Question: Age of vintage Stetson?

[TomS]

Tom, if that hat is a near pristine, Canadian made Open Road with HFM stamped into the sweatband, I have 2 others from that same estate. The wear pattern on the back of the sweatband below the bow & size tag where sweatband joins looks familiar as it does appear to have HFM stamped but hard to see from that angle.

Is that the hat you mentioned in the PM we exchanged a few weeks back??

 

[gtdean48]

Is that the hat you mentioned in the PM we exchanged a few weeks back??

Yep. That's the one.

 

[jtrenalone]

I have been looking at this and other threads regarding dating, and am still a little confused on terminology, such as foil size tag.

I just purchased a Stetson Royal Deluxe with this size tag:

What kind of tag is this considered, and from what general era?


I know this is not a paper tag, (like this one):

Which I understand to be from earlier hats (pre-40's?)

(edited, sorry for the photo confusion, finally figured out how to post images)

Thanks,
Joel

 

[gtdean48]

That is a manilla stock size tag. A foil tag would look like that but be shiny. This is like your tag but only has the fraction, no 7 & not foil = 1950s....

This one is a Long Oval so it is all yellow but has STETSON in block letters, fraction with LONG OVAL stacked beneath it = late 40s/early 50s

 

[jtrenalone]

Ok so this one is not a manilla, or a foil. So what is this one referred to, and when did it start being used?

 

[gtdean48]

Looks fairly modern to me since it is square & has the digit with the fraction, which means 1970s for me. What is the bow hiding? All I can see is the word oval.

 

[jtrenalone]

Long Oval

 

[gtdean48]

Long Oval

I'm going with 1970s, could be late 1960s but not early 60s.

 

[jtrenalone]

Well, you know what this means now? My quest may not be ended:eusa_doh: for my ideal vintage hat....or I settle for a 70's hat and stop the madness.

Like you said, it seems futile to fight the force..

 

[Dinerman]

Nope. That's pretty well established. Dinerman has posted a number of examples, and I'm sure that if/when we see the rest of the sweat, it will either show a Canadian retailer or aquanized - which was only on the Canadian Stetsons.

old, u.s. stetson foil tag

http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=48822