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Vintage Stetson - The Sovereign?

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
Golden Earache said:
Good info, Thanks! How about the sweat?

GWD said:
Brad, is 1971 the same year Stetson went with the Black Sweatband?

The general consensus is that the hat companies switched to black sweatbands by the mid-1960s, but we don't have any firm dates for any of them.

Brad
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
GWD said:
Thanks Brad! Just a shot in the Dark, do you know anything about the squared size tags?

Nope, sorry. A search of Stetson archives would be great, wouldn't it?

Somewhere in this thread or another of the current Stetson threads, someone mentioned HATCO's archives. I don't think they have much of the old Stetson archives, if any. I talked to Gary Rosenthal about some Cavanagh paperwork a while back, not Stetson, but it's probably the same situation. I'm not sure where the papers ended up, but perhaps a university, library, or museum back east nabbed them.

Brad
 

mingoslim

Practically Family
Messages
858
Location
Southern Ohio
Getting back on topic . . .

Although I do believe that the term Sovereign was used in the 80s and 90s to denote a quality of felt . . . I think that there was a vintage model of Stetson named the Sovereign . . .

This hat (one of my favorites) is an early 50s Stetson Twenty marked "The Sovereign Stetson" . . . Looks a bit like a Strat or an OR . . .

stetsonsovereignc195001.jpg
 

Lefty

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8,639
Location
O-HI-O
More fun

Sovereign 1

Sovereign 2

However, Dinerman has said that the square size tag, like the one shown in the first auction, indicates a Canadian hat.

Having just reread the first page of posts, I think feltfan indicates that there's a Stetson Ambassador Twenty Sovereign (probably not in that order). I'm not sure where that leaves us.
 

MattJH

One Too Many
Messages
1,388
To confound matters further, the stingy-brimmed velour Stetson Charger of the 70's (which crop up on eBay pretty often) with the braid band rather than a grossgrain also has "Stetson Sovereign" on the leather sweatband and is usually referred to by the Sovereign name by sellers who don't know it's the Charger model (and there's no way they would know, as Charger isn't printed anywhere on the hat).
 

XPLSV

One of the Regulars
Messages
215
Location
Colorado Springs
Lefty,

That first hat is very similar to my 1949 Stetson...appears to be the same liner and the imprinting on the band shown on the ebay hat is virtually the same as mine, aside from the "Long Oval" designation. The opposite side Stetson Philadelphia address on Chestnut Street. No size tag attached anymore, although the size is given under the sweat, as is the date of Sep 30, 1949.

I just came across a later Stetson, also with the designation of "The Sovereign Stetson." Has the Mode Edge, the black leather sweatband--which is adjustable, and it also has a Stetson Twenty imprint. Too small for me, so I'm putting it up on OFAS to fund future hats in my size :)
 

GWD

One Too Many
Messages
1,642
Location
Evergreen, Co
XPLSV said:
Lefty,

That first hat is very similar to my 1949 Stetson...appears to be the same liner and the imprinting on the band shown on the ebay hat is virtually the same as mine, aside from the "Long Oval" designation. The opposite side Stetson Philadelphia address on Chestnut Street. No size tag attached anymore, although the size is given under the sweat, as is the date of Sep 30, 1949.

I just came across a later Stetson, also with the designation of "The Sovereign Stetson." Has the Mode Edge, the black leather sweatband--which is adjustable, and it also has a Stetson Twenty imprint. Too small for me, so I'm putting it up on OFAS to fund future hats in my size :)


I think I sold you that Sovereign! Is this it?

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GWD

One Too Many
Messages
1,642
Location
Evergreen, Co
Here is my new Sovereign,

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I'm not sure if this the plastic liner puts this before or after 1949, but is got to be real close to that time period.
 

Randal

Familiar Face
Messages
66
Location
Kentucky
I have 2 Stetson Temples (one brown, one grey) bought within six months of each other earlier this year (both puchased new). The grey one has a black sweatband and the brown has a black sweatband. Does this mean one is older than the other?
 

Torpedo

One Too Many
Messages
1,332
Location
Barcelona (Spain)
Nice catch! But, would not the black sweatband place the hat in the late 60's? In fact, the suit style seems to be from the 60's too, to me at least, but I am certainly no expert.
 

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