The Hats Of President John F. Kennedy

[Hurricane Jack]

The hats of President John F. Kennedy currently in The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, or in the care of The General Services Administration.

Starting with his Top hats.

Churchill Ltd

Black beaver fur top hat with felt band and & grosgrain trim. Interior reads "Churchill Ltd." Hat has two inch wide brim with black grosgrain ribbon edging & is llined with white plain weave silk. Size 7-1/2.

Cavanagh Hats

Black beaver fur top hat with a two inch wide brim and a 5 1/2 inch high crown. A two inch wide black grosgrain ribbon with a bow knot protector decorates the crown above the brim. Size 7-1/2.

Dobbs 5th Avenue

This top hat was worn by President Kennedy to his inaugural ceremonies in Washington D.C. on January 20, 1961. Beaver fur top hat with black felt band & grosgrain silk rim. Interior of hat reads "Dobbs 5th Avenue NY Lewis & Thos Saltz Washington". Hat has a 1 3/4 inch wide black plain weave silk brim & a 5 1/4 inch high crown. The interior is lined with white moire silk. Size 7-1/2.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Stetson Hat Co

Men's black felt hat with grosgrain ribbon & bow at the proper left side above brim. Leather band on underside of brim embossed in gold on either side with lettering that includes "THE HATTERIE AKRON, OHIO “Kelly Crowns Them All." Paper card slipped into inner band printed "LIKE HELL IT'S YOURS" at top contains owner information; "John F. Kennedy" printed in blue pen. Off white fabric inner lining printed with Stetson logo in center. Overall H 5 1/4 in x W 9 3/4 in x D 11 1/2 in (13.3 cm x 24.8 cm x 29.2 cm )

Knox Hat Company

Fedora-style beaver fur hat with a black grosgrain ribbon band. The hat is made of undyed beaver fur. The brim is curled & edged with braid, 2 1/2 inches wide. The height of the crown is 5 5/8". The hat is finished inside with a white satin lining & a Russian leather band. Ornate emblem printed in gold on the interior lining reads in part "KNOX...FORTY.” It was considered the finest quality hat that the Knox company made. The Knox Forty name refers to the retail price of $40 for the hat, which was excluse at the time. Gold lettering on the leather interior sweat band: Made espressly for Senator John F. Kennedy. Overall H 5 5/8 in x W 9 1/2 in x D 11 in (14.3 cm x 24.1 cm x 27.9 cm )

Churchill Ltd.

Men's felt charcoal grey hat with wide black grograin ribbon tied in a bow at the proper left side of the brim. Dark colored fabric inner lining printed in center with shield in front of crossed swords. Overall H 5 1/2 in x W 10 in x D 11 1/2 in (14 cm x 25.4 cm x 29.2 cm )

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Knox Hat Company

Brown felt fedora hat with a two inch grosgrain ribbon with a bow & knot keeper on the proper left hand side. Interior of hat is silk lined. Size 7-1/2.

Cavanagh Hats

Brown felt fedora hat with wide grosgrain ribbon band, bow at proper left side. Ivory fabric linner in black, red & gold with shield. Overall H 5 in x W 9 1/2 in x D 11 in (12.7 cm x 24.1 cm x 27.9 cm )

Knox Hat Company

Charcoal grey felt hat with wide ribbon band, bow on proper left side. Inner leather band & off-white fabric lining contain manufacturer name "Charles Knox/HATTER" and "Since 1838." The initials JFK is embossed on inner hat band. Overall H 4 3/4 in x W 9 1/2 in x D 11 in (12.1 cm x 24.1 cm x 27.9 cm).

 

[GHT]

Girl Scout Brownie points to the aficionado that can identify JFK's hat in this auspicious photo.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Stetson Sovereign with sweatband printed "JF Kennedy/ The Woody/ The White House/ Bassett Center, El Paso Texas. The "White House" was a department store in the Bassett Center Mall, in El Paso, Texas. This was a gift from a member of the general public to the President received betwen 1961-1963.

Moore Hat Co “Bulldogger" straw hat, with sweatband printed "Our Leader and President of the USA John F. Kennedy". This was a gift from a member of the general public to the President received between 1961-1963.

Peters Bros “Shady Pine Banker Fifty Made Expressly for John F. Kennedy” presented November 22, 1963 & currently in the possession of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum after being donated by a private collector in 1990.

This is the Stetson Open Road Twenty-five from Washer Bros inventory presented November 22, 1963. The President refused to model saying, “I’ll put it on in the White House on Monday. If you come up there, you’ll have a chance to see it then.”

 

[Bamaboots]

Moore Hat Co “Bulldogger" straw hat

Nice work on all of this, HJ. Most fascinated by the Moore.

 

[Frunobulax]

I believe the hat shown in the photo with Ike is the Cavanagh in Jack's third post in this series, based on the logo and style of size tag.


John F. Kennedy's Navy officer's hat with a white poplin crown and black patent leather visor wrapped in a black and gold braid fastened to brim at either side with two eagle motif buttons. At center of brim is an emblem of an eagle on a shield over two crossed fouled anchors which is the symbol of the United States Navy. Inside hat band is stamped "BANCROFT'S/ ZEPHYR."

Worn by Lt. Kennedy during his service as a Navy ensign in WWII

Overall H 4 1/2 in x D 12 in (11.4 cm x 30.5 cm )

Pre-1942

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Nice work on all of this, HJ. Most fascinated by the Moore.

Thanks BB. There are/were a couple of big-time JFK memorabilia collectors. One (now passed) was a lawyer who owned the rocking chair ($90K) & even the flags from the front fenders of the presidential limo from that day. I’m curious if he could have donated the Peters Bros.

 

[The Hatted Professor]

Nice collection, but several inaccuracies. All of the top hats are silk, not beaver. Beaver wasn’t used for hatter’s plush since the 1830s, though there may be few exceptions.. Also, the Cavanagh silk hat was the one JFK wore to his inauguration, not the Dobbs. It was made expressly for him for that occasion. For more on that story, check here: JFK’s Hat Legacy

I believe the hat shown in the photo with Ike is the Cavanagh in Jack's third post in this series, based on the logo and style of size tag.

Yep, that’s the Cavanagh presented to him by Charles Salesky from HCA.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Nice collection, but several inaccuracies. All of the top hats are silk, not beaver. Beaver wasn’t used for hatter’s plush since the 1830s, though there may be few exceptions.. Also, the Cavanagh silk hat was the one JFK wore to his inauguration, not the Dobbs. It was made expressly for him for that occasion. For more on that story, check here: JFK’s Hat Legacy




Yep, that’s the Cavanagh presented to him by Charles Salesky from HCA.

Send your corrections to the General Services Administration & the museum. The GSA are probably responsible for the descriptions & record keeping.

 

[steur]

Stetson Sovereign with sweatband printed "JF Kennedy/ The Woody/ The White House/ Bassett Center, El Paso Texas. The "White House" was a department store in the Bassett Center Mall, in El Paso, Texas. This was a gift from a member of the general public to the President received betwen 1961-1963.

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Moore Hat Co “Bulldogger" straw hat, with sweatband printed "Our Leader and President of the USA John F. Kennedy". This was a gift from a member of the general public to the President received between 1961-1963.

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Peters Bros “Shady Pine Banker Fifty Made Expressly for John F. Kennedy” presented November 22, 1963 & currently in the possession of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum after being donated by a private collector in 1990.

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This is the Stetson Open Road Twenty-five from Washer Bros inventory presented November 22, 1963. The President refused to model saying, “I’ll put it on in the White House on Monday. If you come up there, you’ll have a chance to see it then.”

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Wonderful overview of Kennedy's relation with hats. I've read somewhere that Dutch manufacturer of top hats Spoorenberg prided themselves for having provided the top hat for Kennedy, which we can clearly see wasn't true.