Toppers Unite

[BobHufford]

So here are some photos of me in my topper. Please let me know if the fit looks okay. Thank you for your reviews.

Welcome to the Lounge Santa!

The fit seems proper to me. If you look at vintage ads and photos from the era you’ll see that many hats were worn higher on the head (especially noticeable with top hats and boaters). You wear it well!

 

[Koechinggendoet]

Great Found steve!i love that tighter rolled brim

 

[Koechinggendoet]

View attachment 325876 View attachment 325870 View attachment 325871 View attachment 325873
So here are some photos of me in my topper. Please let me know if the fit looks okay. Thank you for your reviews. View attachment 325870 View attachment 325871 View attachment 325873

Thats not too bad santa,like the picture bob send to you,if you can,get the hat more dead straight rather than a little bit tilted,and you look like the picture bob send! Just need a frock coat

 

[Idaho Santa]

Welcome to the Lounge Santa!

The fit seems proper to me. If you look at vintage ads and photos from the era you’ll see that many hats were worn higher on the head (especially noticeable with top hats and boaters). You wear it well!

View attachment 325892

Thank you kind sir! I'm so happy that I can still wear this for my wedding. I'm just not used to the fit I guess. I didn't want to look like a fool for my wife to be. I suppose that if I would consider changing roles, I could shave the beard and start reciting, Do not pass go!

 

[Idaho Santa]

Thats not too bad santa,like the picture bob send to you,if you can,get the hat more dead straight rather than a little bit tilted,and you look like the picture bob send! Just need a frock coat

I plan on wearing this with a morning coat for my wedding. I love the classic look.

 

[Koechinggendoet]

I plan on wearing this with a morning coat for my wedding. I love the classic look.

Great! My best wishes for the both of you

 

[steur]

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So here are some photos of me in my topper. Please let me know if the fit looks okay. Thank you for your reviews. View attachment 325870 View attachment 325871 View attachment 325873

Looks fine in my book. That is a lovely topper you've found yourself. I can see however that you'd want to sit it a bit lower on your head. As others have pointed out stiff hats can't be sized, but the fit can be tweaked somewhat. I've had the same issue with a bowler hat recently. It was shaped as a round oval and wouldn't fit front to back, but left room side to side. In the past the hatters made use of the conformateur and formillion to get a stiff hat to a perfect fit. The hat had to be heated to get the formillion inside. There are several ways of doing that. The hat could be heated in an oven, but I wouldn't risk slipping in a nice topper like that in an oven just to find out what settings I'd need to use. Another way of doing it was the use of a special hat heater like this one.

But good luck finding one of these somewhere. And a final option is to try and soften the entry of the hat using steam (which is what I did when I had this problem). You only need to soften the parts of the hat that need to flex to get it to conform better to your head shape. In my case it needed to be more of a long oval, which meant the front and back needed to be narrower. You can only reshape the hat that way a little though because the brim could deform otherwise.
Again: I think you can wear that hat as it is and look great, but if you would want to tweak it, that's the advice I can give.

 

[Koechinggendoet]

And a final option is to try and soften the entry of the hat using steam (which is what I did when I had this problem). You only need to soften the parts of the hat that need to flex to get it to conform better to your head shape. In my case it needed to be more of a long oval, which meant the front and back needed to be narrower. You can only reshape the hat that way a little though because the brim could deform otherwise.
Again: I think you can wear that hat as it is and look great, but if you would want to tweak it, that's the advice I can give.

I Wouldnt reccomending steam because the heat was not focused on one point,unlike a special hat oven and a electric heater can do,and from the picture is just fine santa,just if you can get it more dead straight rather than tilted

 

[steur]

The reason I pulled the trigger on this one was due to the hat box.

C.W. Borchert was a well known hat seller before and after WWII. Before WWI, too. The address on the box is pre WWII. After the end of the war, they moved to Kurfürstendamm 45. That is to say, from East Germany to West Germany.

The address also lacks the German limited liability company letters G. m. b. H., which can be seen in other boxes with this address on them.

My surmise is, the box is pre WWI. View attachment 325860 View attachment 325861

Very cool find, Steve. And another topper added

 

[Steve1857]

That is a very nice topper you found for your wedding, Santa. I agree with Bob, it sits as a top hat would back in the day. I wouldn't tweak a thing.

Hope you and your bride to be have a wonderful day. Remember to post some photos of the happy occassion with you in all your finery.

View attachment 325876 View attachment 325870 View attachment 325871 View attachment 325873
So here are some photos of me in my topper. Please let me know if the fit looks okay. Thank you for your reviews. View attachment 325870 View attachment 325871 View attachment 325873

 

[Steve1857]

Thanks Steve. Sadly, the other top hat is not a Borchert. However, it is a very nice Austrian made one. I'm going to post photos later, if I can. The FL seems to be extra slow at responding today.

Steve, Great find! Is the Silk Top Hat from C. W. Borchert? If possible please post in the German - Austrian thread. Thanks!

 

[Steve1857]

The second top hat of this last week.

Fanz Gulder of Wien made for a store close to the main street where I used to live in Copenhagen. Obviously, the store is sadly long gone.

Interestingly, the hat came with another label of a more well known Danish hat manufacturer. The label must have belonged to another hat, but I was happy to get it.

It's a size 59, so far too big for me. I'm willing to let it go if anyone is interested.

 

[Rmccamey]

That is a very nice looking hat, Steve.

The second top hat of this last week.

Fanz Gulder of Wien made for a store close to the main street where I used to live in Copenhagen. Obviously, the store is sadly long gone.

Interestingly, the hat came with another label of a more well known Danish hat manufacturer. The label must have belonged to another hat, but I was happy to get it.

It's a size 59, so far too big for me. I'm willing to let it go if anyone is interested. View attachment 326130 View attachment 326131 View attachment 326133 View attachment 326143 View attachment 326144

 

[Steve1857]

Thanks, Randy. It is indeed. Wish it was my size.

That is a very nice looking hat, Steve.

 

[mayserwegener]

Thanks Steve. Sadly, the other top hat is not a Borchert. However, it is a very nice Austrian made one. I'm going to post photos later, if I can. The FL seems to be extra slow at responding today.

Steve, Thanks! I am experiencing the same slow down.

 

[mayserwegener]

The second top hat of this last week.

Fanz Gulder of Wien made for a store close to the main street where I used to live in Copenhagen. Obviously, the store is sadly long gone.

Interestingly, the hat came with another label of a more well known Danish hat manufacturer. The label must have belonged to another hat, but I was happy to get it.

It's a size 59, so far too big for me. I'm willing to let it go if anyone is interested. View attachment 326130 View attachment 326131 View attachment 326133 View attachment 326143 View attachment 326144

Steve, Super I will have to check my lists for Franz Gulder.

 

[Steve1857]

Thanks Steve. I haven't been able to find anything about Franz Gulder apart from his top hats seem to have been well liked in Danish hat shops a 100 years ago or so. There have been a few put on sale on various Danish web-sites.

Steve, Super I will have to check my lists for Franz Gulder.

 

[mayserwegener]

Steve, Super I will have to check my lists for Franz Gulder.

Steve, I found Franz Gulder in my Austrian Hat Industry Guide (1926) page 18. Wwe. = Widow

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/217-austrian-hat-industry-guide-1926/

The building is still intact. Eggerthgasse 9 Wien

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eggerthgasse+9,+1060+Wien,+Austria/@48.1970427,16.3545688,3a,75y,202.29h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sFEyERuMo_xNx6AEMarxzGQ!2e0!6shttps://streetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com/v1/thumbnail?panoid=FEyERuMo_xNx6AEMarxzGQ&cb_client=search.gws-prod.gps&w=86&h=86&yaw=202.29198&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x476d0788d07c5479:0x8894e02a543838a5!2sEggerthgasse+9,+1060+Wien,+Austria!3b1!8m2!3d48.196918!4d16.3544906!3m4!1s0x476d0788d07c5479:0x8894e02a543838a5!8m2!3d48.196918!4d16.3544906

 

[Steve1857]

Thanks for that Steve.

The listing must mean that Franz Gulder's widow (witwe) took over the business. I wouldn't think it would list him as a widower (witwer).

Interestingly enough, A.F. Bodecker's widow did the same thing in Denmark. He's a very interesting Swedish/Danish hat maker and seller, btw. Born in Sweden, learnt his trade in Denmark, Germany, and France during the democratic revolutions in Europe during the mid 1800s.

I found a very interesting pdf booklet about him. It's in Danish, so not much point in sharing on the FL.

Steve, I found Franz Gulder in my Austrian Hat Industry Guide (1926) page 18. Wwe. = Widow

https://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/topic/217-austrian-hat-industry-guide-1926/

The building is still intact. Eggerthgasse 9 Wien

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eggerthgasse+9,+1060+Wien,+Austria/@48.1970427,16.3545688,3a,75y,202.29h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sFEyERuMo_xNx6AEMarxzGQ!2e0!6shttps://streetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com/v1/thumbnail?panoid=FEyERuMo_xNx6AEMarxzGQ&cb_client=search.gws-prod.gps&w=86&h=86&yaw=202.29198&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i16384!8i8192!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x476d0788d07c5479:0x8894e02a543838a5!2sEggerthgasse+9,+1060+Wien,+Austria!3b1!8m2!3d48.196918!4d16.3544906!3m4!1s0x476d0788d07c5479:0x8894e02a543838a5!8m2!3d48.196918!4d16.3544906

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

I was much more interested in the hat box than the hat, however, the hat turned out to be interesting, too.

It's a very small size. Moleskin. I so wish I could find out who was behind the Hat Manufactory in London company.

It has a leather sweat, which is not uncommon, but unusual for a top hat. The logo imprinted in the sweat says Jockey Club. The rest I cannot desipher, but looks like a horse's head.

I like its battered look. It's small size suggests to me, it could have been a jockey's topper, worn at official events. View attachment 325854 View attachment 325855 View attachment 325856 View attachment 325857 View attachment 325858 View attachment 325858

Steve, your London hat manufacturer logo looks to me very much like it is based on the Lincoln - Bennett logo....