" The Great British Hat Makers "

[Chepstow]

Rabbit, a good Idea, we can widening this thread and merge it with other British Hatmaker to a general British Hatmaker thread!

Rusty, if you want do it, do it!
That could be the headline " The Great British Hat Makers "

 

[Rabbit]

Rabbit, a good Idea, we can widening this thread and merge it with other British Hatmaker to a general British Hatmaker thread!

Rusty, if you want do it, do it!
That could be the headline " The Great British Hat Makers "

Manfred, I don't know the exact timeout for editing, but I think you can still re-name this thread to The Great British Hat Makers. Just click edit on this thread's first post, then click advanced and you'll be able to change the text in the thread's title.

After the timeout, a bartender would have to do it for you; merging other threads into this one can still be done later on. I haven't found one yet that fits the bill.

 

[Rabbit]

Foster Brothers The Zephyr Bowler UK lightweight unlined

A lightweight early English Bowler with moderately flexible construction. Straight block shape and surprisingly thin construction of the bound edge.
A wonderful hat and a perfect fit. A big thank you goes toSteve!

 

[Rabbit]

Scotts upbrim fedora with overwelt, light pearl (1940s)

A soft hat in the style of the upbrim fedoras of the 1920s. This Scotts apparently originates from the 1940s. The original owner bought it in the U.S. after 1945 - that was the year he moved from Europe to the States.
The actual production date of the hat may or may not be earlier than post-WWII. I have one more Scotts hat, a Homburg with the production date stamp Dec 9th 1941 on the liner that was actually sold in 1948 according to the original Scotts shipping box with a date stamp on it. In other words, stock from before or during WWII may have been left over.

The felt is wonderfully soft and holds dry creases anywhere. It's so soft in fact that I had a hard time finding a position on the old rusty spike without the crown bulging out at the rear part of the center crease.

The ribbon features basting stitches.

The color is called light pearl, a light cool grey.

A big thank you to David for forwarding the hat to me.

Open crown:

Center dent only:

Center dent with side dents:

Center dent with a tighter pinch:

Liner with the Royal Coat of Arms:

 

[Rabbit]

Scotts upbrim fedora Part II

Scotts logo with the U.S. patent:

Taped rear seam:

Welted edge. You can also see the basting stitches on the ribbon:

Ad from 1928 showing (in the middle) a Dobbs with cav edge in a similar style:

 

[MikePotts]

That bowler has especially nice lines Rabbit - Jeeves would approve!

 

[Rabbit]

Scotts London Homburg 1941


A pitch-black mint British Homburg, dated Dec 9th 1941 on the liner, that shows pre-WWII design features, namely the frayed ribbon and 52ish block shape. Due to the straight block shape, this hat calls for dents to be placed more to the side (if any).

2 1/8" sweatband, fairly thin leather

The hat is resting on a metal lever which causes a bump at the very center of the crown roof. The block shape is actually very straight-sided and flat.

 

[Rabbit]

Scotts London Homburg Part II

Shipping box dated 1948, liner dated 1941

 

[Rabbit]

Herbert Johnson for Brooks Brothers Homburg black, late 50s to early 60s

Slight reverse taper in side profile, and inward taper in front view. Comparatively stiff felt and construction, wonderful brim shape.

 

[Chepstow]

Nik, thank you for fill this thread with stunning british Hats, all your finds, looks absolutely sharp!
The Scotts upbrim Fedora is truly my favorite Hat!

 

[Rabbit]

Herbert Johnson for Brooks Brothers Homburg, grey, late 50s to early 60s

Same original owner as the black HJ from the previous post. The crown on this one has only minimal taper; the felt is soft and holds dry creases.

 

[Rabbit]

That bowler has especially nice lines Rabbit - Jeeves would approve!

Thank you, Mike!

Nik, thank you for fill this thread with stunning british Hats, all your finds, looks absolutely sharp!
The Scotts upbrim Fedora is truly my favorite Hat!

It's a pleasure, Manfred. The Scotts upbrim Fedora is one of my favorites, too!

These are all my British made hats - for now.

I hope this thread grows to feature many more British hats. From what I was able to find, British hats were posted everywhere and nowhere in particular here on the Lounge. Considering that there were so many great hatmakers, they truly deserve a thread of their own.

 

[Chepstow]

Nik, another beauty Homburger. You make me jealous! Thanks for posting it in this thread!

 

[mayserwegener]

Ceres Bowler, probably 1920s, measures about 57cm. Has vent holes at the top.

 

[mayserwegener]

Moores "The Tween Hat" Bowler measures about 58cm with vent holes on the top.

 

[mayserwegener]

Dunn & Co. Lightweight Bowler is probably late 1950s and measures around 59cm. It has a Replacement liner.

 

[Rabbit]

Great additions, Steve! I knew you had some treasures up your sleeve. Very interesting, the Moores "The Tween Hat" Bowler - both lined and vented.

 

[Chepstow]

Steve, you have a great collection of British Bowlers! Now they have found the right place to show what they are for beauties!
Thanks Steve, for sharing that with us!

 

[Rabbit]

I found these pics in my files of ended ebay listings.

Bullocks Wilshire (1930s):

 

[Rabbit]

A Scotts Fedora of more recent vintage, maybe 1960s. I'm posting this just for the liner logo/ dating purposes.