The Cavanagh Club

[Cigarband]

Why do you feel the need to re-attach it? [huh]

Maintaining the original condition feeds my OCD.lol

 

[Viper Man]

I can dig it. We all have varying degrees I think.

 

[jamespowers]

Maintaining the original condition feeds my OCD.lol

You and me both. I try to keep as much of it original as possible. Going so far as keeping the blown out original sweatband if I have it replaced.
Well you have mentioned the Cavanagh Fifty so I might as well share mine here:

Inside

Outside

 

[jimmy the lid]

Wow. That is just beautiful! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Cheers,
JtL

 

[jamespowers]

Wow. That is just beautiful! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Cheers,
JtL

Thanks.
It is defintiely newer than anything you would associate with a 40s and previous Cavanagh fedora. The brim is shorter and the crown is a bit shorter as well. The accoutrements are still top notch though. The liner appears to be silk and the sweatband is thicker (wider) with some tooled design all around the top. The Cavanagh Edge is pretty obvious too.
Brad can add a card for me to that filing box.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Will do, jp. That's a fine Fifty. Who knows, there may have been a card for your hat in my box at one time.


We've been watching some Cary Grant movies that we recorded from TCM last week, and I've been paying close attention to his hats (Yes, he wore hats!), because I had learned he was a Cavanagh customer. Since he wore his own hats in his films, I was hoping for some evidence. Tonight, we watched Mr. Lucky, from 1943, and sure enough, in one scene I paused it and stepped through frame-by-frame to get a great look at the Cavanagh hat liner. A very nice grey hat, with Cavanagh Edge, of course.

He also wore a hat at the beginning of the film that was probably either black or dark blue, with a slightly taller crown and slightly narrower brim. Raw edge, but it had a nice '30s look to it. Didn't get to see if it was a Cavanagh, but there's a good chance it was.

No screen caps, since this was on my DVR, and I have no way to hook it to my computer.

Brad

 

[rlk]

 

[Brad Bowers]

Thanks, rlk, that's the one!

Brad

 

[rlk]

Thanks, rlk, that's the one!

Brad

2-1/4" brim gray in B&W.

 

[Dreispitz]

Well you have mentioned the Cavanagh Fifty so I might as well share mine here:

Inside

Fine hat! By the inside features, I would put it somewhere mid 60ies. What does it look like under the sweatband? Would be interesting to see, if there is some particular difference to other Cavanaghs of the same period.

 

[munchausen]

You and me both. I try to keep as much of it original as possible. Going so far as keeping the blown out original sweatband if I have it replaced.
Well you have mentioned the Cavanagh Fifty so I might as well share mine here:

Inside

Outside

That's a smashing fifty. I can imagine what my face would feel like just rubbing against that thing. mmmMMm

 

[jamespowers]

That's a smashing fifty. I can imagine what my face would feel like just rubbing against that thing. mmmMMm

It is actually a heavier weight felt so it might not feel exactly like you think. lol It is soft though. The felt feels really quite dense. It feels like it has heft and weight like the cloth of a heavy weight suit might.
Age is something that I tend to peg in the 1950s somewhere.

 

[ScottF]

My first bowler

Just brought home a Cavanagh bowler. I don't have pics yet, but perhaps this hat's characteristics are common enough that it won't matter:

- taped sweatband connects at side, not back.
- size is embossed on back of sweatband "Seven-one-eighth"
- top of sweatband is is curled back and then under (has a hidden lip)
- sweatband has a flexible sewn hinge, rather than being sewn tightly to the hat
- no liner, but large emblem that looks like piece of thin embossed cloth.
- typical Cavanagh frayed edge bow
- $10 price tag (Klopfenstein's)

 

[jamespowers]

Just brought home a Cavanagh bowler. I don't have pics yet, but perhaps this hat's characteristics are common enough that it won't matter:

- taped sweatband connects at side, not back.
- size is embossed on back of sweatband "Seven-one-eighth"
- top of sweatband is is curled back and then under (has a hidden lip)
- sweatband has a flexible sewn hinge, rather than being sewn tightly to the hat
- no liner, but large emblem that looks like piece of thin embossed cloth.
- typical Cavanagh frayed edge bow
- $10 price tag (Klopfenstein's)

Sounds interesting. I'll anxiously await photos.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I'm excited to see this one, and a bit puzzled as well.

Some of those features are typical of derbies up through the 1920s, such as the curled over sweatband. (I had to replace a sweatband in my circa-1922 Dobbs derby last week, and ended up ironing the fold into the sweatband to help keep the historical authenticity, as well as give it a taped seam.)

The sweatband taped at the side is interesting, as that was often seen on 19th century hats. My 1896-1908 C&K derby has this feature. Of course, a Cavanagh could be no older than 1928, but it's interesting that they offered one on the side.

What's odd is the $10 price, as that's far too cheap for a Cavanagh derby, even an early one. They offered snap-brims for $15 early on, and one model could be had for $10. But the derbies went for $20.

Makes me wonder if someone slapped a Cavanagh tip sticker into another brand of derby.[huh] I guess we'll find out more when you get some photos posted.

Brad

 

[ScottF]

Cavanagh Bowler pics

Maybe this is a derby? I don't know enough about non-Fedoras, but here are the pics:

 

[jamespowers]

Maybe this is a derby? I don't know enough about non-Fedoras, but here are the pics:

Its a derby alright and probably one of the earliest Cavanagh derbies I have ever seen. Perhaps the seller was a low price leader where he was or it was on sale but you did well with that early example. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[rlk]

Klopfenstein's History

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920925&slug=1514945

 

[ScottF]

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920925&slug=1514945

Thanks rlk - nice to see it's a local hat.

and James - thanks for your analysis. The seller had been wearing this hat all week and looked great in it - I told him he really should keep it, and that it was likely very old, but he said his wife hated it.

So now I'm off to buy eye make-up and a cane.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Whoa, that is the earliest Cavanagh I've seen.:eusa_clap

I've never seen the size stamped like that in the sweatband, and I haven't seen the reed cloth done that way either. Makes it look like lace or something.

The Cavanagh tip sticker is incredible, the detail is just phenomenal, and the "Made by the Cavanagh Process" takes my breath away. This derby was made with using the Cavanagh Edge process, with the edge cut off before trimming. It supposed to give strenth to the entire brim, regardless of whether the edge was kept.

I still don't understand the $10 price, but perhaps JP is right. On the other hand, this one does not have a liner, so that saves money right there, so maybe they did offer a low-priced model. My prices only go back to 1931.

If you're ever inclined to sell it, please think of me first.

Brad