The Dobbs Diner...

[carouselvic]

from 1943

By carouselvic at 2010-02-28

 

[gtdean48]

By carouselvic at 2012-08-16

Is it me or does that hat in the ad look like it has a moth divot midway between bow center & side dent?

 

[Old Buzzard]

Is it me or does that hat in the ad look like it has a moth divot midway between bow center & side dent?

I was thinking the same, looks like critter craters.

 

[randooch]

Is it me or does that hat in the ad look like it has a moth divot midway between bow center & side dent?

Too funny! I actually reached up and wiped my screen with an index finger to make sure. lol

 

[gtdean48]

Too funny! I actually reached up and wiped my screen with an index finger to make sure. lol

Did the same with a microfiber cloth Randall!!!!!

 

[Brad Bowers]

I wondered if they were vent holes.

 

[Iyor]

I wondered if they were vent holes.

Makes sense as they seem to be in line

 

[John Galt]

RE: Dobbs VVL

So, a couple of weeks ago, I engaged in the dangerous game of bidding while under the influence, and won an old Dobbs with a sketchy description and a single photo that showed a battered hat with a faded band, but healthy-looking felt. I took a chance, won the auction, and took delivery last Friday.

What arrived was a battered, but very interesting hat with light, pliable felt. The brown sweatband is stamped "Dobbs VVL." "Guild Edge and "Gilbert's" (presumably, the store where it was sold).

The brim is 2 3/8 inches, with a crown that, when open, is just over 5 inches and a 2-inch hat band that was once black (still visible on the reverse side), but was now whatever the intersection of black, brown and dingy is.

Interesting, but what had I bought?

OK, I could have asked you Dobbs experts. But that felt like cheating. So I did some Googling, and found a few old advertisements in the archives of The New Yorker. This one, from March 19, 1955:

Sorry about the resolution. If you can't read that, the text says, "The famous Dobbs VVL, the finest lightweight hat ever made is now available in the newest Spring shades with the famous Guild Edge. $20. and $40."

So I had a really lightweight hat, the Dobbs Very Very Light, dating no earlier than 1955 (because of the Guild Edge). Perfect for Arizona. But it needed work.

So I broke out the naptha and gave the hat a bath and a scrub. I steamed the hat back to a reasonable facsimile of an open crown. I gave the crunchy sweatband several doses of leather conditioner.

And I took the plunge and snipped off that faded hatband and dyed it back to black. Then I sewed the hatband back on. (That sounds easy, doesn't it? Actually, "sewed the hatband back on" conceals about two hours of frustrating needlework. Let's have a shout-out to the long-gone junior high school paper-pushers who made me take home economics.)

The end result, was a hat looking a lot fresher than it had out of the box, and rather less ... infectious.

Then, I gave it some shape.

And actually put the thing on.

I'm not completely satisfied with the job I did on the hatband, but I can live with it -- especially since it's probably the best I can do right now.

And it turns out that this is really a nice hat. It's light weight-wise -- 3.4 ounces, about half-an-ounce lighter than anything else I own. But it also feels light as in wearable on a warm Arizona day. The felt takes any shape you please without a fuss, though it moves out of that shape easy enough too.

I see the new acquisition joining the regular rotation.

Does anybody have more information on the Dobbs VVL?

Hello:

There seems to be a dearth of information on this hat despite the ads touting its popularity. I collect primarily lightweights, and have spent hours researching them, but know almost nothing about it.

I did just purchase a "buy it now" Dobbs VVL for a very nice price today. I have been looking for some time after seeing the ads on Ebay, and did some more research when I bought this hat. I came up with this thread, the aforementioned New Yorker Ads, and a couple of ads on Ebay. The oldest reference I found for this hat was two seperate references to a New Yorker ad from September 6, 1952, but I did not pull the ad itself because I did not want to pay the fee. The text of one of the hit results did seem to indicate that it was an ad for this hat, but it is obviously not confirmed. The newest ad I found for a Dobbs VVL was September 12, 1963 in the Galveston Daily News. I have found little else, except a reference on a feedback profile for a purchase that may well have been Tooch's. The next oldest ad is 1955.

So, as far as dates, we have at least 1955 to at least 1963. If I learn more from the hat itself, I will add to this thread.

John Galt

 

[Brad Bowers]

So, as far as dates, we have at least 1955 to at least 1963. If I learn more from the hat itself, I will add to this thread.

John Galt

I've got that New Yorker ad, but I won't be able to post it until this evening after work. I've seen ads up through the Spring of 1966 for the VVL, but nothing later. It's possible, though, that the model lasted until the end of HCA in '72.

Brad

 

[Brad Bowers]

September 6, 1952:

Brad

 

[alanfgag]

Dobbs Cross Country

c. 1940, I think.

compared to a similar vintage Stetson Playboy

steamed and brushed and returned to open crown

 

[Kkaderly]

Very nice indeed!!! Looks NOS!

 

[Brad Bowers]

Great Dobbs, Alan! Wonderful proportions all the way around. Circa 1940 is about right, though I'm tempted to say more like '42 or '43, mostly because most evidence I've run across is that HCA switched to sewn sweatband seams about 1941. But, that could go a year or so either way, I just haven't yet found definitive proof. The tip roundel is intersesting, as the Dobbs name usually arches across the top of the roundel, not across the middle. The registration reference could refer to the renewal of the trademark in 1947 but the one thing that throws that theory off for me is the strange factory label. It reminds me of a Disney label, but it's not the same. It's nowhere near the '30s labels, and it's quite a bit different from 1940s HCA labels, so I don't quite know what to make of it, except that perhaps it's a transition label. I know the typical '40s label was in use by '42, though.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

c. 1940, I think.


compared

Handsome fedoras. The pics show the maleable felt with terrific pouncing and tastefull ribbons. The Dobbs lifted ribbon bow work is very classy and is stylish. The side by side pic really dramatlcy captures the style differences. Bringing the hat out to open crown and then the light touch diamond crease truly accents the hats dimensions. I do love these style hats.

It would be a pleasurable hat wear when traveling and crossing the country. Can you only imagine the time when you could potentially go into a retail shop and see them side by side in your size and make a choice? I would have a hard time deciding.

Thanks for showing these fine lids out of your wearable collection. Eric -

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks very much, Eric!

Brad, thank you for your thoughts on the dating. I have only a small number of Dobbs hats and all are post war examples using the more familiar HCA label. I've made some attempt to understand the transition of Stetson manufacturing tags in the 1930-40 era in this thread. The Stetson tag went through two transitions during the late 1930s-early 1940s, moving to a minimized three section tag still showing block/depth/finish to a single field which seemed to hold only a block number stamp (if anything at all) from the early 40s on.

This label also appears to be transitional. The imprint characters make it seem older than the post war version. Unfortunately the left side of the tag is obliterated. Perhaps there was a logo imprint there? I thought I saw a similar label looking through this thread yesterday, but now I don't remember where.

Maybe Robert can help us with an example from his collection?

 

[Chepstow]

Alan, very very nice the Dobbs looks like new!

 

[winter_joe]

Says its been shipped will post more pics when it arrives.

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/93078303

 

[Brad Bowers]

For those who are interested, I finally got around to updating my blog after almost two years. This post is a brief history of Dobbs & Co.

Also, I'm going to post photos in an upcoming blog post of Dobbs hats throughout the decades. I've got many Dobbs hats, but am missing most of the famous named models, such as the Game Bird, Cross Country, Westward, and so forth. Mostly looking for '20 - '50s hat photos. If anyone has any photos they would like to "loan" my post, I will give proper credit to you.

Thanks,

Brad

 

[delectans]

Fascinating and informative article, Brad! I am particularly struck by the July 5th, 1930 New Yorker reference to the $1000 Montecristis that Dobbs were retailing!

Thank you for taking the time and effort to shed light on this dark corner of hat history, and I eagerly look forward to your upcoming blog of the hats themselves. Are you looking for photos of hats not otherwise already embedded in this thread?

 

[winter_joe]

The nos dobbs finally came this hat is unbelievable!!