The Penney's Marathon

[M Hatman]

Here is my humble 60's contribution. Hat and box are the same period, I married them today......
Felt is really nice.......probebly due more to age and wear than anything....but is is soft and supple! Wife likes this hat a lot! Last picture is very, very, close to the true color......
M

 

[moontheloon]

Here is my humble 60's contribution. Hat and box are the same period, I married them today......
Felt is really nice.......probebly due more to age and wear than anything....but is is soft and supple! Wife likes this hat a lot! Last picture is real close to true color......
M
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more likely 50s ... no ?

 

[M Hatman]

more likely 50s ... no ?

Maybe......I was thinking late 50's to mid 60's during the wide brim revival some companies experienced .......I really do not know much about them.......nor how closely they followed fashion trends. I suppose they, the box and hat could be 50's......you guys are the experts on these hats.
I DOES have the original price sticker under the sweat, is has a lot of info and the price handwritten in green fountain pen....consequently is has bled out and is very difficult to read......
M

 

[Bill Hughes]

Here is my humble 60's contribution. Hat and box are the same period, I married them today......
Felt is really nice.......probebly due more to age and wear than anything....but is is soft and supple! Wife likes this hat a lot! Last picture is very, very, close to the true color......
M
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Love the color combination.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Here is my humble 60's contribution. Hat and box are the same period, I married them today......
Felt is really nice.......probebly due more to age and wear than anything....but is is soft and supple! Wife likes this hat a lot! Last picture is very, very, close to the true color......
M
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Greetings All:
That’s a very cool hat. Looks in great shape and very soft. Kinda a twin to the one you got for the wife?
Be well. Bowen

 

[Tukwila]

40s - 50s? Marathon. Older liner than my other Marathon. The felt is really quite nice, with a supple, velvety hand. About 2-3/4" brim, too.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

40s - 50s? Marathon. Older liner than my other Marathon. The felt is really quite nice, with a supple, velvety hand. About 2-3/4" brim, too.

Hey Tuk: gorgeous!! Love the 6cord. Pristine. Is that a corded reed sweat?? Did Lee do Marathons??
Be well. Bowen

 

[Redfokker]

40s - 50s? Marathon. Older liner than my other Marathon. The felt is really quite nice, with a supple, velvety hand. About 2-3/4" brim, too.

Very nice! That is the cool looking Marathon logo, with some color and great graphics. I think you are right about the age. Covet.

 

[Tukwila]

Yeah, Lee made the Marathon hats. I looked closer at the reeded sweat, and it's actually a piece of same-colored felt they used for the reed. I've never seen one quite like it.

 

[steur]

40s - 50s? Marathon. Older liner than my other Marathon. The felt is really quite nice, with a supple, velvety hand. About 2-3/4" brim, too.

Marvelous hat and a great find. Congrats.

 

[M Hatman]

40s - 50s? Marathon. Older liner than my other Marathon. The felt is really quite nice, with a supple, velvety hand. About 2-3/4" brim, too.

Really, Really, Nice!!! Great find!!!!
M

 

[steur]

Penney's Marathon in grey. Size 7, with the bound brim at 6,5cm and crown 11cm at the pinch. I didn't have a Penney's marathon yet and this does have some stains, but a very nice addition to the collection nonetheless. And gills! Thanks go out to Mike, who found this one for me.

 

[Tukwila]

That's a really nice one, Stefan!

 

[steur]

That's a really nice one, Stefan!

Thanks, Doug. Appears I had a long oval all along: who knew? I'm really pleased with it.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Vintage Penny's Marathon worn today. The sage green hued felt make this hat stand out.

Best, Eric -

 

[M Hatman]

Here is a simply awsome 50's Marathon "Whippet" clone, wonderful felt, 2 1/2 inch brim, 5 3/4 crown, simply sweet felt, AND it appears unworn!!! BUT, it is only a 7
SO......trade bait.....
M

 

[steur]

Here is a simply awsome 50's Marathon "Whippet" clone, wonderful felt, 2 1/2 inch brim, 5 3/4 crown, simply sweet felt, AND it appears unworn!!! BUT, it is only a 7
SO......trade bait.....
M
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It's a beautiful hat. Trade bait, eh? That didn't take long for a bite: I might have something of interest for you.

 

[M Hatman]

It's a beautiful hat. Trade bait, eh? That didn't take long for a bite: I might have something of interest for you.

Well then just send me a pm and we will see what happens!!!!
M

 

[Jerry Probst]

Hey Fellas,

For a number of years back in the 1990s, before I became interested in Fedoras, I worked as the Company Historian for JCPenney.

It really warms my heart to read some of the glowing comments y'all have written about Marathon hats.

Mr. Penney (James Cash Penney) was a retail genius and a pioneer in the development of the department store. The company grew from a handful of stores in Wyoming and Colorado just after the turn of the 20th century to over 1,550 by the start of WWII. There was a period in the 1920s and 1930s when Penney's was opening a new store in towns big and small on average of every 10 days for a decade! Penney stores were as much a fixture in small and medium sized downtowns as Woolworths, A&P and Piggly Wiggly grocery stores.

Penney Stores revolutionized the way people shopped. Mr Penney based his business on the tenets of The Golden Rule and strove to employ excellent quality sourcing thereby providing Penney's customers with the biggest bang for the buck possible. While his merchandising needed be attractive, Penney knew his bread and butter customers were average working and middle class folks who valued good solid durability most. He believed he could help impact average people's lives by increasing their purchasing power by selling the high quality items at the lowest possible price points. He applied that philosophy from everything to shoes, coats, socks, underwear, towels and linens and just about everything else you can think of.

Keep that in mind today when you find any vintage Penney's merchandise for sale. While some snobs turn their noses up against Penney's, the company has never sold junk in their stores. And this is even more evident when you see the vintage clothes and items that come up for sale on Ebay and other sites. Penney's was targeting Joe and Jane Everybody and their families. They wanted to sell durable that the average guy or gal could wear every day and get their money's worth for their purchase. At the same time, fashion was of great importance.

This was accomplished by knock offs. The company employed buyers to source their product lines. The buyers were responsible for keeping abreast with the latest fashion trends and translating them into Penney's products. tThey then worked with excellent quality suppliers (Lee Hats in the case of the Marathon Line) to develop the best possible merchandise for the years's offerings. Penney's then used their buying power to drive the lowest possible price that was mutually agreeable to both Penney's and the manufacturer. These price advantages were then turned around to the customers. It was a scheme that proved extremely popular.

Unlike higher end clothing stores that needed higher markups to realize a profit ... Penney's profited from volume sales. The result was usually, as this thread shows, wonderful products at bargain prices.

What I find so gratifying, from the comments I've read in The Fedora Lounge, is how well this group appreciates that philosophy as it applies to Marathon Hats. Looking at some of the beautiful hats you guys have collected and the evident esteem for the brand you express, I think Mr. Penney would have been very pleased (though not at all surprised) that his merchandise is still highly valued after to many decades.

One last thing, while I no longer have access to the Penney Archives, I will do some digging to see if I can find some information to help everyone date their finds. I can remember we had a rough logo file that gave date ranges for different brands. I'll see what I can dig up.

One important change was the Company name. You will notice, some logos have the Company name as "J.C. Penney Company" and others just show "Penney's". This name change came about in the 1950s as the company started opening up stores in suburban shopping centers. I don't know the exact year off hand, but it should come in handy for dating hats.

Now that I am interested, myself, in Marathon Hats, I'm hoping to find one of these beauties for myself. I'm a 7/14. lol

Meanwhile, I hope you take a look at this short video about the history of J. C. Penney to even better appreciate some of the wonderful products that came from the company.

 

[Frunobulax]

Hey Fellas,

For a number of years back in the 1990s, before I became interested in Fedoras, I worked as the Company Historian for JCPenney.

It really warms my heart to read some of the glowing comments y'all have written about Marathon hats.

Mr. Penney (James Cash Penney) was a retail genius and a pioneer in the development of the department store. The company grew from a handful of stores in Wyoming and Colorado just after the turn of the 20th century to over 1,550 by the start of WWII. There was a period in the 1920s and 1930s when Penney's was opening a new store in towns big and small on average of every 10 days for a decade! Penney stores were as much a fixture in small and medium sized downtowns as Woolworths, A&P and Piggly Wiggly grocery stores.

Penney Stores revolutionized the way people shopped. Mr Penney based his business on the tenets of The Golden Rule and strove to employ excellent quality sourcing thereby providing Penney's customers with the biggest bang for the buck possible. While his merchandising needed be attractive, Penney knew his bread and butter customers were average working and middle class folks who valued good solid durability most. He believed he could help impact average people's lives by increasing their purchasing power by selling the high quality items at the lowest possible price points. He applied that philosophy from everything to shoes, coats, socks, underwear, towels and linens and just about everything else you can think of.

Keep that in mind today when you find any vintage Penney's merchandise for sale. While some snobs turn their noses up against Penney's, the company has never sold junk in their stores. And this is even more evident when you see the vintage clothes and items that come up for sale on Ebay and other sites. Penney's was targeting Joe and Jane Everybody and their families. They wanted to sell durable that the average guy or gal could wear every day and get their money's worth for their purchase. At the same time, fashion was of great importance.

This was accomplished by knock offs. The company employed buyers to source their product lines. The buyers were responsible for keeping abreast with the latest fashion trends and translating them into Penney's products. tThey then worked with excellent quality suppliers (Lee Hats in the case of the Marathon Line) to develop the best possible merchandise for the years's offerings. Penney's then used their buying power to drive the lowest possible price that was mutually agreeable to both Penney's and the manufacturer. These price advantages were then turned around to the customers. It was a scheme that proved extremely popular.

Unlike higher end clothing stores that needed higher markups to realize a profit ... Penney's profited from volume sales. The result was usually, as this thread shows, wonderful products at bargain prices.

What I find so gratifying, from the comments I've read in The Fedora Lounge, is how well this group appreciates that philosophy as it applies to Marathon Hats. Looking at some of the beautiful hats you guys have collected and the evident esteem for the brand you express, I think Mr. Penney would have been very pleased (though not at all surprised) that his merchandise is still highly valued after to many decades.

One last thing, while I no longer have access to the Penney Archives, I will do some digging to see if I can find some information to help everyone date their finds. I can remember we had a rough logo file that gave date ranges for different brands. I'll see what I can dig up.

One important change was the Company name. You will notice, some logos have the Company name as "J.C. Penney Company" and others just show "Penney's". This name change came about in the 1950s as the company started opening up stores in suburban shopping centers. I don't know the exact year off hand, but it should come in handy for dating hats.

Now that I am interested, myself, in Marathon Hats, I'm hoping to find one of these beauties for myself. I'm a 7/14. lol

Meanwhile, I hope you take a look at this short video about the history of J. C. Penney to even better appreciate some of the wonderful products that came from the company.

Thank you for that, Mr. Probst. As a young man, both before and after college, Penney's was my first stop for good clothing. I owned a few Penney's suits, many shirts, and was hooked on Stafford undershirts. We had a gentleman at one of the local malls who I would visit regularly for suits and clothing advice. A true professional who fit me expertly and brought me back for more. I own one Marathon, and it's a beauty from (I think) the 1940s.