What Does Your Hat Cost?... 1921

[rlk]

fell text: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1921-12-25/ed-1/seq-56.pdf

 

[Lefty]

on a related note,
Who's got Twilight fever?

 

[StetsonHomburg]

The dialogue will be about like this:
Q..What does your hat cost?
A..Five dollars, or thereabouts.
Q..You mean that was the initial price?
A..Yes.
(You will observe that I am supplying you
with a lot of quick, clever replies.)
Q..Do you ever eat in hotels or restau¬
rants?
A..Occasionally.
Q..At such times do you check your hat
on entering?
A..Yes, when I have to.
Q..I see. And how often does that hap¬
pen?
A..Oh, perhaps three times a week.
Q..Do you pay anything for this service?
A..Yes, a nickel if .1 have one with me.
Otherwise a dime. I don't often have nickels,
though. The waiter sees to that.
Q..That amounts to some 20 cents, then?
(Say it does, anyway.)
A..I guess so.
Q..Very good. How many weeks are
there in a year? *
A..Fifty-two.a full deck.
Q..Never mind that. How much is fiftytwo
times twenty?
(Long pause. Business of computation on
tablecloth with fork.)
A..About 1,000.
Q..Or $10! Now, how much did you say
your hat cost?
You see, I have you there. You spent
$5 when you bought your hat, and it costs
you $10 a year for the privilege of keeping
it. in other words, you own your own hat
and pay an exorbitant rental on it at the
same time.
Q..Do you regard this as a necessary ex¬
pense?
A..I don't knew.
Q..Do you consider that you received full
value for your $10?
A..1 doubt it.
Q..Do you realize that you could have
bought two new hats for the incidental cost
of one?
A..Yes.
Q..Then why do you do it? Why do you lol

Good find!

 

[JimWagner]

Would be good to cross-post in the How Much Do You Tip Your Barber thread

 

[hatophile]

AHA!

But nowadays, we don't have to worry about tipping/paying to check the hat,
do we? So how many would that buy in today's prices?

 

[hatophile]

on a related note,
Who's got Twilight fever?

After reading all this, maybe this is the elusive secret to why hat wearing went out of style- too expensive!