The Open Road Guild

[DaveProc]

Here is another addition to the Guild. A mid-50's Royal Stetson Open Road. Price tag of $10 indicates before 1956 when the price jumped to $10.50 it seems. Has plastic tip cover so 1953 or later.....it also has the black lettering which was used for a short time. Crown 5 3/4", brim comes in at 2 5/8" as advertised for this model at that time (4 3/4" in front as creased). Felt is VERY thin (think Borsalino thin) and you can blow a crease into it. Has a great feel which I was not entirely expecting. AND it is a nice light GREY!!!!
View attachment 570119 View attachment 570120
View attachment 570124

Sold at "the White House" El Paso. I have a few hats sold at a "White House" from Michigan to California...was this a sort of chain?
View attachment 570122
The liner Tip......
View attachment 570125
And finally the price......
View attachment 570126
I did not look behind this textured sweat as it is thin and I do not wish to damage.....
Am pretty happy to add this to my collection.

Very nice!

 

[M Hatman]

Very nice!

Thanks Dave!!!

 

[StoryPNW]

Here is another addition to the Guild. A mid-50's Royal Stetson Open Road. Price tag of $10 indicates before 1956 when the price jumped to $10.50 it seems. Has plastic tip cover so 1953 or later.....it also has the black lettering which was used for a short time. Crown 5 3/4", brim comes in at 2 5/8" as advertised for this model at that time (4 3/4" in front as creased). Felt is VERY thin (think Borsalino thin) and you can blow a crease into it. Has a great feel which I was not entirely expecting. AND it is a nice light GREY!!!!
View attachment 570119 View attachment 570120
View attachment 570124

Sold at "the White House" El Paso. I have a few hats sold at a "White House" from Michigan to California...was this a sort of chain?
View attachment 570122
The liner Tip......
View attachment 570125
And finally the price......
View attachment 570126
I did not look behind this textured sweat as it is thin and I do not wish to damage.....
Am pretty happy to add this to my collection.

Great find!

 

[Rmccamey]

Wow, that is an excellent example of an OR. Hope to see more of it in the future.

Here is another addition to the Guild. A mid-50's Royal Stetson Open Road. Price tag of $10 indicates before 1956 when the price jumped to $10.50 it seems. Has plastic tip cover so 1953 or later.....it also has the black lettering which was used for a short time. Crown 5 3/4", brim comes in at 2 5/8" as advertised for this model at that time (4 3/4" in front as creased). Felt is VERY thin (think Borsalino thin) and you can blow a crease into it. Has a great feel which I was not entirely expecting. AND it is a nice light GREY!!!!
View attachment 570119 View attachment 570120
View attachment 570124

Sold at "the White House" El Paso. I have a few hats sold at a "White House" from Michigan to California...was this a sort of chain?
View attachment 570122
The liner Tip......
View attachment 570125
And finally the price......
View attachment 570126
I did not look behind this textured sweat as it is thin and I do not wish to damage.....
Am pretty happy to add this to my collection.

 

[M Hatman]

Great find!

Thanks!!!! Kind of makes up for the Resistol I forgot about....but am glad you got it!

Wow, that is an excellent example of an OR. Hope to see more of it in the future.

Thank you....and yes..this one will see head time!!!!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Nice to find one in a different color:

 

[Rumad]

Nice to find one in a different color:

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What color would you say it is? Any damage?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

What color would you say it is? Any damage?

I’d call it bran. It’s a light brown and not the more common Silverbelly. It’s in pretty clean shape:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2857019821...38oh3Q6SEC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Rumad]

I’d call it bran. It’s a light brown and not the more common Silverbelly. It’s in pretty clean shape:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2857019821...38oh3Q6SEC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I’ll keep an eye on it. Pretty neat.

 

[Rmccamey]

And in a larger size, too.

Nice to find one in a different color:

View attachment 591251 View attachment 591252 View attachment 591253 View attachment 591254 View attachment 591255 View attachment 591256 View attachment 591257 View attachment 591258 View attachment 591259 View attachment 591260

 

[livelyjames]

Not anywhere near straw hat season but it was almost 80 degrees in Central Texas yesterday so I wore a straw open road…nothing special just sharing….

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Under an OR RD today.

 

[DaveProc]

95° 95% humidity Open Road kind of day

 

[Frontporchcharlie]

I found this beauty on Facebook marketplace for $30. I’ve shared this on a few threads, hoping somebody would expound some more about the hat. You can tell the open crown has never had a crease in it. It doesn't say Open Road anywhere on the hat, but the dimensions match an early OR. 2 3/4" brim and a 5 1/2" open crown. I don’t dare call it an OR because it's not one. I don't know what it is.

The hat liner and size tag suggest it is from the 1960's to 1970 before the Stevens acquisition. The hat is pristine except for some moth wounds.

 

[Bamaboots]

expound some more about the hat

In what way? I’ve seen your other posts as well. You know that it’s not an OR and neither was Oppenheimer’s hat but that’s beside the point. Your hat is a decent looking 3X Beaver but it leans more to the modern side of Stetson production, not a particularly popular era around here, at least in the lower grade hats. There are quite a few 7X CB’s and 100’s around here made during the same era and they remain popular. I have one of each. As to what model it may be, who knows? Stetson was terrible about listing model names in many hats. Models can sometimes be identified by looking through the Miller Catalog threads.

 

[Frontporchcharlie]

In what way? I’ve seen your other posts as well. You know that it’s not an OR and neither was Oppenheimer’s hat but that’s beside the point. Your hat is a decent looking 3X Beaver but it leans more to the modern side of Stetson production, not a particularly popular era around here, at least in the lower grade hats. There are quite a few 7X CB’s and 100’s around here made during the same era and they remain popular. I have one of each. As to what model it may be, who knows? Stetson was terrible about listing model names in many hats. Models can sometimes be identified by looking through the Miller Catalog threads.

Hello again. I was just putting feelers out there to see if anyone might know what model it is. I guess I’m a little too excited about finding this hat, and thought maybe some like minded people might like to see it, looks like I was wrong. I like it and that’s all that matters I reckon.

 

[Bamaboots]

I like it and that’s all that matters I reckon.

You're absolutely right and it is a nice hat. I have several that are very similar, just older. Also, yours appears to be a unique gray as opposed to the more common SB that mine are. That's just one of the things that makes your hat unique. The other is the three ply ribbon. That's very desirable in vintage hats and modern makers, as I understand it, have trouble sourcing it. It's just not that common.

Not anything wrong with your hat, it's just many around here, myself included, prefer hats of a certain vintage, say the 50's and earlier. If your hat had been from that era with the embroidered LD liner and the deeply stamped roundel with stars in the banner, you would have likely generated more discussion and a lot of the 'nice hat' response that's so often seen around here. I also think you have a hat that not many around here have experience with. Hard to discuss what you don't know.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I don’t dare call it an OR because I’ve gotten metaphorically slapped by a few purists.

I was just putting feelers out there to see if anyone might know what model it is

At one time the members of FL were all purists. If you would read thru the thread & others you would see that we used to designate such unmarked hats as NOR’s, for NOT OPEN ROAD.

 

[DaveProc]

Hello again. I was just putting feelers out there to see if anyone might know what model it is. I guess I’m a little too excited about finding this hat, and thought maybe some like minded people might like to see it, looks like I was wrong. I like it and that’s all that matters I reckon.

I like it, and I think you scored on the price.

 

[M Hatman]

It is a nice hat BUT does not need to be thrown into threads where it does not belong, all Willy Nilly, in AN EXPRESSED EFFORT TO SELL IT (or trade). It needs to go to the classifieds......