Selco Hats of Brooklyn...

[Aureliano]

In my search for a gray hat with Cavanagh edge, I came across this Selco which I bought from a small vintage shop in Manhattan. I've never seen this brand before. I know Robert (RLK) and another lounger have examples in their holdings. I'm thinking this one might be from the 50s.

The beaver felt on this one is dense and thick. It has a heather finish with longer hairs. Quite nice. The Cav. edge is nice and substantial. Beautiful hand to it. It was and it has been the dirtiest hat I've ever handled so I did what I've never done before: I removed the sweatband and bow--which was falling apart anyway-- and hand washed the felt with woo-lite. After 20 minutes of careful scrubbing, filthy water still kept coming. After good 45 minutes it was clean. This is the result after re-blocking it, sewing the leather anew, and replicating the bow with the great wind trolley attached to it. Fully functional as well. If you own any Selco, or can provide information about the brand, please post it here.

 

[mayserwegener]

Interesting! Selco marketed the Hückel brand for TONAK.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/6-johann-huckel%c2%b4s-sohne-huckel-hutfabrik-weilheim/page__view__findpost__p__162

The Selco liner logo is a direct take on the Hückel logo ( not sure how that happened ).

Hückel - Selco liner logo from above link.

Today TONAK hats are sold under the Selentino brand in America which could be the same or an off shoot of Selco.

It's possible Steven (Besdor) from Bencraft Hats has info on Selco.

 

[Aureliano]

Thanks for that info, Steve! It's the same liner!

 

[mayserwegener]

Selco definitely didn't win all those medals.

 

[Aureliano]

Selco definitely didn't win all those medals.

I'm sure! lol

 

[Joshbru3]

You did an INCREDIBLE job with that Selco, Ale! If you didn't say that you did work to it, I would have thought it was all factory. The color looks to be that "perfect" gray and that Cav Edge looks very substantial. Excellent! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[Fletch]

I've had 4 Selcos for years now, all bought in NYC. One is identical to yours except for a pleated back bow. There are also brown and taupe cav-edges and a Whippet knockoff. I would say all date to circa 1950-55.

 

[tonyb]

Nice work.

What sorta block did you use? Got any "before" shots?

A water and mild soap solution is my preferred cleaning medium, now that I've gotten over my fear of it. But I'll add my standard caveats: Don't clean a hat this way unless you take the whole thing apart first (vintage leather typically doesn't respond well to soaking), have a good block and flange at the ready (the hat will likely have all the body and shape of a dishrag when it comes out of the bath), and be prepared for some color loss, especially with darker hats, and especially with lesser-quality ones. And I've seen some lighter hats actually come out of the process a quite noticeably different color than they went in.

 

[scottyrocks]

It's nice to have first hand experience of an alternative cleaner to naptha. Woolite sounds like the ticket. Beautiful job all around!

 

[Aureliano]

You did an INCREDIBLE job with that Selco, Ale! If you didn't say that you did work to it, I would have thought it was all factory. The color looks to be that "perfect" gray and that Cav Edge looks very substantial. Excellent! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap

Thanks Josh! Little by little I'm getting more comfortable and daring. This was scary but it turned out well!

Nice work. What sorta block did you use? Got any "before" shots?

Thanks. I blocked it with a 52 Block and flanged it with a 7 1/4 - 2 1/2 flange. I always remove everything before doing work to the felt body. The leather on this Selco was intact ans so was the liner. After that, I let the body dry on the block overnight and then re-did the brim line with a tolliker. No before shots

It's nice to have first hand experience of an alternative cleaner to naptha. Woolite sounds like the ticket. Beautiful job all around!

Thanks!

 

[Aureliano]

You did an INCREDIBLE job with that Selco, Ale! If you didn't say that you did work to it, I would have thought it was all factory. The color looks to be that "perfect" gray and that Cav Edge looks very substantial. Excellent! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap

Thanks Josh! Little by little I'm getting more comfortable and daring. This was scary but it turned out well!

Nice work. What sorta block did you use? Got any "before" shots?

Thanks. I blocked it with a 52 open crown Block and flanged it with a 7 1/4 - 2 1/2 flange. I always remove everything before doing work to the felt body. The leather on this Selco was intact and so was the liner. After that, I let the body dry on the block overnight and then re-did the brim line with a tolliker. Stitched the sweatband again, re-did the bow with new/old ribbon, and sewed the liner back. No before shots :eusa_doh:

It's nice to have first hand experience of an alternative cleaner to naptha. Woolite sounds like the ticket. Beautiful job all around!

Thanks! I don't know if woolite will get stains out the way naphta does, though. The Selco was just filthy with dust and crusty mud! :eeek:

 

[Aureliano]

I've had 4 Selcos for years now, all bought in NYC. One is identical to yours except for a pleated back bow. There are also brown and taupe cav-edges and a Whippet knockoff. I would say all date to circa 1950-55.

Would you mind posting pictures of them here when you have a chance?

 

[besdor]

Selco was a mens hat store located in Williamsburg Brooklyn . They closed up the shop last year after being in business for many years. The hat Aureliano has is pre 1954. That when the store was on Robeling st. Today the owner is the distributor of the Selentino brand from Tonak. They had many nice vintage hats that they sold off over the years. Manly Barbisio, Stetson, Tonak and Melton Hats.

 

[Aureliano]

Selco was a mens hat store located in Williamsburg Brooklyn . They closed up the shop last year after being in business for many years. The hat Aureliano has is pre 1954. That when the store was on Robeling st. Today the owner is the distributor of the Selentino brand from Tonak. They had many nice vintage hats that they sold off over the years. Manly Barbisio, Stetson, Tonak and Melton Hats.

Thanks for that info, Steven. Good to know the age of my hat now. They sold Barbisio, huh? the good old days. It seems that they had a second store on Taylor st...