The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[Dakota Ellison]

Vintage Borsalino

I won this hat on ebay a month ago:

The felt is very soft and pliable. Just like my Optimo Indy. It has a sewn in liner and the sweatband is sewn straight to the felt without the synthetic strip newer hats have. It has the nearly 6 inch row of corrugated material under the front of the sweatband. The brim is 3 inches wide and the crown is about 5 1/2 inches unbashed. It has a store name, Will H. Melet Co. of Clarksburg W. Va stamped on the sweatband. Under the band there's a paper tag :
179p 19019 7 5/8
Palladio Ludoela
There's another tag under the sweatband that is the store price tag and it says $20. I would imagine the price today on this hat would be up there with the Optimo. It appears to have been rarely worn, if at all.
Is there any way to indentify the year on this hat? I tried emailing Borsalino of America, but haven't heard back from them.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

I don't know how to identify the year of the hat, but it's a very nice find. I bid on that hat too, but it got to be too much for me. Glad a good guy got it!

Does it still have the c-dent in the top of it, like in this picture of it?

 

[Dakota Ellison]

Like an Optimo, you can do that bash or a center dent, whatever you wish, and yep that's the one. You came in early and I came in late on that one. I think I'm gonna Bogartize it though. Remove the bound brim and put a wide ribbon on it. Just won an auction on a "Vintage Stetson Bogart" size 7 3/4 yesterday, so can't wait to see that one up close. That'll be my 3rd vintage fedora.

 

[Fedora]

Beautiful Borsalino, and going by the price, made when it was still a family business. I have been keeping an eye out for this same model. I plan on keeping the narrow ribbon as I have grown fond of how the Stetsons of this same style look on my head. The only thing that I don't like about the Borsalinos is how they attach the sweatband on the hat. You can't reuse the band, and make it look good. In fact, on my Borsalinos, the only visible stitching(holding on the sweatband) is up front where the corrugated portion is stitched on to the hat. How'd they do that? Glad to see you joined the vintage club. Boy, this site here has really bumped up the prices lately. Its getting hard to buy a nice vintage hat for 20 odd dollars nowadays. I quit bidding on my last two when the price got past 75 bucks. One was for a 3x Beaver felt hat!!! You would have thought it was a 10x. It did have that nice pleated liner though. And from a small hatter too. Fedora

 

[Andykev]

STOP

DO NOT remove the bound edge, I promise that you will be very sorry. You will ruin the vintage value. Ask Art about this hat. No you will get nothing from the current factory on the history of the hat. Come on, customer service on a 50 year old hat? NADA.

You did get a fine hat, and I bet you know now that you can shape, reshape, bash, the crown many different ways by hand, no block required. Very fine. I have a Dobbs that is from 30's same look. I will NEVER alter it. Unfortunately, just a tad snug, its a 7 1/4 and I'm a 3/8!!!!

 

[Art Fawcett]

Dakota, the best i can tell this hat could be from about 1945 to 1955. The crown is taller than early 40s, but that isn't always the ringer. the liner is one that was used fro a very long time but chages in the late fifties. This is exactly the style my everyday hat is, but black. Nice prize!!!

 

[Dakota Ellison]

Thanks for the comments. Do you know when the clear plastic was first used to protect the liner? That's what made me think this hat was possibly from the 30's; the lack of a liner protector.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Dakota,
The plastic liner started out not as plastic but something called
"pliofilm" which actually was oiled silk, in the late 1800s. The film became brittle over time and basically disintegrated . Although the basic style was offered in the 30s, I don't believe your hat is from that era. The shape is slightly wrong and I have had this hat many times. It's a terrific lid no matter what age it is so enjoy!!

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

My First Borsalino Alessandria

I must be living right, is all I can say. I stopped by a junk store here in town that I have found a few bargins, including my Stetson Sratoliner. So I was not totaly suprised at what I found today, but I was delighted to say the least. Can anyone date this hat?

 

[havershaw]

whoa!
super nice find there.
congratulations!!!

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Thanks Havershaw, I just about fell over when I saw it, I knew it was something special. Then when I felt it and turned it over, I was done. Just my size and the photos posted are just how it was. I have no doubt that a good cleaning and a little steam and it will be very nice. Now are you ready for the price tag? Six dollars, that right six dollars. It was a masterfull performance on my part to pay for the hat without giving it away. If the proprietor only knew what he had. I sure wont be the one to tell him.

 

[squid]

Amazing! I would have beelined to the cashier before anyone had a chance to change their mind. Unbelievable. And a beautiful hat too!

 

[Razzman]

Sweet hat! Congratulations on a terrific find. I guess it pays to shop around. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[tonyb]

I can't tell you just how old it is, but that cloth size tag and liner say it isn't of real recent manufacture.
Great score.

 

[DanielJones]

Wow! What a great find! Let's see you wearing it. Congratulations!!:eusa_clap

Cheers!

Dan

 

[MattC]

The cloth tag

Dates from the time Borso was still making its finest hats. Maybe postwar. Anyway, the cloth tag eara borsos are great hats. Enjoy it.

 

[DOUGLAS]

That is a beautiful hat and a sweet price too. Nice find Hats4me!

 

[feltfan]

Six dollars for that hat? At the very least you should
have produced a gun and made a show of robbing him.
You will be very happy with that hat.

BTW, MattC, Mallory used the identical size tags.
Must have been a third party maker who sold to both.
I'd guess the American distributor of Borsalino picked them
up to indicate American sizes? And for those who find
Borsalinos with the early (usually red) paper tags, often
with European sizes, don't worry about the lack of cloth
tag- just buy it!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

.

It is said that America is (or at least was) a nation of joiners. Yup. Witness the Open Road Guild; the Stratoliner Society; and the aptly named Brotherhood of the Thin Ribbon.


Time to add to the mix. We hereby grant a charter to the BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD.


I've got three Borsalino homburgs that don't suit me, and I'm selling them soon ... so they don't count. But THIS is different:

---------------------------------- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=270050553065&rd=1&rd=1

The hat on the left is a 1930s Borsalino, made for the U.S. market. It just arrived today. I'm busy reblocking and stretching it a bit, so photos will have to wait. In any case, this Borsalino is a keeper and I choose it to induct me into the hallowed BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD.



Join us, paisano!



.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Here is my entry