used as a last resort a type of hand cleaner called D&L. It is aloe and lanolin based and used for cutting mineral based products. I have used it on clothing to great effect and I have used it on a couple of hats in small quantities on the underside. I have rubbed a small amount in using a Q-tip. It did get some of the nastiness out.

 

[ScottF]

It is so good looking in tan it would be a shame to dye it. I have used as a last resort a type of hand cleaner called D&L. It is aloe and lanolin based and used for cutting mineral based products. I have used it on clothing to great effect and I have used it on a couple of hats in small quantities on the underside. I have rubbed a small amount in using a Q-tip. It did get some of the nastiness out.

Thanks Douglas. I will look for some. I decided shortly after posting about this hat that I would not dye it, and put it away, hoping a solution would surface.

 

[DOUGLAS]

That hat has a most perfect shape with all the qualities I look for in a western style.

 

[feltfan]

All right, which lucky stiff spotted this before I did?

 

[ScottF]

All right, which lucky stiff spotted this before I did?

When I listed that hat, I told my girlfriend it would be BIN'd by the next morning - I forgot about your big head or I would have mentioned it to you. It's a massive hat and I can't imagine anyone wearing it in public, but it sure displayed nicely.

 

[feltfan]

When I listed that hat, I told my girlfriend it would be BIN'd by the next morning - I forgot about your big head or I would have mentioned it to you. It's a massive hat and I can't imagine anyone wearing it in public, but it sure displayed nicely.

Whoops, didn't even notice you were the selller.
I remember you posting a picture of this hat. At the time
I made a mental note to ask if you planned to sell it.
Lately my mental notebook has not been reliable.

I'll live... and congrats on selling the hat.

 

[ScottF]

Stetson San Fran Nutria

This one is probably 1940's, but hard to tell - might even be early '50s. This is almost certainly the "San Fran" model - 3 cord ribbon, 3" bound-brim, 6" crown, and in Nutria - all fit perfectly with that Model. It was $17 in 1950. The only things I'm not sure about are that it appears to have a factory brim roll, which I don't think the San Fran had, but which Stetson did offer with some westerns. Just finished cleaning it (good scrubbing) and a minor stretch - the Nutria liner shown in the original ebay pic is soaking in Woolite.

**The last few hats I've stretched, I've taken JTMarcus' advice and cut the threads connecting the sweatband at the back. I've also removed the size tag and bow before putting it on the stretcher, and cut the cover off the reed at the back, in order to let the pin slide and to get rid of the green corrosion. The results have been fantastic, so thanks JTMarcus.

Hey, can I call this an unlabeled 'Open Road'? lol lol