Stetson 5X Clear Beaver, 1942

[feltfan]

Okay, here are some photos of the 5X Clear Beaver hat I've
mentioned a few times (and Dinerman posted once already!).

I'll start with what I believe to be the original box. Yes, that's
a real leather strap on top. Heavy box. Closeup of the logo
sticker for those who care.

It came to me with a cattleman shape. I put this shape (and
various others on the way) on the crown using no steam or water:

Obviously you need a pretty high crown to do that. I thought
the front was a bit odd- couldn't really put in dents. But recently
I saw these (third picture down, guys on left and right in the front row):
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=795623&postcount=13

Check out this brim binding:

This shot gives a better sense of the brim curve:

Yes, it was a gift from FDR's administration:

I'm still a bit scared to wear it for that reason. Sigh.
It's comfy though.

 

[Corky]

That Bill Boyd mentioned in the Hat Band might well be...

William Boyd (June 5, 1895–September 12, 1972), American actor. His most famous and enduring role in Film and in the early days of Television was Hopalong Cassidy.

Born William Lawrence Boyd in Hendrysburg, Ohio, located 26 miles east of Cambridge, Ohio, he was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1918 he went to Hollywood, where he became famous as a leading man in silent film romances with a yearly salary of $100,000. By the end of the 1920s, Boyd's career had begun to deteriorate, and he was without a contract and going broke. Then Boyd's picture was mistakenly run in a newspaper story about the arrest of another actor with a similar name (William "Stage" Boyd) on gambling and liquor charges, which further hurt his career.

Hopalong Cassidy

In 1935, he was offered the lead role in the movie Hop-Along Cassidy. He changed the original pulp-fiction character, written by Clarence E. Mulford, from a whisky-guzzling wrangler to a cowboy hero who did not smoke, drink, or swear and who always let the bad guy start the fight. Boyd would be indelibly associated with the Hopalong Cassidy character, and he gained lasting fame in the Western film genre because of it. Boyd purchased the rights to the character of Hopalong as well as the rights to the 66 Hopalong Cassidy movies. In the early 1950s, he released the movies to television, where they became extremely popular. Hopalong Cassidy is, in fact, credited with helping reinvigorate the time-worn Western genre. Along with other cowboy figures, such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Boyd licensed merchandise, including such products as Hopalong Cassidy watches, cups and dishes, comic books and cowboy outfits. Boyd used his fame and his fortune to meet with children around the world, and underscore for them the fine qualities of the Hopalong Cassidy figure he portrayed. As a private individual and an actor, he was a hero to a generation of American children. The Hopalong Cassidy films remain available for broadcast and are on DVD in restored form.

Boyd appeared as Hopalong Cassidy on the cover of numerous national magazines, such as the August 29, 1950, issue of Look, and the November 27, 1950 issue of Time.

Oddly, both Clark Gable and Robert Mitchum experienced their first big breaks in movies playing bearded villains in westerns starring Boyd.

William Boyd died in 1972 in Laguna Beach, California, and was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. He was survived by his wife, actress Grace Bradley Boyd.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, William Boyd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1734 Vine Street. In 1995, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Since 1991, the Friends of Hoppy Fan Club has held the Hopalong Cassidy Festival in Cambridge, Ohio, near Boyd's home town.

* * * * * *

Considering the extreme height of the crown, your hat seems to cry out for a Hopalong Cassidy bash.

 

[Dinerman]

Man oh man. That is fantastic.

 

[feltfan]

Interesting!

The New Deal might well have used celebrities to give out these
prizes. Honestly, I had never bothered to figure out who Bill Boyd
might have been. Now I'm even more scared to wear it!

As for the crown shape, not to be spoiled, but I already keep
my Clear Nutria in more or less that style:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=176675&postcount=1

But the crown can be reshaped by hand any time...

 

[Lefty]

Incredible. :eusa_clap

I thought that I had seen that somewhere.

 

[thunderw21]

They don't come much better than that!

 

[jimmy the lid]

Holy smokes! That is just an amazingly fantastic hat! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Just incredible! Where did you get that one -- on the 'Bay?

Any chance of getting a photo of the back of the sweat, as well? Just wondering if the seam is stitched or taped.

Wow. Congrats on that one, feltfan.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[feltfan]

Any chance of getting a photo of the back of the sweat, as well? Just wondering if the seam is stitched or taped.

You just want to see if the size tag indicates your size, JtL.
I'm too lazy to take more pix of that hat for now, but it's stitched.

Oh, and it was originally from Washer Bros. of Ft. Worth. And yeah, eBay,
as Dinerman can confirm.

Glad everyone is enjoying this one.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Nice, nice, nice! I'm not sure I'd wear it, either; that's a tough call.

Brad

 

[tonyb]

Now I'm even more scared to wear it!

That's certainly understandable. That hat may not be absolutely irreplaceable, but for practical purposes it would seem pretty darned close to it.

 

[Andykev]

Size?

So, what size is it? It is a masterpiece BTW. With history.

 

[feltfan]

So, what size is it? It is a masterpiece BTW. With history.

It's tagged 7 3/8, but it's quite spacious.
I did stretch it slightly, but just slightly, and
it is snug but quite comfortable on my 7 1/2 LO head.
Probably the easiest hat I have ever stretched.

I can hear the sobbin' all the way from Detroit...
Now I have to buy ya two mai tais next time you're in town.

BTW, Andykev, how about posting a few from
your vaunted vault?

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

Beautiful hat and a wonderful piece of history. :eusa_clap

 

[jimmy the lid]

I can hear the sobbin' all the way from Detroit...

That's OK -- I'm sure a few boxes of Kleenex and several pints of Ben and Jerry's will get me through this...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[DOUGLAS]

My lord that is increadable!!!!

 

[Michaelshane]

Hopalong had a ranch in Winslow Arizona,I hung out there a bit as a kid.My mother told me he used to baby-sit me.[huh] He was my cowboy hero....He was a black hat wearing good guy,most good guy's wore white.

 

[Corky]

My error: There was more than one Bill Boyd...

My error: There was more than one Bill Boyd:

From The New York Times, July 22, 1942, Page 15

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- President Roosevelt made public today a report from William R. Boyd, chairman of the Petroleum Industry War Council, which disclosed that 454,155 tons of scrap rubber have been added to the nation's stockpile as a result of the country-wide collection between June 15 and July 10...​

My apologies, I should have done my homework before jumping to a conclusion.

But, the topic under discussion is a Western Hat, so (to borrow a quote from an old Ford western):

Q: You're not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?
A: No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.​

Best of luck

 

[feltfan]

My error: There was more than one Bill Boyd:

Okay, now it's my daily beater. I'll wear it walkin' the dog.

Thanks for all the research, Corky. More than I came up
with (and I spent years studying that period of American history).
Given that they were giving away a cowboy hat, I wonder if they
were aware of the potential irony in the name?

 

[Highlander]

I'd not use it. What a great find and a piece of history.

 

[feltfan]

I'd not use it. What a great find and a piece of history.

Okay, Highlander, you've inspired me to set a poll for this thread.
Everyone should feel free to weigh in. I don't promise to abide by
the result, but I do promise to learn from it.

I have a hard time with the idea of having a hat I can't wear
(especially if it fits me). I do collect things, but I'm not a purist.
I like to collect things with superior function... But in the pursuit
of great hats I have picked up a few that are intimidating to wear.
This one, the nutria linked above, the early Crofut & Knapp with the
early Cavanagh Edge, and a Panama from the days of the canal.
But they fit me...