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The Bowler or Derby Hat

Lefty

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,639
Location
O-HI-O
Your hat lacks the shellac that covered old derbies.
This is from another thread:

Lefty said:
Here's another one of my "cool thing I learned from Debbie Henderson's Hat Talk" stories:

A derby is a bowler is a coke, depending upon where you are. The story, whether it's true or not, goes that Lord Coke needed a better form of topper for his men, who spent much of their time chasing poacher's off of Coke's land. The top hats got knocked off and were no defense for projectiles hurled by the poachers. Coke went to John Lock, the famous hatter whose business continues to this day, and asked Lock to design a suitable hat for the purpose. Lock bought his raw bodies from the Bowler brothers. He designed a short crowned, iron clad (shellac filled) hat. One myth says that Coke stood on the hat to test its strength. Coke liked what he saw, and a style was born.

On one side of the Thames, the hat was known as the Coke (Lock tradition dictated that a hat was named for he who commissioned it), while on the other, it was the Bowler. It's difficult to say why the hat is called a derby in the US, as that name is traced to the Early of Derby (which is pronounced Dar-bee).

With a shellac shortage in WWI and the growing acceptance of soft felt hats, bowlers themselves became softer hats. However, just as the every day top hat had transformed into a formal hat, the cultural significance of the bowler transformed. Within a few decades, the hard bowler became a sign of old sophistication and enjoyed a resurgence when President Eisenhower wore one.

All of this leads to the conclusion that the man in the photo is hardly a dandy. As well tailored as he may be, his hat indicates that he's dressed to chase away the thugs who have been poaching on the Lord's estate.

Shellac:
ed_shellac1_l.jpg
 

Lefty

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,639
Location
O-HI-O
The felt stiffener is certainly the best thing for just that. If you want a hat you can supposedly stand on, you need shellac. I've never heard of anyone applying shellac to his own hat, and certianly wouldn't recommend it.
 

carter

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,921
Location
Corsicana, TX
GWD said:
web.jpg

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I messed with the colors a bit and got some more detail, I'm still not sure if it's a 20's or 30's

The more I look at it, the more it looks like 1928 or 1929.

Gary, The top of the number after "19__" doesn't look [to me] the same as the top of the "2" on "Dec 24 19__". I believe it may read "Dec 24 193_".
 

GWD

One Too Many
Messages
1,642
Location
Evergreen, Co
Carter, you may be right! [huh] When I was messing with the colors to get a clearer view I kept seeing the number 2 more than the number 3. But who knows? It's a shame the other stamp covers the most important information in the hat. :mad:
 

carter

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,921
Location
Corsicana, TX
Stetson - the "Bat Masterson"

I saw one of these new Stetson Derbys at the HATCO Outlet last Friday. It's from their American Buffalo Collection. It's a pretty nice hat at about $80.00 pre-tax. I may go back and get one.

batmas1.jpg


p.s. Their selection of dress hats was about as poor as I've ever seen at that location. Either the factory is turning out better hats or folks/resellers/dealers have "discovered" the location.
 

Golden Earache

One of the Regulars
Messages
116
Location
Santa Clarita
Good ones on OFAS right now

A Mallory and a Schoble. Not my size, and I don't keep tabs on alot or yer sizes so I sent the info to Carter for him to pass on, but I have not heard back from him.

Go, my people, seek your future hat!
 

carter

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,921
Location
Corsicana, TX
Nice derbys referenced by GE but 7 3/8 so too small for me. I did pick-up on of the Bat Masterson Derbys by Stetson but no photos yet. I've had a headache for over a week that makes it difficult for me to keep a hat on for very long.
 
carter said:
I saw one of these new Stetson Derbys at the HATCO Outlet last Friday. It's from their American Buffalo Collection. It's a pretty nice hat at about $80.00 pre-tax. I may go back and get one.

batmas1.jpg


p.s. Their selection of dress hats was about as poor as I've ever seen at that location. Either the factory is turning out better hats or folks/resellers/dealers have "discovered" the location.


I have this one but it is an older version as some of the details are different. Brim size is the same but the edge of the brim is bound wide. :D
 

Lexybeast

A-List Customer
Messages
353
Location
Ireland
Anybody here have experience with the different fit you get from a bowler? My girlfriend got me a Christy's bowler in my correct size (7 1/2), and I find it's rather tight on the forehead, compared to my fedoras at least. The 7 5/8 however almost fell over my head. Maybe I just have a long skull!
 

Dinerman

Super Moderator
Bartender
Messages
10,562
Location
Bozeman, MT
All but one were from ebay. There's a knox, a disney, a stetson, and two smaller, makers whose names I can't remember. They can be had for relatively little with some looking, provided your size isn't too big.
 

carter

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,921
Location
Corsicana, TX
Here are a Bowler and four Derbys from my collection.
3442418923_1c627f1634.jpg

From left to right:
Harman & Son Bowler, Knapp-Felt Derby, Stetson Standard Quality Derby, Stetson Nutria Fur Derby, Knox Finest Quality Derby.

Harman & Son Bowler
3442417687_ae688f823a.jpg
3443242528_f20491e760.jpg
3442424367_c2b7256fe3.jpg


Knapp-Felt Derby
3442426701_929b982d96.jpg
3443237324_7389255624.jpg

3443239820_e53eaa3d75.jpg
3443245230_38d21fa59b.jpg


Continued in next post:
 

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