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The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

photogravity

One of the Regulars
Messages
148
Location
Central MD
BorsalinoLazzaro9.jpg

Nice find! I really like the raw edge on the ribbon.
 
Messages
15,083
Location
Buffalo, NY
What a wonderful find, Manfred! I just received a Fu Lazzaro from Daniele which shares similar features, but this label is older. I think this could be pre-war. It's a beautiful hat.
 

Chepstow

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,406
Location
Germany/ Remscheid
photogravity, Alan and Mike. Thank you very much for the nice comments. I appreciate it.
I think too that he could be pre war but I was not sure. The 40s era is true, my opinion!
 

eli104

New in Town
Messages
40
Location
Connecticut
To all concerned… hello! I do hope I’m not taking advantage, being a newbie to at least this group. But I found you all through a search for some history on my family’s Borsalino hats… and I’m certainly not a stranger to good headwear, having been called a “hat person” since my high school days in the 70’s. (I'm now just hoping all of the links work properly).

A recent trip to Italy where I had to restrain myself from buying “new” have led me to this search for information! Any help that anyone can offer for dating these hats would be most appreciated. They’re mostly sentimental value, and indeed I DO wear them to many compliments.

Hat #1 - My first Borsalino (my father’s old one). This “Torino” or “Renaco” would have prompted me to write by itself, as it was a hand-me-down gift from my father sometime in the early 1980s. My father passed away about 3 years ago, and I’ve received enough compliments on the hat that I recently took it in to a shop in New Haven to be cleaned and blocked. The shop owner piqued my interest in the vintage of the hat, so now I am writing here.

I remember my father with this hat at least back in the ‘70’s, but perhaps even the 60’s. The sweatband looks like it’s had some repair, the stitching is a bit uneven. No doubt my father didn’t quite realize the value he was carrying around (why else would he just hand it off to a 21 year old kid who would wear it to rock clubs and get sweat and smoke all over it:)).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19822318149/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19386368204/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19822318819/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20001310122/in/dateposted-public/

Hat #2 – Lightweight crushable brown felt. “Marron” This one came from my wife’s grandfather, who passed away 20 years ago this week. It honestly looks new, very clean, almost as if it was never worn. The only marking is under the sweatband, where he inscribed his name, “a. a. Croog”. Perhaps someone can help determine the year for this one (my guess is late 30’s or 40’s). I’m pretty certain it was purchased in Italy, where he and his wife loved to vacation.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19388023653/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19820909668/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19386369124/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20014238561/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20008979665/in/dateposted-public/

Hat #3 – This is actually the prima esempio… also from my wife’s grandfather. “Amiata” when I brought this one in to the shop in New Haven, the owner joked that he would love to “accidentally” lose it in the back room. He assumed it was from the 40’s, but I think it might be earlier. Beautiful grey felt, and like the previous one, clean, like it was never worn. In fact, I’m having a bit of trouble getting the crown to stay down in a crease ☺. It just keeps trying to pop up (the same with the brim, making me look a bit like someone from The Bowery Boys :D).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19822321629/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20001235362/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19388027413/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20001235752/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19388024693/in/dateposted-public/

Hats #4 and #5 – The twins… with the rope band. Dark Grey and Brown. Your guess here is as good as mine, also from the grandfather, but different. The Liner on the grey one is clean, and I’m sure that the logo adds some clue to the dating process… The brown one is a bit more yellowed, but the hat itself is still in excellent condition. Here’s the thing: There is NO TAG under the sweatband of either hat! No other markings at all except the stamped logo on the sweatband itself. The grey one has a bit of “brushing” around the crown where it’s been sitting in a shopping bag (yes, a plastic shopping bag) for probably 35 years or so, the brown one could have come out of the factory yesterday, except for the yellowing in the liner.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19820910438/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20008983745/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20001237322/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20014240881/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/20014241051/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19820913098/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38785219@N00/19982737746/in/dateposted-public/

Anyone who can shed any light on the origins and timeline for these hats would be greatly appreciated. For #1, I would be thrilled to know how old my old man’s hat is, since I wear it all the time. For #2-5, my wife, and indeed her 87 year old mother (who gave me all of her father’s old hats), would love to know their history, and be assured that they will be cared for in the manner in which her father intended.

Thanks!!
 
Last edited:
Messages
15,083
Location
Buffalo, NY
Greetings Eli... these hats range from perhaps the late 1950s into the 1960s-70s. Can you post the manufacturing label behind the sweatband of the Colombo?
 
Messages
15,083
Location
Buffalo, NY
Flea Market Feather

Borsalino Piuma (Feather) found today... another souvenir from Italy that has never been unpacked, much less worn. It has the signature lumps and bumps from 65 years in a triangular coffin. Lovely and light - 2 5/8" brim.

borsopiuma1.jpg


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borsopiuma4.jpg


borsopiuma5.jpg


borsopiuma6.jpg


borsopiuma7.jpg


borsopiuma8.jpg


borsopiuma9.jpg


borsopiuma10.jpg
 

eli104

New in Town
Messages
40
Location
Connecticut
Greetings Eli... these hats range from perhaps the late 1950s into the 1960s-70s. Can you post the manufacturing label behind the sweatband of the Colombo?

Alanfgag, which are you calling the Colombo (by my numbers)? I thought I had posted all of the labels I can find. Also late 50's seems late for the one I have as #3... Is there any way to tell by the numbering?
 

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