Stetson Model Name Stamped on Back of Sweat (?)

[jimmy the lid]

After receiving a new Royal Stetson from johnnyphi last evening, I discovered the word "Moselle" stamped on the back of the sweat. I wasn't sure whether this denoted a color or a model name. Johnnyphi has the box that this lid came in, and the box identifies the color as "Holly" (which seems to make sense). That leads me to believe that "Moselle" was the model name for this lid -- but that raises some interesting questions. Why would the name of the model be stamped on the back of the sweat, rather than embossed on the front of the sweat, as was the norm? Were certain models initially manufactured in a limited production run, or on an introductory or trial basis, and therefore only stamped on the back of the sweat pending a more robust distribution? Any other ideas or thoughts on this?

Incidentally, I now have two lids with this feature -- the other is my "stitched-brim" Royal Stetson that has "Pearl" stamped on the back of the sweat. Both of these lids appear to date to the late 40's.

Does anyone else out there have any Stetson lids with this feature?

Cheers,
JtL

 

[suitedcboy]

Pearl and Moselle sound like QC inspectors, would they dare name such fine headwear those names? No disrespect for any of the Ladies (or men) out there with those fine names, just do not think they suggest a style of men's hats.

 

[jimmy the lid]

That's a pretty good theory, cboy -- and, if it's true, I will certainly have a good laugh at my own expense! That really had not occurred to me. But, I think the jury's still out on this one. When I first discovered "Pearl" in the stitched-brim Stetson, I thought it actually fit pretty well, since "Pearl" is a very fair description of the color of the hat and conjures up a kind of tropical feel that is in keeping with the lid itself. As far as "Moselle" goes -- "Moselle" has several meanings, and I would simply be guessing as to what the connection might be.

The thing that I wonder about in terms of your inspector theory is this -- if it were standard practice to have inspectors stamp the inside of sweatbands, then I think we'd be seeing this phenomenon all over the place. To the best of my knowledge, we aren't. To the contrary, it seems to be a fairly rare thing. But, then again, that's why I started this thread -- to cast a line out there (in the Moselle ) and see what we can all come up with.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[suitedcboy]

The reason it struck me as an inspector stamp is that in upper range westerns I find inspector names. Some stamped and on more recent ones it was a paper label. N. Hughes inspected the 30X Resistol I'm wearing today.

One more thing to add to the list of things that make you go HMMMMMMMMM....