The Other Open Roads.....

[carouselvic]

Sheriff Roy Coffee on Bonanza always wore an Alpine creased hat. That was post Comstock Nevada.

 

[gtdean48]

How about the "Douglas" by Miller Hats probably sourced from Biltmore?

Available in fawn, silver belly, black, grey, and brown.

That bow sure looks like the Biltmore Wilderness than any of the Beaver Brand examples to me...[huh]

 

[gtdean48]

Sheriff Roy Coffee on Bonanza always wore an Alpine creased hat. That was post Comstock Nevada.

And Little Joe's belt & holster were of the proper time period also!

 

[carouselvic]

Dobbs Westward




The finish on this hat always left something to be desired. It was pristine when I first got it, but due to the finish I never hesitated to wear it in all weather and conditions. I have never seen a liner with this much extra material.

 

[JohnnyB53]

Sorry but Akubra already nailed it with the Campdraft although the Bushman is a nice looking thin ribbon.

Well, yeah, I knew that, but since Stetson's run of ORs through the years have had various brim widths, couldn't the Bushman be considered a 3-1/8" brim variant?

OTOH, according to DM's website, the Bushman is based on the original hat that the Akubra founder imported from England in the 1870's, so one can safely say it's not a derivative of the OR, though its latter day resurrection may have been inspired by the OR's long-running success.

 

[gtdean48]

...the Bushman is based on the original hat that the Akubra founder imported from England in the 1870's, so one can safely say it's not a derivative of the OR, though its latter day resurrection may have been inspired by the OR's long-running success.

You rest my case...but then could there be a case that the OR is an American derivative of the Bushman? HMMmmmmmmm[huh]

 

[gtdean48]

FYI, I googled Beaver Brand River Runner & Biltmore Wilderness, & besides the one website that I had for selling the River Runner, the only other hits I got were the Fedora Lounge. Interesting that these weren't on some other online store catalogs....[huh]

 

[JohnnyB53]

FYI, I googled Beaver Brand River Runner & Biltmore Wilderness, & besides the one website that I had for selling the River Runner, the only other hits I got were the Fedora Lounge. Interesting that these weren't on some other online store catalogs....[huh]

That River Runner is a bit of an anomaly--it's about $100 less than the Beavers from TheFedoraStore and it's the only place that particular model shows up. OTOH, it's easy to roll your own OR-style hat from TheFedoraStore--not only the three I showed, but also you can pick a Beaver-sourced fedora and specify color, brim width, binding, and ribbon width to get an OR-style hat. (You could also do that to get a Whippet style if you wanted.)

One could also argue that the Miller Douglas is Miller's version of the Wilderness. I also agree that the Douglas ribbon bow looks like a Biltmore without the pin; all the Beaver thin ribbons I've seen are snipped short.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Well...chalk up another one to the wonderfull world of e-bay. My Resistol OR clone arrived today. It is a great hat. It is vintage. It is in excellent condition. The tags (including the size tags) are all present. Indeed, the hat looks to be hardly worn. Oh, and it is a San Antonio---just as I had hoped.

But it is a size 7, not size 7 5/8 as per the e-bay listing.

So back to the seller it goes. I have to say, he was very gracious about the whole thing. He quickly resoponded to my somewhat terse e-mail this morning. But, dang it, wouldn't you think with two big ol' size tags sticking up like bright, neon signs.....?!?!

Maybe I'll just be quiet now.

AF

 

[Bob Smalser]

Well...chalk up another one to the wonderfull world of e-bay. My Resistol OR clone arrived today. It is a great hat. It is vintage. It is in excellent condition. The tags (including the size tags) are all present. Indeed, the hat looks to be hardly worn. Oh, and it is a San Antonio---just as I had hoped.

But it is a size 7, not the size 7 5/8 as per the e-bay listing.

Well, I just paid way too much for a similar Resistol with an untrustworthy description because I also like the color. I'll know in a day or so whether I'll have a hat or a pile of smelly, moth-eaten dust unsuitable for even the Goodwill box....and the resulting hassle.

But there have also been some gems. Such is life in the fast lane.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=250379905040

 

[gtdean48]

That River Runner is a bit of an anomaly--it's about $100 less than the Beavers from TheFedoraStore and it's the only place that particular model shows up...

A western store near here has a lot of Beaver Brand fedoras & westerns. The hat guy there swears he is part owner & they have his "mold" from when he did his own thing. Anyways, he let me go thru the Beaver Brand catalog & I never did see a River Runner listed. He also claims that he has them make a true "Open Road" style hat, because his father knew LBJ & he has this hat made just like those. He is quite a character.

 

[Stan]

Hi,

I have two more for your list:

Resistol made another model that had a creased crown height 1/4" or so higher than their 'San Antoino' which they called the 'Saddler'. I have one San Antonio and two Saddlers, all of which still sport their original data tags. I have no idea why they made two models of hat so close in style.....

I have an off-brand from Denver, CO called 'Tanbark', which as far as I can tell was their own manufacturer. Yes, I know there's a color of the same name, but this was their band name as I have both the hat and it's original box. The Tanbark sports no model name, only the style number of 1546 on it's data tag.

Later!

Stan

 

[gtdean48]

Adam LBJ Style R
Adam Mainliner
Adam Texan
Akubra Campdraft
Bailey Beaver 20 ??
Beaver Brand River Runner
Biltmore Wilderness
Borsalino Alessandria
Champ Ranger
Churchill ???
Dobbs 20 ???
Dobbs Westward
Dobbs West Open Trail
Knox Westlite
LaSalle ???
Lee Corral (JCPenney Marathon, Towncraft, etc.)
Mallory Dallas
Miller Douglas (Beaver Brand or Biltmore ?)
Penney Marathon
Resistol Saddler
Resistol San Antonio
Shudde Bros ???
Stevens ??? (Imperial & DeLuxe)
Tanbark 1546
Wormser Texan
Various Store brands (ie Richman Bros, et al)

Thanks, Stan.

 

[Bob Smalser]

This Resistol arrived today, and may also qualify as a clone.

The model is The Wide Country, the era is the 1960's, it has a 2 3/8" brim and a 4 3/4" open crown, and 3/8" ribbons with an OR bow.

 

[gtdean48]

The List

Adam LBJ Style R
Adam Mainliner
Adam Texan
Akubra Campdraft
Bailey Beaver 20 ??
Beaver Brand River Runner
Biltmore Wilderness
Borsalino Alessandria
Champ Ranger
Churchill ???
Dobbs 20 ???
Dobbs Westward
Dobbs West Open Trail
Knox Westlite
LaSalle ???
Lee Corral (JCPenney Marathon, Towncraft, etc.)
Mallory Dallas
Miller Douglas (Beaver Brand or Biltmore ?)
Penney Marathon
Resistol Saddler
Resistol San Antonio
Resistol The Wide Country
Shudde Bros ???
Stevens ??? (Imperial & DeLuxe)
Tanbark 1546
Wormser Texan
Various Store brands (ie Richman Bros, et al)

Thanks, Bob.

 

[Bob Smalser]

Here's an interesting custom Open Road clone from Stockman of Hollywood in a nice beaver blend of felt. Color is close to Carhartt Brown.

2 3/4" brim, 5 1/4" open crown, 2" sweatband, 3/8" 3-cord ribbon. Older than it appears in the pics, perhaps 1950's. Size 7 1/2 with no shrinkage.

 

[Lefty]

That's a great hat. I've had that one on my watch list (even though it was in the city vintage store) with thoughts of buying it for a while. I'm glad it went to someone here.

 

[Bob Smalser]

That's a great hat. I've had that one on my watch list (even though it was in the city vintage store) with thoughts of buying it for a while. I'm glad it went to someone here.

The color is that perfect shade of brown I've been looking for, the beaver content is high and the hat is one of a kind, so I couldn't pass it up.

Akubra makes similar colors, but I'm an outdoor worker in a rainy climate and have had a couple of bad experiences with even expensive rabbit fur hats shrinking badly at the crown. I have a newer Borsalino that now looks like Gandolf the Gray owned it and it won't stay stretched.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Bandera Hats (Fort Worth, Texas) 3X. It has a perforated sweatband (one large hole, two small, one large...), a plastic shield behind the sweatband, a wind trolley, and a 2 3/4" brim.

Resistol Wide Country Beaver Twenty Five. (Liner says "Resistol Kings 25"). Has a wind trolley, and a 2 1/4" brim. This is as clean as it gets. Hat has been washed in Oxyclean, scrubbed with whitening toothpaste, then washed in Spray-N-Wash, then sanded for an hour (blocked twice, along the way). After all that work, it has charm!

 

[ScottF]

Portis Sterling?

Just curious - didn't see any Portis' listed in this thread, but this one ended today on ebay looked like a possibility:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160323386572