The Open Road Guild

[jlee562]

Well that was quick, thanks gents! Looking forward to having this one in hand. I didn't think I was going to win with that bid, I assumed this hat was going to go for much more.

 

[hatophile]

I would have been tempted on that one, but I already have beaucoup OR's, and just got a nice OR 25 a couple of weeks ago.

 

[jimmy the lid]

late 40's-early 50's

Yup -- I would say circa 1950. Box is consistent with one I have dating to late 1948.

 

[Lawrence Ullman]

Finally found my ticket in the Guild, and I am stoked!

I just brought home a pristine vintage Open Road I purchased and picked up from an Etsy seller who happens to live about 1/2 hour from me. Based on posts in the "Dating Vintage Stetsons by Liner" thread, it's from the late 50s or very early 60s. The seller told me she found it on the way out of the Ventura, CA Flea Market -- she specializes in vintage clothing and furniture was attracted by the box -- and says "The lovely lady selling it said that this hat belonged to her father and that she doesn't believe he ever actually wore it. She went on to say that she remembers him taking it down from the closet and out of the box and just 'looking at it'." In any case, it definitely appears to have never been worn, and although the Etsy seller attempted the bash you see here, it's still basically an open-crown hat.

It fits me perfectly, and is exactly the color I've always wanted -- pale blue-gray, rather than the more common tan. (My first vintage hat was an old and well-patinaed tan Banderas OR clone from Fort Worth, which I love, but it's in the cattleman's crease and makes this city boy feels a bit self-conscious, as I certainly ain't no cowboy!) The brim on my new OR is 2-7/8" and the open crown measures at least 5-1/2", or maybe even a smidge taller. The brown sweat is stamped "Royal Stetson Open Road" and "California Clothing Co., 254-256 South Main St., Los Angeles."

I thought about attempting a bash myself, going so far as to buy a portable steamer from Bed-Bath-Beyond. But after attempting a simple center dent with the wonderfully pliable felt still dry, I find I'm too much of a perfectionist and I don't want to climb the learning curve on this hat. So the steamer is going back to BBB, and I just called Optimo and will be sending my Stetson there for blocking into a nice teardrop. I can hardly wait to get it back!

I haven't had a chance to take my own photos yet -- these are the ones from the Etsy seller's listing. The color is right on, for once! The hat came in this nifty vintage Knox hat box, which is so tall I wonder if it originally contained a top hat.

 

[gtdean48]

Finally found my ticket in the Guild, and I am stoked!
...

VERY nice Open Road. Welcome to the Guild. Love that color!

 

[Cicero]

Very nice score Lawrence.
Love the color.

 

[hatophile]

That's a great hat, nice color, too and hard to find. Congrats.

 

[zetwal]

Finally found my ticket in the Guild, and I am stoked!

Welcome (and happy trails) ...:llama:

 

[alanfgag]

Welcome (and happy trails) ...:llama:

Another welcome here. Great looking Open Road!

The Knox box is probably for two hats. Top hats, with their narrow brims tended to come in smaller board boxes than fedoras. They seem very tall in photos but most that we see from the 20s and later are 6" tall or less.

 

[Atticus Finch]

No wonder these seven guys have always been my heros...they were wearing thin ribbons and vintage flight jackets when I was wearing t-shirts and camp shorts in kindergarten.

AF

 

[JTopenroad]

I love this picture! Thanks for posting.

 

[BR Gordon]

I would like to submit these for acceptance into The Open Road Guild.

The bottom hat is a Royal Deluxe Stetson, then a 4X Stetson and their cousin the Resistol, San Antonio is on top.

The other two have been introduced previously, so I'd like to introduce the Royal Deluxe Stetson.

 

[zetwal]

I would like to submit these for acceptance into The Open Road Guild.

Welcome ... :yo:

 

[Chepstow]

B.R, fine Hats, all.

 

[hatophile]

Nice ones, BR! Bienvenidos!

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I just bought one today. In excellent condition and with a hat trolly to boot. Too danged small though at 7-3/8,..pinches my brain.

 

[Johnny J]

I just bought one today. In excellent condition and with a hat trolly to boot. Too danged small though at 7-3/8,..pinches my brain.

So I guess you will end up posting it up on the classifieds?

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Perhaps. Also noted that the logo on the liner of the cowboy giving his horse a drink from his hat is embroidered, rather than merely printed. Makes me think this example is older than it looks, my first estimation being late 50's.

 

[mayserwegener]

Later 7 1/4 LO Stetson Twenty Five Open Road

 

[Chepstow]

Steve, again, nice find. Looks really good.