The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[Steve1857]

Thank you, Steve. The patient came from very good stock and is up and about. Full recovery make take some more time and effort. Borsalino put it in its box, but it wasn't meant to stay there for seventy years! That is just neglect; who would do such a thing?

Report that guy, too.

 

[Hagwood]

Part II
This is what these coffin box hats look like before you apply steam and what not. This one required a good deal of mink oil for the sweatband as well. I do wonder how they got the stains on there though. It might have to go in a naphta bath for good measure.

View attachment 213369 View attachment 213370 View attachment 213371 View attachment 213372

Man, those things are crazy !

 

[Hagwood]

My first heathered Borsalino, a "Tasso" in Misto Gris Fer:
View attachment 213687 View attachment 213688 View attachment 213689 View attachment 213690 View attachment 213691
Specs:

2-3/4" Brim (w/ 1/4" overwelt)
5-1/2" Crown (open)
1-7/8" Ribbon
108g Weight
​

The label is slightly disfigured but I strongly suspect this is another Gorasgu given the sizing specs. It shares several similar characteristics to my other Gorasgu. Wonderous, lusciously soft felt that can be manipulated with little to no effort at all. The only thing worse than my amateurish pictures would be my words to describe this hat, so I'll stop while I'm behind.

Great find Jonathan ! That is a beautiful heathered felt.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

My first heathered Borsalino, a "Tasso" in Misto Gris Fer:
View attachment 213687 View attachment 213688 View attachment 213689 View attachment 213690 View attachment 213691
Specs:

2-3/4" Brim (w/ 1/4" overwelt)
5-1/2" Crown (open)
1-7/8" Ribbon
108g Weight
​

The label is slightly disfigured but I strongly suspect this is another Gorasgu given the sizing specs. It shares several similar characteristics to my other Gorasgu. Wonderous, lusciously soft felt that can be manipulated with little to no effort at all. The only thing worse than my amateurish pictures would be my words to describe this hat, so I'll stop while I'm behind.

Wow,Jonathan! That is a gorgeous heather! And a Gorasgu? With this get, you shouldn’t miss that Cavanagh, too much.
I sure would like a heathered fedora...one day.
How come this Borsalino has American sizing? I thought they all had cm or numbered sizing...

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Wow,Jonathan! That is a gorgeous heather! And a Gorasgu? With this get, you shouldn’t miss that Cavanagh, too much.
I sure would like a heathered fedora...one day.
How come this Borsalino has American sizing? I thought they all had cm or numbered sizing...

They did make hats with American sizing in addition to metric and Punti sizes. I think the general consensus is that the Gorasgu model was specifically targeted for the American market since it has larger proportions than most European hats. My other Gorasgu has U.S. sizing, as well as the brown one that I traded to Stefan.

Most of the American market hats that I've seen also seem to have the simple roundel crest on the liner and are Qualita Superiore. Just a few things to look for to help you during your search.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

They did make hats with American sizing in addition to metric and Punti sizes. I think the general consensus is that the Gorasgu model was specifically targeted for the American market since it has larger proportions than most European hats. My other Gorasgu has U.S. sizing, as well as the brown one that I traded to Stefan.

Most of the American market hats that I've seen also seem to have the simple roundel crest on the liner and are Qualita Superiore. Just a few things to look for to help you during your search.

Thanks for the explanation.
So... you do trades, eh?
How bout you send me that stubborn Blue Cavanagh homburg, and...
Well, let’s just leave it like that.


Yeah, that ‘55 Cavanagh I got the other day was hard to steam shape.
I’ve never before had that much of a problem. all I wanted was to add a pinch and snap the brim down. The pinches kept rippling and the brim kept wonking out of shape. But one must “endeavor to persevere” .
A line stolen from my favorite movie.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Thanks for the explanation.
So... you do trades, eh?
How bout you send me that stubborn Blue Cavanagh homburg, and...
Well, let’s just leave it like that.


Yeah, that ‘55 Cavanagh I got the other day was hard to steam shape.
I’ve never before had that much of a problem. all I wanted was to add a pinch and snap the brim down. The pinches kept rippling and the brim kept wonking out of shape. But one must “endeavor to persevere” .
A line stolen from my favorite movie.

I very well may end up just keeping one blue hommie, so if I do decide to part with one you can have first crack at it. They do have different proportions and characteristics so I may decide to keep both. I'll need to spend some time with the recent acquisition before making a decision.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

I very well may end up just keeping one blue hommie, so if I do decide to part with one you can have first crack at it. They do have different proportions and characteristics so I may decide to keep both. I'll need to spend some time with the recent acquisition before making a decision.

Well, Sir, thank you for your generosity, but I was only making jest, not a gesture. However, if you one day truly want to sell either one, because of reasons of your own, then yes, I would like to be given first opportunity.
BUT!
Now that I know you’d actually spend time in cogitation about selling one of those blue hats, here’s a True gesture: Just last night I bought a navy Blue Hart Shaffner and Marx suit from eBay!
I hope it fits. I’ve never bought a preowned suit. Should be here by Friday and I’ll let you know how it turned out.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

For all enthusiasts and curious on the activities of the Borsalino after the war, I attach a link to a document extracted from the excerpts from the board of directors from 45-46 until the end of the sixties. You will need to arm yourself with patience and translate from Italian.
You will still see the annual exports of hat
https://isral.it/web/borsalino/Consiglio d amministrazione.htm
Have good reading!

 

[mayserwegener]

For all enthusiasts and curious on the activities of the Borsalino after the war, I attach a link to a document extracted from the excerpts from the board of directors from 45-46 until the end of the sixties. You will need to arm yourself with patience and translate from Italian.
You will still see the annual exports of hat
https://isral.it/web/borsalino/Consiglio d amministrazione.htm
Have good reading!

Daniele, Great information! Thank you for posting it!

 

[Il Cappello]

For all enthusiasts and curious on the activities of the Borsalino after the war, I attach a link to a document extracted from the excerpts from the board of directors from 45-46 until the end of the sixties. You will need to arm yourself with patience and translate from Italian.
You will still see the annual exports of hat
https://isral.it/web/borsalino/Consiglio d amministrazione.htm
Have good reading!

To hopefully make this link easier to read, I ran a quick google translation and made a pdf of it. I did some minor formatting - replacing bullets and adding bold/color to the section titles. Otherwise it's a direct translation including errors such as 210.93 for the number of hats exported in 1968-1969.

 

[steur]

For all enthusiasts and curious on the activities of the Borsalino after the war, I attach a link to a document extracted from the excerpts from the board of directors from 45-46 until the end of the sixties. You will need to arm yourself with patience and translate from Italian.
You will still see the annual exports of hat
https://isral.it/web/borsalino/Consiglio d amministrazione.htm
Have good reading!

Thanks for posting this, Daniele. Excellent information!

 

[steur]

To hopefully make this link easier to read, I ran a quick google translation and made a pdf of it. I did some minor formatting - replacing bullets and adding bold/color to the section titles. Otherwise it's a direct translation including errors such as 210.93 for the number of hats exported in 1968-1969.

Thanks for that. See if it did a better job of that translation than the one it did to Dutch

 

[PanosChris]

Another misto one here.
Borsalino Nadirsca in Misto Ionio

Open crown at around 14+cm and overwelt brim just under 7cm

Imported for the US market, model Angora, softer than my Gorasgu and Goraspo

Best,
Panos

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Another misto one here.
Borsalino Nadirsca in Misto Ionio
View attachment 215145
Open crown at around 14+cm and overwelt brim just under 7cm
View attachment 215143 View attachment 215144
View attachment 215142 View attachment 215141 Imported for the US market, model Angora, softer than my Gorasgu and Goraspo View attachment 215146 View attachment 215147
Best,
Panos

Now that's what I'm talking about. Way to go, Panos!

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Another misto one here.
Borsalino Nadirsca in Misto Ionio
View attachment 215145
Open crown at around 14+cm and overwelt brim just under 7cm
View attachment 215143 View attachment 215144
View attachment 215142 View attachment 215141 Imported for the US market, model Angora, softer than my Gorasgu and Goraspo View attachment 215146 View attachment 215147
Best,
Panos

Outstanding piece in every way.
Angora is such a nice finish.
B

 

[steur]

Another misto one here.
Borsalino Nadirsca in Misto Ionio
View attachment 215145
Open crown at around 14+cm and overwelt brim just under 7cm
View attachment 215143 View attachment 215144
View attachment 215142 View attachment 215141 Imported for the US market, model Angora, softer than my Gorasgu and Goraspo View attachment 215146 View attachment 215147
Best,
Panos

That's another jawdropper of a hat, Panos. Great catch and I'm relieved to see that it's not my size (hope it doesn't run small). Where did this one come from; I don't remember seeing it on Ebay?

 

[PanosChris]

That's another jawdropper of a hat, Panos. Great catch and I'm relieved to see that it's not my size (hope it doesn't run small). Where did this one come from; I don't remember seeing it on Ebay?

Now that's what I'm talking about. Way to go, Panos!

Outstanding piece in every way.
Angora is such a nice finish.
B

Thank you gentlemen !
Stefan it was one of those rare occasions when something appears with a buy it now option within your price range and you go for it without second thoughts, just seconds after the listing creation if you know what I mean

 

[steur]

Thank you gentlemen !
Stefan it was one of those rare occasions when something appears with a buy it now option within your price range and you go for it without second thoughts, just seconds after the listing creation if you know what I mean

You need to get lucky sometimes! Excellent catch.

 

[Steve1857]

A Borsalino beauty, Panos. Where did you find that one?

Another misto one here.
Borsalino Nadirsca in Misto Ionio
View attachment 215145
Open crown at around 14+cm and overwelt brim just under 7cm
View attachment 215143 View attachment 215144
View attachment 215142 View attachment 215141 Imported for the US market, model Angora, softer than my Gorasgu and Goraspo View attachment 215146 View attachment 215147
Best,
Panos