Stetson Stuff

[fedoracentric]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting it.

Is there a copyright date or any date that would indicate when it was printed? I would guess it was from the 1920's. Maybe the late 1900's.

I wish there was a date. But I gave ya'all a scan of every single page in the booklet. I agree with you that it is sometime around the 20s as all the brims in the photos are less than 2-1/2 it looks. I'd think it is early 20s, too.

 

[mayserwegener]

Great find!

 

[besdor]

I have a lot of Stetson booklets and I've never seen that one before. It looks as if you could order the booklet with your stores name on it. There might be similar ones from other stores .

 

[fedoracentric]

I figured that, too. I'm sure Stetson sold these as store give aways and the store would order a block with their names printed on it. I've seen palm card-sized Stetson advertisements, too, that looked like Stetson had a generic card and then the hat store imprinted their address on it.

Here is an example of what I mean:



I am sure the area that has the store name was blank originally and the store imprinted their name there.

 

[buler]

Looking at the cover art of the brochure compared to this 1927 Stetson ad, you'll see similarities with the face and car along with the font used for "Stetson". Possibly the same artist signature, but it's hard to determine.

B

 

[fedoracentric]

Looking at the cover art of the brochure compared to this 1927 Stetson ad, you'll see similarities with the face and car along with the font used for "Stetson". Possibly the same artist signature, but it's hard to determine.

Good comparison. I'll bet you are right.

 

[Landman]

Definitely looks like the same artist. I was guessing late teens or early 20's on the first brochure based on the hats, automobiles and the soldier uniforms. Especially the soldier uniforms. The campaign hats made me think around the end of WWI.

 

[buler]

Interesting article on the Stetson factory - > Stetson Factory

B

 

[alanfgag]

Interesting article on the Stetson factory - > Stetson Factory

B

This is an enjoyable read and a great snapshot of Stetson in 1902... thanks for sharing.

 

[Joshbru3]

I thought this was VERY interesting.....

From an edition of The Memphis Daily Appeal., January 06, 1883



Good ole' John B spent $20,000 in Christmas gifts for his employees in 1883!! That was a TON of money back then. I also read in several articles from the 1880's that he paid life insurance policies for his employees and himself. His individual policy was $320,000 and $430,000 went towards his employees policies. I'm sure he paid VERY high premiums for those numbers back then. Today, depending on age and health, a $500,000 term life insurance policy can be fairly cheap in premiums. Back then, if we use the multiplier rule of 10, $750,000 in term coverage is equivalent to 7.5 Million today, but probably even more!

 

[alanfgag]

The articles that Bill posted yesterday note other examples of benevolent practice at John B. Stetson... much in the manner of Henry Ford, an effort to provide a culture of support for the workers and the community around the factory. Enlightened thinking, and perhaps also an effort to hinder unionization at the factory.

 

[Joshbru3]

The articles that Bill posted yesterday note other examples of benevolent practice at John B. Stetson... much in the manner of Henry Ford, an effort to provide a culture of support for the workers and the community around the factory. Enlightened thinking, and perhaps also an effort to hinder unionization at the factory.

After reading these articles, I thought of Henry Ford as well. It just goes to show how big of a company Stetson was and how much money they were making pre-1900. It would appear that he treated his employees VERY well and we have seen the kind of wonderful products they turned out in the early days. It just goes to show.....make your employees happy, treat them like people and respect them, and the product they yield will be good and profitable.

 

[fedoracentric]

I thought this was VERY interesting.....

From an edition of The Memphis Daily Appeal., January 06, 1883

I only hope that the ones that got stock in the savings and loan outfit sold their stocks before 1960!

But, yes, Stetson came from that tradition of large companies trying to make their employees "part of the family," if you will. Something that faded by the 1970s for a host of reasons.

 

[fedoracentric]

OK, this one is interesting.

It appears to be a 25-year service award for employees.

The seller is calling it a "cuff link" but I think it is a shirt collar stud.

The seller says it is 14K Gold and weighs .18 Ozs.

It does have a 14K mark on back.

Whoever got it paid $106.05. I know nothing of gold, 14K or no, so I have no idea if the buyer got a good deal gold-wise, but I have never ever seen this stud before, so it is rare, I imagine.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-5-8...Om3x6k8%2FxDWx2y9Ep0U%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

[alanfgag]

.18 oz.

 

[fedoracentric]

Ooops. Fergot the point. Fixed

 

[fedoracentric]

Well, according to a website I just looked at, the gold is worth a whopping $5. So, it wasn't bought for the gold, that is for sure.

 

[alanfgag]

If the weight and karat are correct, the gold value is approximately $130.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Cool item!

 

[Landman]

If the weight and karat are correct, the gold value is approximately $130.

That is the amount I came up with too.

I wonder if it was intended to go in the button hole of a lapel? Whatever it is, it is a very interesting item.