JJ Katz
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 57
Elegant as always, Mr. Katz. Please show us more of it - also and especially of the top hat.
A beauty of a Top Hat. Damn those stupid burglersHere we go. I bought the hat second-hand at Portobello market. It came with a box, too, though some very stupid #@&%$ burglars wrecked it...
The hat itself is in very good nick, I think.
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Wonderful family heirloom, Matt.Today: The opera hat - chapeau claque - Klappzylinder
from the possession of my grandfather with associated hat box.
In this hat he married my grandmother in 1951, however I assume
that this hat originally belonged to my great-grandfather,
as I believe it dates from the 1920s:
"Garantie-Klapphut" of the company "F.W.G.", as can be seen
from the initials in the logo on the lining and hat box.
I have so far no idea which company this is, but the collapsible hats
of this company can be found quite often on the net.
Maybe Steve or Steve know more...!?
If I saw that one on Facebook Market Place or ebay, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.The other topper I would like to present was owned by my other grandfather:
neither previously owned by the family nor did anyone get married under it,
rather my grandpa, who was a great carnivalist, took a lot of old clothes
from people of the village to use for carnival. So over the decades he had
gathered a huge fund of stuff, from which also this top hat comes.
The hat box in turn, however, does not belong to it, but it is again from
the estate of the other grandfather and in it I found the folding hat.
No-name top hat with british coat of arms - maybe older than the other one.
I also believe - despite the so often used British-English coat of arms
- that it is a German product... But who knows exactly.
Unfortunately someone tried to make a collapsible hat out of this one too...
The usual and so common hat box is from Paul Pfab from Oelsnitz in the Erzgebirge
(where this part of the family comes from)
Two fantastic heirlooms, Matt.The other topper I would like to present was owned by my other grandfather:
neither previously owned by the family nor did anyone get married under it,
rather my grandpa, who was a great carnivalist, took a lot of old clothes
from people of the village to use for carnival. So over the decades he had
gathered a huge fund of stuff, from which also this top hat comes.
The hat box in turn, however, does not belong to it, but it is again from
the estate of the other grandfather and in it I found the folding hat.
No-name top hat with british coat of arms - maybe older than the other one.
I also believe - despite the so often used British-English coat of arms
- that it is a German product... But who knows exactly.
Unfortunately someone tried to make a collapsible hat out of this one too...
The usual and so common hat box is from Paul Pfab from Oelsnitz in the Erzgebirge
(where this part of the family comes from)
Hello Matt,Today: The opera hat - chapeau claque - Klappzylinder
from the possession of my grandfather with associated hat box.
In this hat he married my grandmother in 1951, however I assume
that this hat originally belonged to my great-grandfather,
as I believe it dates from the 1920s:
"Garantie-Klapphut" of the company "F.W.G.", as can be seen
from the initials in the logo on the lining and hat box.
I have so far no idea which company this is, but the collapsible hats
of this company can be found quite often on the net.
Maybe Steve or Steve know more...!?
Thank you! And as always, the phrase is true: If no one knows, Steve does!Hello Matt,
Fantastic!
Felix Weissbach Klapphut Fabrik, Glauchau i Sa. (Saxony)
DHZ April 11, 1925
As a supplement: While searching for my grandfather's wedding picture with top hat - unfortunately I have not found yet - another picture fell into my hands: Wedding picture of my great-grandparents from June 3, 1922 - on the right side of the picture exactly this Felix Weissbach, Glauchau opera hat, which not only gives me the proof that it was already in the possession of my great-grandfather like I thought, but also gives us a dating approach.Today: The opera hat - chapeau claque - Klappzylinder
from the possession of my grandfather with associated hat box.
In this hat he married my grandmother in 1951, however I assume
that this hat originally belonged to my great-grandfather,
as I believe it dates from the 1920s:
"Garantie-Klapphut" of the company "F.W.G.", as can be seen
from the initials in the logo on the lining and hat box.
I have so far no idea which company this is, but the collapsible hats
of this company can be found quite often on the net.
Maybe Steve or Steve know more...!?
Looks like Excelled By None is the brand name, not just a slogan.Hello all.
I came across a top hat with the following logo inside, but can't seem to figure out the brand. Does anyone happen to know more about it?
Thank you. I did a little more digging and it appears that this may be associated with "Kirby".Looks like Excelled By None is the brand name, not just a slogan.
Great catch, Stefan, especially in that size!P&C Top hat. That's not Habig, but the Dutch (originally from Germany) retailer Peek&Cloppenburg. Still located on Dam square in Amsterdam to this day. This one was made by Spoorenberg, who produced toppers under different brand names, mainly Burton and Ambassador. I bought this one because it's a size 60 and these things are rare in larger sizes. Brim at 6cm and 14cm high. Excellent condition except for some waviness on the sweatband. PM me if you're interested.