The Resistol Roundup

[John Galt]

I've looked this up. It is my belief the term refers to the roll of the brim. I do not have the old ads at my fingertips, but one of them features Humphrey Bogart in a "Lancer" model I've never been able to find.

 

[RBH]

John, that is interesting. I just always assumed it was referring to the sweatband. I'll have to get out my older Resistols and take a closer look. I'm pretty sure they all have "Self Conforming" on the sweatband but I'm not sure about "Melorol".

not mine

 

[barrowjh]

Rusty, please comment as to the felt. On the one I have the felt is sort of like like frosted glass (in comparison to an early '50s 3XB plush feel), thin and relatively lightweight. Yours?

 

[RBH]

John, its not my hat. Its a Lounge photo.

 

[barrowjh]

ok, thnx. I'm up to no good, stir'n up trouble, as usual. I picked up one example of a Melorol and think I'm an expert already.

 

[Landman]

I looked at my older Resistols and the only "Melorol" I have is a 1960's Resistol San Antonio. The felt on this one is very nice. It is thinner and more lightweight than the felts on my other older Resistols. All my other Resistols have "Self Conforming" on the sweatband but not "Melorol". I have to agree, I think "Melorol" must refer to something else and not the sweatband. I don't see anything unusual about the brim on this one though.

Here are some pictures of it. The camera flash washed out the color of the felt and sweatband. It is actually a dark chocolate brown colored felt and the sweatband is a very lightweight and thin leather.

 

[1mach1]

That's a beauty Mike.

 

[ingineer]

Mike;
This is what AndyKev had to say in 2008

Both are nice hats. The "self conforming melorol" was a trade ad for the sweatband to adhere comfortably to your head...it was a "mellow roll
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/archive/index.php/t-30933.html

Very cool hat, enjoy
Richard

 

[barrowjh]

Thanks, Landman, and that is a very nice looking San Ant! Ingineer, I realize there is evidence to support the idea that melorol referred only to the sweatband, but there is also evidence that the melorol Resistols were overall lighter weight (thinner felt and leather), so I theorize the melorols were intended to compete with the featherweights. Maybe not as a featherweight, but lighter weight than Resistol's regular hats. I'm also hoping to stir others to take a look at their melorols and weigh in here (that was just too good to pass up!) and tell us whether or not they have any conflicting evidence. There are plenty of Resistol officianados here amongst us and maybe we can effectively survey ourselves about the relative weight of melerol Resistols. I'm not aware of any other Resistol featherweight contenders, and it would be unusual for a major manufacturer to ignore that market segment.

 

[Landman]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I'm sorry the pictures don't show the color better. It is a very cool color. Unfortunately it is a tad small for me so I've never worn it because I don't want to stretch it.

John, I have another Resistol San Antonio that has a similar sweatband to the picture Rusty posted. It states "Self Conforming" and "Hand Creased" but does not have "Melorol". The felt on it is not as thin as my brown San Antonio. I think you might be on to something with your lightweight felt theory.

 

[John Galt]

Well, it took a little effort, but I finally found a 1940 Resistol ad touting the "Melorol" innovation in relation to the edge of the hat _brim_ (at least that's how I read it) rather than the sweatband, as has been speculated in this thread and elsewhere in the lounge.

I will add that over the years the term "roll" with regard to hats has often been used to refer to the brim.

There are other such ads out there, most of which appear to be variants of this ad, but they were on the pay to play newspapers.com site, and I did not do so.

The ad, interestingly, is for a lightweight *Resistol* (that's right!) "Playboy" model.

That might partially explain the lightweight hat and Melorol connection referred to above. I have also seen ads for the SilverStreak, 737, 880 & 990 and I think also other lightweight Resistol "Melorol" marked hats (I'll have to check the "Krushable," but believe it is also marked "Melorol").

Incidentally, I think this ad and the fact the SilverStreak, 990, 880, etc. were model names kills the notion that "Melorol" was a hat model rather than a trademark for a hat feature.

 

[John Galt]

I realize there is evidence to support the idea that melorol referred only to the sweatband

I have not yet seen this evidence. Can anyone point me to it?

 

[barrowjh]

'scuse me, it had been stated by someone previously as if it was a fact, and that is what I was referring to, the previous assertion that it was only about the sweatband. Was it Andykev, Baron Kurtz, not sure. Several pages back. I believe anyone asserting that probably had good reason, and it is possible to get only 'partial truth' by reading bits and pieces of old advertisements, hard for us to put together a complete picture. The ad you found, Galt, that is supporting the idea that it was generally lightweight.

So far, EVERY melorol I have seen had a similar sweatband, they all appear to be thinner than the typical (most of the vintage Resistols had really nice sweatbands! Primo!)

Also, with only my own and just a couple folks chiming in, the finely-pounced lightweight felt also seems to be common.

The liner is tacked in with thread in mine, has a regular production tag on the felt, seems well-made to me, as well made as any of my other Resistols. The snap brim has a bit too much snap and does not lie normal in the back, the brim wants to angle straight from the break (straight line) which is not natural. Crown is not real generous, I'm thinking the crown may be a bit smaller than I am accustomed to. I did not measure it exactly.

 

[alanfgag]

The Melorol trademark was registered for an ice cream product (famous if you grew up near Jones Beach) - first used in trade in 1932.

 

[John Galt]

I did find that too Alan, but there was no registration for use with hats to be found. I suppose we each have to make up our own minds about this, but I've not seen anything except the fact that the terms Melorol and Self Conforming appear together on the sweatband to suggest that the term has anything to do with the sweatband.

The patent for self conforming hats doesn't address it, if I remember correctly. Maybe someone else will find more information to support one view or the other

I acknowledge that a sweatband can conceivably be "rolled" on the edge, and have seen sweatbands with gilded and ungilded furrows, but it seems in context that the ad refers to the edge of the brim, and that comports with the use of the term "rolled," as in "turban-rolled." I'm fairly confident, but will certainly keep an open mind on the issue, and I would love to see any more real evidence one way or the other.

Barrowjh, I too have seen the mark only on light bodied hats, including at least one western Stratoliner/OR style Resistol that was not marked with any model name. The 2-3 hats I have with the mark also have very light weight finely pounced felt, but pending more evidence, I'm not inclined to believe that the term "Melorol" refers to the felt - especially in light of the ad I found.

 

[Mystic]

I can see where the Melorol term could refer to the soft felt or to the soft sweatband. The ice cream Melorol term seems to add to this soft reference. Although I just don't see a hat company taking a term from an ice cream company. Maybe I missed something there.

I don't see any relation to the brim and the term Melorol.

What I am wondering about is the Pat. Off. No. on Landmans sweatband being a different Pat. Off. No. than on my Resistol with the same wording on the sweat.

Landman's is not completely clear to me but it looks like 886196. Mine is 403324. That hat is on this thread somewhere. I'll try to locate it and add the comment number here. page 24 #582

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?42092-The-Resistol-Roundup/page24

 

[John Galt]

Follow-up: My late 50's era "Krushable" is not marked Melorol, but is a finely pounced very lightweight hat akin to the jetliner termed hats mentioned above. Don't think this changes the discussion.

 

[barrowjh]

Mine has no patent number that I can see, not on the sweatband nor on the production tag behind the sweat, not in the liner logo. I was thinking that 'Melorol' was a Resistol word for hats that were, generally, competing with hats such as the 'featherweight' hats. Not just a Resistol version of a featherweight, but a slightly different offering that was, overall, lighter weight than Resistol hats that did not bear the 'Melorol' term and being marketed at the same time (their regular line of hats). In this generalization Melorol meant thinner, lighter weight leather for the sweatband and finely pounced thinner felt, maybe even smaller crown profile. So, whether they were or were not all the same type of felt, the lightweight judgement is relative to Resistol's regular-weight felts otherwise being sold at the same time. I'm not sure we will ever have enough examples to be certain, but that is where I am headed with this, if enough Melorol owners will post about their own examples maybe we can prove or dis-prove this theory/generalization.

 

[John Galt]

MelOrol is how the mark was used in the ice cream context. I don't see any relation either. Trademarks are very context dependent, and neither the registrant nor the context jibe with use in the context of hats.

I agree with barrowjh that light weight hats appears to be a common denominator, but remain convinced (pending any other real evidence) that the edge reference ties the term to the brim versus the felt. I do have a western that is a medium weight which I believe is marked Melorol, but need to confirm, and keep forgetting to check - I've got it stashed at the office for reasons most of you will appreciate ;-)

 

[GregNYC]

Is there a reason that the gentleman in the b+w illustration at the top of this thread looks like Humphrey Bogart? I heard that the famous Maltese Falcon fedora was perhaps a Resistol...


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