The Open Road Guild

[deadlyhandsome]

And then there is this.....a short brimmed OR for the "city"! Interestingly this was run in 1964 AND again in 1970.......
M
View attachment 161577 View attachment 161578

Is this the “auctioneer hat” or was that some other design?


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[M Hatman]

Is this the “auctioneer hat” or was that some other design? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

No, the Auctioneer was made by another company.....many think Resistol.....but I am not sure. At one time I knew but cannot remember. They ARE short brim OR clones. I have two of those...one with the 2" brim the other with a 2 1/4".
M

 

[Bamaboots]

No, the Auctioneer was made by another company. M

Auctioneer W Craig Lawing. Mr. Lawing was the 1st President of the North Carolina Auctioneer Association from 1960 - 1969 He was also the 1st inductee of the North Carolina Auctioneer Hall Of fame in 1979. He had a business called Craig Lawing Enterprises - and one of their products were Hats for Auctioneers.

 

[M Hatman]

Auctioneer W Craig Lawing. Mr. Lawing was the 1st President of the North Carolina Auctioneer Association from 1960 - 1969 He was also the 1st inductee of the North Carolina Auctioneer Hall Of fame in 1979. He had a business called Craig Lawing Enterprises - and one of their products were Hats for Auctioneers.

The "Auctioneer" was a model name of hat made by a regular hat company.....it was an OR clone with varied brim widths. I have two but they are special editions for the National Auctioneer Society. I have seen the same hat without the special liner......just cannot remember what hat company it was.
M
I wonder if your guy sold these.....I would bet he did!

 

[Bamaboots]

Liner tip in this Milan is like the liner in those. National Auctioneer Society, made by or for Lawing's company.

 

[M Hatman]

Liner tip in this Milan is like the liner in those. National Auctioneer Society, made by or for Lawing's company.
View attachment 161600

That is cool! Does the sweat have the model name on it too, like the felt model?

 

[Bamaboots]

Sale pic from the bay. Saw it before it ended and meant to let you know, and the recent posts reminded me. Look under recents.

 

[DaveProc]

Sporting my late 40s OR today

 

[Rmccamey]

I just picked up one of those Lawings Milan hats off eBay. While it is an interesting hat, it has a few problems not mentioned by the seller. First, the straw and liner are very, very dry. The straw needed a lot of steam to recover much pliability. The hats must have been in storage for along time, possibly not climate controlled. The sweatband is so dry that it has solidified and "glued" itself to the inside straw. I tried to fold a portion of it back and it has already cracked. No way I can pull the sweatband back without destroying all of it. After some steam to get the straw useful without crunching and cracking, the straw in the brim is very "springy". That is, it holds itself curled much more like a homburg than an OR. If I snap the front down, it goes almost straight down...not very appealing to me. The material is so light that the brim "vibrates" in the wind.

It is an interesting conversation piece, but I'm not sure if it will see much head time. The jury is still out.

Liner tip in this Milan is like the liner in those. National Auctioneer Society, made by or for Lawing's company.
View attachment 161600

 

[Cornshucker77]

A refurbed 1950's Open Road. I replaced the ribbon as it was too stained to reuse. It is Silverbelly color though it appears grey in the photos. The final photo shows it's condition when I purchased it.

 

[Rmccamey]

Excellent recovery. Days when I can't decide what to wear, my 50's OR is always my go-to hat.

A refurbed 1950's Open Road. I replaced the ribbon as it was too stained to reuse. It is Silverbelly color though it appears grey in the photos. The final photo shows it's condition when I purchased it.
View attachment 162539 View attachment 162540 View attachment 162541 View attachment 162542 View attachment 162543

 

[Cornshucker77]

Excellent recovery. Days when I can't decide what to wear, my 50's OR is always my go-to hat.

Thanks Randy. I'm liking this hat very much. It's lightweight, and very comfortable. Glad I came across this one.

 

[DaveProc]

New to me today. I am thinking 1960s. Does not appear to have ever been worn, The felt and sweatband are soft and supple. Other than some light mothing, the hat is pristine!

​

 

[Terminator]

Hi all, I’m clearly no expert but would love to acquire an OR. The seller says that this one is deadstock 1950s or 1960s but the price on the wholesale tag is throwing me - surely ORs were much cheaper than $107 “back in the day”. Any thoughts? Many thanks

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hi all, I’m clearly no expert but would love to acquire an OR. The seller says that this one is deadstock 1950s or 1960s but the price on the wholesale tag is throwing me - surely ORs were much cheaper than $107 “back in the day”. Any thoughts? Many thanks

This hat was posted here a few weeks back. The attached form was for the dealer/retailer and the pricing is per dozen.

The size tag configuration does narrow it down to the very end of the 1950s or the very start of the 1960s. Most of the felt Stetson was making at this time was of substandard and ever lessening quality, but still better than what came after it. If you’re after a great felt Open Road you should keep looking. If you want a decent vintage hat and the price is fair this might be alright.


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[Terminator]

Thanks @deadlyhandsome, this is of immense help!

 

[M Hatman]

Found this solid later 50's entery when out and about Sunday......butter soft felt......aparently at least the liner was cleaned at one time...."Nu-Way" hatters tapes are very interesting......it is a 7 1/4 LO......so goes in the trade pile. Usual silverbelly, with
5/8 brim.......if only a 7 1/2 LO.
M
ATTACH=full]170419[/ATTACH]

 

[rclark]

Found this solid later 50's entery when out and about Sunday......butter soft felt......aparently at least the liner was cleaned at one time...."Nu-Way" hatters tapes are very interesting......it is a 7 1/4 LO......so goes in the trade pile. Usual silverbelly, with View attachment 170419 View attachment 170420 View attachment 170421 View attachment 170422 View attachment 170423 View attachment 170424 View attachment 170427 View attachment 170428 5 1/4 open crown, 2 5/8 brim.......if only a 7 1/2 LO.
M

Great find! And my size too!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Found this solid later 50's entery when out and about Sunday......butter soft felt......aparently at least the liner was cleaned at one time...."Nu-Way" hatters tapes are very interesting......it is a 7 1/4 LO......so goes in the trade pile. Usual silverbelly, with View attachment 170419 View attachment 170420 View attachment 170421 View attachment 170422 View attachment 170423 View attachment 170424 View attachment 170427 View attachment 170428 5 1/4 open crown, 2 5/8 brim.......if only a 7 1/2 LO.
M

Great find! A 7 1/4 won’t last long. Let me
Know when you’re ready to put the St. Regis in the trade pile


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[TheOldFashioned]

So my boy comes running out of my stepfather's room wearing a hat. I say, "Hey, that's a nice looking hat. Please come here." Lo and behold:



It's a bit dirty, faded band looks like maybe another hat was stored on top, no liner, and the sweat is pretty dry so I'm hesitant to look for tags. Belonged to my stepfather's father, but is now a work hat around the house I'm told. I'm going to see if he wants me to steam and reshape it.