THE VINTAGE HAT HUNTER FORMULA WITH NUMBERS!

[Cigarband]

I've tried every search I can think of for this question but no luck. If one of the search Gurus can direct me I'd be most grateful.

Approximately, how many Fedora style hats were
manufactured by American hat companies between 1900 and 1960?

See my new post below!

 

[Brad Bowers]

Truthfully, I don't think there's any way to ever know. We can get total numbers of hats, approximately, but they wouldn't be broken down by style. Best way to find out is to look through the industry trade magazines, and for that you'll have to go to a library, because they're not online.

Brad

 

[Cigarband]

The Vintage Hat Hunter Formula

What I am after is enough data to develop a formula to approximate the number of vintage hats that are still hiding in basements, closets, attics, storerooms etc.

Start with the total number of hats made, divide by 2 to eliminate women's hats. Divide again by 2 to remove Cowboy hats. Divide again by 2 to separate caps from dress hats. Divide again by 2 to account for those dress hats destroyed over the years, and then use 25% of the remainder as a start to imagine just how many dress hats are still on the loose.

Feel free to adjust any of the above parameters.

 

[J.J. Gittes]

I have no idea how to calculate it, but I would like to see that number.

 

[Lefty]

Don't forget to divide by 4 at some point for all of the hats that are size 7 and under.

 

[Sargon]

I think we need a government grant.

 

[CRH]

I have no idea how to calculate it, but I would like to see that number.

I would like to see the "basements, closets, attics, storerooms etc."!

 

[Lefty]

I would like to see the "basements, closets, attics, storerooms etc."!

How soon we forget.

The photos of the attic are gone, but here are the contents found by one lucky guy.

 

[CRH]

How soon we forget.

The photos of the attic are gone, but here are the contents found by one lucky guy.

Oh, yes, there are still deals out there. One of my goals is to learn more about the antique and flee market trade in general.

 

[carouselvic]

Oh, yes, there are still deals out there. One of my goals is to learn more about the antique and flee market trade in general.

Buy low, sell high. Buy junk, sell antiques. Glad I could help. TLH

 

[irb]

Clearly, the only way to know for sure is for all of you to send me all of your fedoras. Enough dallying, get to it people! *grin*

 

[buler]

Oh, yes, there are still deals out there. One of my goals is to learn more about the antique and flee market trade in general.

Nothing is dusty or dirty. That's patina! Everything is worth more with patina.
(I think patina is Latin for Antique Dirt)

B

 

[Cigarband]

Truthfully, I don't think there's any way to ever know. We can get total numbers of hats, approximately, but they wouldn't be broken down by style.

Brad

If you have the approximate total Mr. Bowers, please don't keep it "under your hat."

 

[Brad Bowers]

Sorry, I don't have it. It's something that I haven't even thought to research. I'd be interested in seeing annual sales quantities ( as opposed to sales revenue figures, as it doesn't tell us as much) to see a graph of the decline in hat-wearing. Yearly sales revenue will be much easier to find, particularly from tax records, but we can't derive the numbers of hats from it.

If I run across anything that will help, I'll post it back here.

Brad

 

[Brad Bowers]

If you really wanted to play with math and statistics, you can get production numbers (in dollars) from the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Manufactures, and try to figure hat quantities from that.

I think the Commerce Department also has data for industrial production, but I'm not familiar with their publications. That might yield quantities.

Brad

 

[Cigarband]

Well, after a little bit of research I found the round numbers for Total American Hat production
for the years 1900, 1940, and 1960.

1900 approx. 36 Million

1940 approx. 22 Million

1960 approx. 11 Million

Quite a decline over 60 years.

Now extrapolating from those numbers, I imagine production numbers for the gap years something like this.

1901 thru 1917 approx. 35 Million per year= 595 Million plus 1900= 630 Million

1918 thru 1919 WWI approx. 1 Million Non-Military

1920 thru 1929 approx. 30 Million per year= 300 Million

1930 thru 1939 The Great Depression, approx. 22 Million per year= 222 Million plus 1940= 244 Million

1941 thru 1945 WWII, approx. 1 Million Non-Military plus 1940= 23 Million

1946 thru 1959 approx. 11 million per year= 209 Million plus 1960= 220 Million

Which would give us a total of 1 Billion, 418 Million hats, manufactured in the USA between 1900 and 1960.

Now applying these numbers to the Vintage Hat Hunters Formula, gives us this:

Start with the total number of hats made, 1,418,000,000 divide by 2 to eliminate woman's hats, 709,000,000.
Divide again by 2 to remove Cowboy hats, 354,500,000. Divide again by 2 to separate caps from dress hats,
177,250,000.
Divide again by 2 to account for those dress hats destroyed over the years, 88,625,000
and then use 25% of the remainder as a start to imagine just how many dress hats are still on the loose:

Somewhere in the neighborhood of......22,156,250 for all types and styles

Keep firmly in mind that this all idle speculation and guess work, but it does lead one to think, that even if we take just 25% of that total for just large brim Fedoras, we get...5,539,062.5

Which is ONE HELL OF A LOT OF HATS TO HUNT!

(That half hat must be a Porkpie :eusa_doh

Feel free to adjust the numbers to suit yourself, and remember YMMV.

 

[Lefty]

If you figure that around 1 in 3 or 4 hats sold were straw, you're going to need to subtract some fraction for the straws that were punched-out on felt hat day and, to a lesser extent, the same type of damage done to felts on straw hat day - far more rare, I'm sure.
After that, account for the random public burning, and you'll be closer.

 

[CRH]