Stetson Open Road/Quality Designation Project

[alanfgag]

When it was introduced, it was the top of the line by Stetson or at least can derive that from Victor's 1943 Miller Catalog postings....

At this time, the 5X was higher at 37.50 and I believe the 7X above that at 50.00. This 5X is c. 1940. It is a thin ribbon western, but with a wider brim than OR style

 

[gtdean48]

20($) is only a price point not a specific fur blend/hat body. Stratoliner/"Alessandria" are lightweight basic(likely mostly Rabbit) felts that vary to some extent over their eras of production. Open Roads are medium or Western(heavier) weight bodies. This thread demonstrates the difficulty of generalizations.

1956 Miller Stockman catalog...

...
4 Quality/Price Levels of "Open Road" Hats

In 1963 version...

 

[gtdean48]

At this time, the 5X was higher at 37.50 and I believe the 7X above that at 50.00. This 5X is c. 1940. It is a thin ribbon western, but with a wider brim than OR style
...

I wonder if Miller's didn't offer those yet due to the target audience for their catalog...

 

[howardeye]

Very interesting thread. I will have to tell my neighbor about this discussion. He has been trapping beaver all of his life.

 

[danofarlington]

Interesting and informative ads. I wonder why the Stetson 100 doesn't show up in those lineups. Anyway, I've got a 7x too, and am happy to see that they are at the top of the heap, in at least some of the years.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I have not been blessed enough to find a 100x in any make of hat to buy, and I have often wondered how much thicker (heavier weight) the felt of such a hat would be in comparison to say a Dobbs 40? Currently all my hats are vintage and in the neighborhood of 3X felts. Are the 100x hats heavier felt, or just more beaver and pounced more or differently than the normal felts?

 

[carouselvic]

this might shed some light....1938

 

[carouselvic]

 

[buler]

I have not been blessed enough to find a 100x in any make of hat to buy, and I have often wondered how much thicker (heavier weight) the felt of such a hat would be in comparison to say a Dobbs 40? Currently all my hats are vintage and in the neighborhood of 3X felts. Are the 100x hats heavier felt, or just more beaver and pounced more or differently than the normal felts?

I've had many Stetson 100's, a Beaver 100, a few 7X's and various brand 40's. The 100's are not heavy, thick felt. They are usually a medium to lighter weight. Typically the brim is very thin and dense. The brim is also typically stiffened. The crown's of the 100's have been typically a medium to lighter weight also. Less stiffening than the brims, but not as soft as the 40's (and 20's) crowns. The felt I've encountered on the 40's/20's and the dress weight 7X's has been thicker and has the "molds like clay" feel to it. Some of the nicer Dobbs/Knox 20's have had felt very similar to the 40's.

Hope this helps.

B

 

[alanfgag]

Nicely illuminated... thank you.

Any style custom available in 5X... <sigh>.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Bringing this excellent thread back to page 1 for further review.

 

[Bamaboots]

Bringing this excellent thread back to page 1 for further review.

Thanks for that, HJ. Good read.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

One that you didn't include is the Stetson Imperial Open Road. These are super rare and I was lucky to snag one years ago before the Open Roads got popular. To me it is similar to my 25,

That being said, the "Imperial" and the "3X Beaver Quality" marketing/quality designations both shared the same price point in the early 50's -- namely, $15.

I realize I'm replying to almost 8 yr old posts, so no one need point that out.

If the Imperial designation goes back to the early 50's with Stetson then it would appear perhaps that's how Akubra came to use it later when making the OR under contract for Stetson?

 

[Hurricane Jack]

My perception that the Stetson 25 contains a very high percentage of beaver is based upon this hat-to-hat comparison.

I'm actually dubious of the high Beaver in the 20/25 because of both price and feel but don't have much ability to do more than speculate.

So let's have some more opinions about how great 25s are.

I have a 1960's 25 OR that has a very dry rubber sponge-like feel to the fur. Your fingers almost drag across. It does feel something like dry clay or chalk might but it's certainly not like that molding clay-like feel when wet. The hat appears to be clean but I have wondered if a naphtha bath would change the hand any or if it's just the way this particular example was finished?

 

[alanfgag]

Nice bump. The Imperial was used further back (c.1940 in the example below). here with dress hat 3X - Fifteen quality, though might have been used in other places at other times.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Outstanding thread revival HJ!
Many of these bygone treads have so much real reference information from so many illustrious experts.
This will be a treat to absorb and hopefully contribute to. Thank you for finding a new real thread.
Bowen

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Specific to the Open Road can anyone help to put together the approximate yrs the Imperial, 3X, Sovereign 20, Twenty-five, 4X, 7X & 100 were available?

 

[alanfgag]

Specific to the Open Road can anyone help to put together the approximate yrs the Imperial, 3X, Sovereign 20, Twenty-five, 4X, 7X & 100 were available?

The Open Road dates to 1937. The original wide ribbon version turns up here every now and again. I have not seen Imperial and Open Road together, but I saw it mentioned above. 3x, Sovereign, 4x, (5X) and 7X quality/price designations date back that far. Stetson 25 and 100 are post-war price point models - to my knowledge, arriving around the mid 1950s.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

The Open Road dates to 1937. The original wide ribbon version turns up here every now and again. I have not seen Imperial and Open Road together, but I saw it mentioned above. 3x, Sovereign, 4x, (5X) and 7X quality/price designations date back that far. Stetson 25 and 100 are post-war price point models - to my knowledge, arriving around the mid 1950s.

Probably the most informative paragraph concerning hats i have ever had the privilege of reading. Thank you, Alan again, as always the wealth of information.
Bowen

 

[alanfgag]

Probably the most informative paragraph concerning hats i have ever had the privilege of reading. Thank you, Alan again, as always the wealth of information. Bowen

Thanks Bowen. Funny... I was just reading back in the old Stetson 25 thread to see if there were photos of an earlier example. Most of the photo links are broken, but I did come across some pronouncements of my own that were mildly horrifying. It's scary how much I seemed to know back then when I knew almost nothing.