warbird
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,171
- Location
- Northern Virginia
For many years I wore a couple of my grandfather's old hats. They were among my first fedoras 25 years ago. I had gotten all of the hats long ago, but not all of the hat boxes. Some of those I kept at my parents home. This weekend I went over as I do regularly to grab some gear from the vault for my next hunt and decided to pick up a couple of those old boxes to store some new acquisitions.
So I started rummaging through the boxes and found in the bottom of one an old crumpled hat. I probably did not get it years ago because it was likely in the same condition and I had forgotten about it.
Turns out it is an old Borsalino Alessandria, size 7 1/8. Many of his hats were 7 which are too small for me unless it stretch them.
the hat as you can see is crumpled, however the felt is still in good shape, as is the band. The sweat is in decent shape. I have been putting Lexol on it slowly. It is still supple, but I am careful. The color is a grey with a slight green tine to it, but it is hard to tell being so dirty. Brim measures 2 3/4.
I think it likely needs a bath and a reblock, I will have to see who I can get to do it, maybe Mike Moore. I hope I can keep the sweat and I worry about a bath and reblock harming it, but that will be the only way to get it into wearable shape. Oddly enough I have somewhere I picture of my grandfather in the hat and had always figured it went the way of the many other hats he had and wore out. Most of the hats I have now were his dress hats, but he had many hats he used hunting and horseback riding. Except for this one I have never found any of the other outdoor activity hats. Most of those hats were smaller brims and I rarely wear any of them anymore.
IF anyone has a guess to its time of manufacture, I'd sure like to know. I have no other Boraslino's so have never spent a lot of time knowing about them.
I do hope I can wear it sometime soon. My grandfather is one of the reasons I started wearing hats in the first place. I never bought a dress hat in my life, until maybe 10 years ago as my entire collection had come from him and the 18 uncles and great uncles who were only too glad to pass their hats onto someone who would wear them.
I can tell you this, the first place I will wear it will be hunting birds with one of his old shotguns (I have all of his guns), and his old Pendleton Wool Buffalo plaid coat. I can't wait. I hope. I just hope it won't tear up in a restoration, but it seems durable. I can't tell you how pleased I was to find this.
So I started rummaging through the boxes and found in the bottom of one an old crumpled hat. I probably did not get it years ago because it was likely in the same condition and I had forgotten about it.
Turns out it is an old Borsalino Alessandria, size 7 1/8. Many of his hats were 7 which are too small for me unless it stretch them.
the hat as you can see is crumpled, however the felt is still in good shape, as is the band. The sweat is in decent shape. I have been putting Lexol on it slowly. It is still supple, but I am careful. The color is a grey with a slight green tine to it, but it is hard to tell being so dirty. Brim measures 2 3/4.
I think it likely needs a bath and a reblock, I will have to see who I can get to do it, maybe Mike Moore. I hope I can keep the sweat and I worry about a bath and reblock harming it, but that will be the only way to get it into wearable shape. Oddly enough I have somewhere I picture of my grandfather in the hat and had always figured it went the way of the many other hats he had and wore out. Most of the hats I have now were his dress hats, but he had many hats he used hunting and horseback riding. Except for this one I have never found any of the other outdoor activity hats. Most of those hats were smaller brims and I rarely wear any of them anymore.
IF anyone has a guess to its time of manufacture, I'd sure like to know. I have no other Boraslino's so have never spent a lot of time knowing about them.
I do hope I can wear it sometime soon. My grandfather is one of the reasons I started wearing hats in the first place. I never bought a dress hat in my life, until maybe 10 years ago as my entire collection had come from him and the 18 uncles and great uncles who were only too glad to pass their hats onto someone who would wear them.
I can tell you this, the first place I will wear it will be hunting birds with one of his old shotguns (I have all of his guns), and his old Pendleton Wool Buffalo plaid coat. I can't wait. I hope. I just hope it won't tear up in a restoration, but it seems durable. I can't tell you how pleased I was to find this.
