size 8-1/2 Black Mallory

[Dinerman]

I stuck a bid in on this last night, purely out of curriosity, and ended up winning it. I feel a little bit bad about getting it, as it is nowhere near the size I wear.
How old would you all say this is? From the ebay pictures, I'm thinking late '20s/early '30s, but I've been known to be wrong.

size is a whopping 8-1/2.

 

[Rick Blaine]

size is a whopping 8-1/2.

 

[Dinerman]

I know. Not only is it marked as an 8-1/2, but the guy measured it and confirmed that the inside of the sweatband measured 26 inches.
Jeez- that's almost a pants size.
I didn't even know they made them this big.

 

[AlanC]

Oh my.

 

[tonyb]

You bought it cheap, right? And you'll let us know what you have once it arrives in Olney?
A good hatter could size it down (I would think), leaving it with a wider brim. And I think that hatter could also use the existing sweatband (provided it has any life left in it) by shortening it a bit. Same for the ribbon.
No? Not worth the trouble and expense?

 

[Dinerman]

yeah- I got it pretty cheaply, and I'll certainly make a full report with decent pictures once it shows up.
still, I think sizing it down 10 sizes would be a bit more trouble than it's worth.

 

[DOUGLAS]

I think it is a great hat. Ehat sweat is fantastic. I wish it were my size. There is a new member here with a size 8-1/2 head.

 

[Dinerman]

I think it is a great hat. Ehat sweat is fantastic. I wish it were my size. There is a new member here with a size 8-1/2 head.

Yeah, that sweat is the same kind of leather as my '20s stetson derby.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

sweatband i'm guessing late 20s.

Wow, i see some profit coming for dinerman if it is an 8 1/2 (hilariously, this will be far too big for the guys who can never find 7 7/8-8 . . .)

The big sizes exist!!!!!

bk

 

[jamespowers]

That is one big hat. I thought I would never see something like that in that vintage. There must have been some poor guy with a growth disorder in the 1920s.

Regards,

J

 

[Stoney]

You might want to look at this thread

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=17031

Some big headed loungers are looking for hats.. I smell blood in the wind.lol

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Wow, so is this one going into the rotation?

 

[Dinerman]

very funny.
And not only is it big, but it has close to a 7 inch crown, and a 2-1/2 inch brim.

 

[DOUGLAS]

It is a great looking hat Dinerman.

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Stingy?

A stingy brim - for Lurch? Good gravy that's a large hat.

 

[tonyb]

I still think it's a worthy candidate for a radical resizing. That brim would get decidedly unstingy, eh?

 

[vonwotan]

Very nice looking hat. I could use it as a bathtub! Being a preservationist I always cringe at the thought of altering something so unusual. If you don't intend to find it a new home, I would put it on display somewhere as a conversation piece. Then again, I am thinking of decorating my entry hall with some of the hats from my collection...

 

[Dinerman]

Here are some real pictures of it. If you look close, notice how the ribbon binding on the brim is very wide on one side, but narrow on the other, like a homburg. It has a fedora brim curl though.

here's a shot of me wearing it

here it is with another hat to give size comparason

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It's definitely a homburg that someone has curled down in order to make it look like a fedora.

Nonetheless, be sure to be honest and tell prospective buyers that the hat was made to be a homburg. Otherwise, you could end up with a very angry customer.


.

 

[Dinerman]

Well, if it's a homburg, I have fedoras with more brim curl than it.
All my homburgs have a brim which curls to at least a 90 degree angle. This one goes up at about a 45.
here it is with the brim up.