The Stratoliner Society {VINTAGE}

[PADDY]

Thank-you

Isn't it the little touches and details that just seem to make all the difference (even if 'you' are the only one that knows about them, 'you' still 'know' ).

 

[RBH]

Paddy, what type liner if any does your Stratoliner have?
Also do you have the box to store yours in?

 

[GWD]

My Pinned 1950's Stratoliner, which is lined BTW. (Previously Posted without the pin)

This ribbon configuration is different.

 

[RBH]

GWD, I like that TWA pin the best! Looks great!!! :eusa_clap
Notice my pin has no markings.... ?

I also have noticed the different ribbon [bow] types.
Its the same on the Penneys Marathon, my Marathon is a great hat but is not like the bow on the hat worn in the film SEABISCUIT .
I would guess different places had different bows that they put on.? [huh]

 

[GWD]

I don't know!??? I'm not sure that I like this ribbon compared to the other "regular" type. But I do love the Strats!

RBH, your pin looks very much like the one from Patty Stetson's Collection. Wanna Trade?

 

[RBH]

RBH, your pin looks very much like the one from Patty Stetson's Collection. Wanna Trade?

Thanks!!!!
Trade what???


Tell the truth I got lucky in finding this pin... I have not seen but two others on E-bay like this.
THEY WENT FOR TOP DOLLAR!!!!
And I am not sure it is THE pin... but it does most look like the one in the adds.

As I posted in another thread [may have been this one] I think the plain [plane!] pins were the ones on the Stratoliners and the ones with TWA were service pins. I may be proven wrong but that would seem to make sense.

 

[GWD]

Thanks!!!!
Trade what???


Tell the truth I got lucky in finding this pin... I have not seen but two others on E-bay like this.
THEY WENT FOR TOP DOLLAR!!!!
And I am not sure it is THE pin... but it does most look like the one in the adds.

As I posted in another thread [may have been this one] I think the plain [plane!] pins were the ones on the Stratoliners and the ones with TWA were service pins. I may be proven wrong but that would seem to make sense.

I'm inclined to agree with you. Yours looks like the real deal!

 

[Zemke Fan]

I'll trade with ya...

GWD, send me a PM! Got me one of them DC-3's!

 

[jimmy the lid]

RBH, your pin looks very much like the one from Patty Stetson's Collection.

FWIW, the pin on Patty Stetson's hat is the DC-3 TWA pin. Here is the close-up:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[jimmy the lid]

And now I'm really wondering...

Seems like Patty Stetson's hat might well be an unaltered reflection of the original Strat and its pin. The liner logo is certainly consistent with the design of the pins in the vintage Stetson ads. I don't believe that I've ever seen a liner logo like this one, but it sure seems to reflect the same design as the DC-3 pin (versus a depiction of a 4-engine plane):

Cheers,
JtL

 

[RBH]

Wow Jimmy... thanks with the help from HATCO and you we may now be getting closer to the bottom of this 'mystery'!

 

[RBH]

FWIW, the pin on Patty Stetson's hat is the DC-3 TWA pin. Here is the close-up:

Cheers,
JtL

I guess we will start another 'how many engine argument' but I dont think it has TWA printed on it. [huh]


But at least Jim ... I do think we have solved what direction the plane is flying!!!!

 

[suitedcboy]

The real question: Is a Strat with a 4 engined pin faster than a Strat with a 2 engined pin?

 

[lincoln1965]

Here are some photos of the Stratoliner I purchased from Johnnyphi's auction.

This is definitely one of the finest if not the finest hat I own.

The pin was added by me.

WOW! Very Nice!

 

[RBH]

GWD, was your Stratoliner already creased?
That is a sweet looking c-crown you have in it!

 

[GWD]

GWD, was your Stratoliner already creased?
That is a sweet looking c-crown you have in it!

No, I did it myself. Thanks!

 

[jimmy the lid]

A New Take on the Strat Pin...

What follows is my own musing, so please take it for what it's worth...

I had forgotten about the Strat photo in the Snyder Stetson book (thanks, Hatco!). Since I have the book, I was able to examine the photo directly. You can see the hint of the red TWA etchings on the wings of the plane, and, with a magnifying glass, it's pretty clear that there is etching on the wings and in front of the tail -- all consistent with the DC-3 TWA pin. I think that the above photo captures it pretty well (but remember, it's a photo of a photo).

I have tried to discover exactly who Patty Stetson was, but I have been unsuccessful thus far. I am assuming that she was part of the John B. family tree. Given the apparent age of this lid, as well as the source, I think it is highly likely that Patty Stetson's Strat is an original real deal, pin included. Do I know this for a fact? No. Does it seem likely? Yes.

So, if that's true, then it would seem that the pin on the Strat was, indeed, the TWA DC-3 pin. Of course, this seems to fly in the face (so to speak ) of a lot of the discussion that has occurred here over time regarding the Strat pin.

This all got me to wondering how all of this could be reconciled, and I came to the following conclusion: the pin on the Stratoliner is not about Stetson, it's not about the Stratoliner plane -- it's all about TWA. It wasn't important that the pin be a Stratoliner (complete with 4 engines ) -- it was important that the pin reflect TWA.

I come to this conclusion based upon a reminder in the Stetson advertising article (recently posted here) that Stetson was often involved in "cross-promotion." A great example is the campaign with American Airlines to launch the "Flagship" lid. The Stetson ads for the Flagship featured American Airlines planes, and the Flagship lid itself came in a box that prominently featured a plane with "AA" on it (for American Airlines). So, the Flagship box itself served as a promotional piece for American Airlines.

I think the same is true for the Strat pin. It was the TWA piece of the cross-promotion. TWA planes were featured in print ads for the Strat lid, just as American Airlines planes were featured in print ads for the Flagship. The TWA extra piece was the TWA pin that was affixed to the Stratoliner lid.

This theory reconciles how a TWA DC-3 pin could be the real deal when it comes to the mythical pin on the Stetson Stratoliner. I tend to think it's pretty compelling...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Zemke Fan]

JTL...

... a VERY compelling set of arguments IMHO. I surmise that someone Stetson got a great deal on a bunch of TWA pins and could care less if it was a DC-3 or a Stratoliner that was depicted.

BTW and FWIW, I am a serious Stratoliner memorabilia collector and within the next few days I am going to open up a thread with lots of photos from my collection. I think ya'll will be very interested!

 

[GWD]

IMHO, Having both pins, the DC3 pin looks more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It's flying in the right direction and it lays nicely across the ribbons bow. I don't think it had anything more to do with it than that.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Jimmy the lid makes a very interesting argument, and I agree that the photo looks like there are TWA markings on the pin in the photo.

What I'd like to see is if there is any surviving internal Stetson documents about the airplane pin, and where it came from if possible.

I still wonder if what came on the hats, was a cheap stamped tin representation of the "hat box airplane", rather than the cast DC-3 pin.

Btw. if any one is in the Missouri-Kansas City area, the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection at the University of Missouri-Kansas City has a good bit of old TWA archives, if someone wants to see if they have anything on the TWA crew pins.