The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[mayserwegener]

Tonio, Fantastic!

 

[DRB]

A very old Borsalino bowler to share today. I suspect that it could be pre-1900s.

No Borsalino logo on the sweatband which is interesting. The size sticker is the same as the 1890s Borsalino.

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A True Gentleman's hat. Wonderful.

 

[hatsRme]

Not for the faint of heart: Borsalino Serikon...lords hat? Some outsized dimensions: 6 1/2” open crown and 3 1/2” brim. Beautiful longish hair finish and a single row stitched brim edge treatment. And gills! I love the gills. It fits perfect so Borsalino is consistent with running a bit small. Here she is:

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You’ve been been on a ROLL lately, Brent! Incredible!!

 

[T Jones]

Giving this Black Borsalino another shot. It started out as a size 7 1/8 with a 3 1/4 wide brim, too wide to suit me for a fedora and not wide enough to suit me for a Western. As expected, with the size up and with the reconfiguring of the open crown shape, I lost some brim width. Also, as expected, the loss of brim width varied between 3 inches, to 2 7/8, and to 2 15/16, mostly in the back. The sides and front stayed at 3 inches. Usually this is a very easy fix for me, trim it down to either 2 5/8 or to 2 3/4, my preferred widths for a fedora. The problem with this hat is that I'll lose the stitched brim treatment if I cut it down, but then again, I detest the current width, and the slight variations. I'm leaning toward cutting the brim down to a width that I can live with. I found some black 3/8 ribbon and may try for an OR style look. Although, I need to find some more black thin ribbon to bind the brim.

 

[DRB]

T Jones:
That sounds like an exciting project to endeavor. That's what got me started in making my own hats. Beginning with renovating a hat into something different. ETSY has some custom leather hatbands. You can even find new hat blocks and flanges. The soft pounce of a Borsalino is a perfect candidate. Winchester is a company that makes hat blanks if you really want to start from scratch. I would love to see a picture of your finished product. Have fun.

 

[T Jones]

T Jones:
That sounds like an exciting project to endeavor. That's what got me started in making my own hats. Beginning with renovating a hat into something different. ETSY has some custom leather hatbands. You can even find new hat blocks and flanges. The soft pounce of a Borsalino is a perfect candidate. Winchester is a company that makes hat blanks if you really want to start from scratch. I would love to see a picture of your finished product. Have fun.

Thank you, D! This will make my second Borsalino refurb. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with it. I don't care much for the brim width, so I may cut it down to a width that I'll be happy with. It's too wide for one project plan, and too narrow for another. What ever I decide, I'm the one who's going to be wearing it.

This was my other Borsalino refurb. I left the brim at its original 3 inches on this one...

 

[DRB]

There ya go. Some hats are best left alone, some hats can benefit from minor or major renovations. I agree, it's You that has to wear it. I have been thinking of adding a custom leather 1/2" or 3/4" hatband and a VERY small sparkle of a diamond (3-5mm) to one of my favorite Borsalinos. I know that many may not like it, but I might. You never know till you try. Everything in moderation though, so as to not stand out too much in a crowd.

 

[steur]

Borsalino Cecosca in Narvalo colour. Size 58 with the bound brim at a good 6,5cm and the crown 10cm at the center dent. Lightweight hat at only 95grams and "Insuperabile". Not my size unfortunately, so PM me if you're interested.

 

[DRB]

I want to thank you and Steve and all of the many others for sharing these pieces of history. This information helps me to develop a better appreciation for our beloved fedoras. Only on F.L. can I get eye candy with the history. Thank you so much.

Part 2
A very cool Borsalino with a replaced sweatband and liner. I usually look into the retailer of the hats I find and more often than not there's nothing to be found. Not so in this case.
Carl Freindrich Hermann Haugk was located in Dresden, Pragerstrasse 37 (Europahof) and that turned up this place on the interweb.

And there's even a litho of the Haugk factory (in 1857):

However Haugk was only located on the Pragerstrasse 37 address until 1906, after which date the address is occupied by Johannes Kupke. These are publications dated 1916 and 1926 respectively:

Haugk still is located in Dresden after 1906, but on a different address:

The King of Saxony (Freidrich August III) abdicated in 1918 after the Russion octoberrevolution, so Haugk was on that address before 1918, which is consistent with the Kupke information.
This doesn't make sense of course; a thirties hat with a 1906 replacement sweatband. Maybe the seller can tell me more. And he can. To his knowledge the hat in fact belonged to this man (picture belongs to seller):

Fritz Otto Sauerstein, 1893-1968, painter and member of the Kulturkammer in WWII. He was living in Dresden from 1922 onwards. According to the seller he is wearing the hat in this picture, which I don't think is right (the brim seems too narrow and there's more taper to the crown in the picture).
Everything adds up, except the address on the sweatband. As far as I can figure out, it might well be possible that the sweatband was replaced with one from an older (unsold) hat. How cool is that?

 

[steur]

I want to thank you and Steve and all of the many others for sharing these pieces of history. This information helps me to develop a better appreciation for our beloved fedoras. Only on F.L. can I get eye candy with the history. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Dennis. It's what the lounge is all about: to share the appreciation and what limited knowledge we can gather about these hats and their history.

 

[Redfokker]

It has been a while since I've posted in the Brotherhood. Arrival today is a Borsalino Featherweight in Bismuto. I thought Anthony had decimated his hat room, but this one came as an offer I couldn't refuse. Felt like a dream and light as a feather. The dating based on Ant's and Alan's assessment was very early 1950s, OPS era. The oil skin is totally intact. This one features a felted edge which is a dream. Some images are from Moon.

 

[Bill Hughes]

It has been a while since I've posted in the Brotherhood. Arrival today is a Borsalino Featherweight in Bismuto. I thought Anthony had decimated his hat room, but this one came as an offer I couldn't refuse. Felt like a dream and light as a feather. The dating based on Ant's and Alan's assessment was very early 1950s, OPS era. The oil skin is totally intact. This one features a felted edge which is a dream. Some images are from Moon.

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So you’re the one who beat me to this. Congratulations - I think you got a good one there!

 

[steur]

It has been a while since I've posted in the Brotherhood. Arrival today is a Borsalino Featherweight in Bismuto. I thought Anthony had decimated his hat room, but this one came as an offer I couldn't refuse. Felt like a dream and light as a feather. The dating based on Ant's and Alan's assessment was very early 1950s, OPS era. The oil skin is totally intact. This one features a felted edge which is a dream. Some images are from Moon.

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Wonderful Borsalino, Mike. Í can't read the model name on the label. Is this an extra extra superiore? And how much does it weigh?

 

[Steve1857]

It has been a while since I've posted in the Brotherhood. Arrival today is a Borsalino Featherweight in Bismuto. I thought Anthony had decimated his hat room, but this one came as an offer I couldn't refuse. Felt like a dream and light as a feather. The dating based on Ant's and Alan's assessment was very early 1950s, OPS era. The oil skin is totally intact. This one features a felted edge which is a dream. Some images are from Moon.

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Super Borsa, Mike. Congrats.

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[M Hatman]

Here is my latest addition.....a (80's?) OR clone......with simply awsome thin, supple, finely finished felt. Can almost blow a crease into it. Everytime I pick it up, the crease changes a little.........did not know they made them this nice in the later years, when over here, they were largely making garbage.......anyway....I absolutly love the "frayed" ribbon ends which look simply awsome in person. A nice touch!

 

[Tukwila]

Here is my latest addition.....a (80's?) OR clone......with simply awsome thin, supple, finely finished felt. Can almost blow a crease into it. Everytime I pick it up, the crease changes a little.........did not know they made them this nice in the later years, when over here, they were largely making garbage.......anyway....I absolutly love the "frayed" ribbon ends which look simply awsome in person. A nice touch! View attachment 156380 View attachment 156381 View attachment 156382 View attachment 156383 View attachment 156384

It's a beautiful hat, but I'm thinking it's more likely a late 50s or early 60s model, similar to my old Savoy. I've had 1980s Borsalinos and they don't look like this.... different sweat, liner, felt, etc. Any markings under the sweat?

 

[M Hatman]

It's a beautiful hat, but I'm thinking it's more likely a late 50s or early 60s model, similar to my old Savoy. I've had 1980s Borsalinos and they don't look like this.... different sweat, liner, felt, etc. Any markings under the sweat?

This.......

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Here is my latest addition.....a (80's?) OR clone......with simply awsome thin, supple, finely finished felt. Can almost blow a crease into it. Everytime I pick it up, the crease changes a little.........did not know they made them this nice in the later years, when over here, they were largely making garbage.......anyway....I absolutly love the "frayed" ribbon ends which look simply awsome in person. A nice touch! View attachment 156380 View attachment 156381 View attachment 156382 View attachment 156383 View attachment 156384

Love this hat!
B

 

[ofcoursemyhorse]

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

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Excellent Berteil!
Any chance to see the tags inside?
Don’t get to see these often.
Thanks and super congrats on a special French hat!
Bowen
Ps: unless it is a Borsa/Berteil like Stefan posted.