What Hat Are You Wearing Today ?

[VoodooSan]

Ooh, i forgot I had this…. another 7X!

No, not a clear beaver. More like a CP —- “clear polyester” .

Still, I quite like him - he’s a straight up beater and there really is something very comforting about that.

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SHARP!!!!!!

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Here you go (sorry, just in German, too):
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Postbezirke_zwischen_1862_und_1920#:~:text=Die Buchstaben in der ersten,=Südwesten, W=Westen.

Danke Matt! Den Wikiartikel habe ich auchmal gesehen aber der enthaelt keine Geschichte spezifisch fuer Berlin W oder W.8, oder? (Der is aber totzdem sehr informativ).

My question is this: if these are simply postal designations, then why did the Borchert hat company print it on their hats and hat boxes? To me, displaying it prominently seems similar to a hatmaker in the US displaying “Fifth Avenue” prominently (like Knox).

My hypothesis is that “Berlin W.8” must have been a very well known postal district or it would not have been displayed so prominently.

For example, apparently, on Friedrichstrasse very close to the original Borchert address, was one of the centers of the German Stummfilm (silent film) industry. This would be the kind of notoriety I am envisioning for Berlin W.8, and then the hatmaker just kept the “Berlin W” after the move because of tradition maybe.

But I can’t find proof to support the hypothesis, so I suspect it is wrong.

Aber danke sehr - ich dachte das ich der Einzige war, der ueber “die Frage von Berlin W” sich interessiert!

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

SHARP!!!!!!

Thanks Voo!

 

[steur]

The Panizza Ediston today.
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That is a beauty, Marcel.

Early 60s, newly arrived Borsalino Homburg on my way to collect a 1930s English Bowler. View attachment 609432


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Fantastic classic homburg, Steve.

Whippet

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Yeah, that will make you happy alright.

 

[Blare]

Very nice, Joe!!

That is a beauty, Marcel.


Fantastic classic homburg, Steve.


Yeah, that will make you happy alright.

Thanks guys.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Two hat day for me.

Friday morning found me back in the 7XCB for a run to the library. I picked up some Dashiell Hammett stories recommended by @VoodooSan.

The afternoon hasn’t gotten sunny so I took advantage and wore the Borsa homburg for a trip to the post office.

Happy Friday folks!

 

[Mighty44]

Two hat day for me.

Friday morning found me back in the 7XCB for a run to the library. I picked up some Dashiell Hammett stories recommended by @VoodooSan.

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The afternoon hasn’t gotten sunny so I took advantage and wore the Borsa homburg for a trip to the post office.
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Happy Friday folks!

Hammett is a pleasure. If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend reading Raymond Chandler as well.

 

[DonR]

Two hat day for me.

Friday morning found me back in the 7XCB for a run to the library. I picked up some Dashiell Hammett stories recommended by @VoodooSan.

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The afternoon hasn’t gotten sunny so I took advantage and wore the Borsa homburg for a trip to the post office.

Happy Friday folks!

Love them both! Happy Friday.

 

[DonR]

A bit warm this afternoon, but I had to try out this newly acquired 3XME in silvery gray.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Hammett is a pleasure. If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend reading Raymond Chandler as well.

Thanks. I’m slowly getting back to fiction. I might try Chandler as well, thank you!

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Love them both! Happy Friday.

Thanks Don!

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

A bit warm this afternoon, but I had to try out this newly acquired 3XME in silvery gray.

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Great snag Don! I wondered if that was you! I had just purchased the 7X so my bid wasn’t very competitive. Congrats and it looks fantastic!

 

[DonR]

Great snag Don! I wondered if that was you! I had just purchased the 7X so my bid wasn’t very competitive. Congrats and it looks fantastic!

Thanks Nathan. Yeah it looks like new and with the box to boot.

Love that 7X. It looks magnificent.

 

[Steve1857]

Fantastic classic homburg, Steve.

Thank you, Stefan. Though I'd say, a classic modern 60s Homburg.

 

[Steve1857]

Danke Matt! Den Wikiartikel habe ich auchmal gesehen aber der enthaelt keine Geschichte oder? (Der is aber totzdem sehr interresant und ich werde ihn weiter lesen!)

My question is this: if these are simply postal designations, then why did the Borchert hat company print it on their hats and hat boxes? To me, displaying it prominently seems similar to a hatmaker in the US displaying “Fifth Avenue” prominently (like Knox).

My hypothesis is that “Berlin W.8” must have been a very well known postal district or it would not have been displayed so prominently.

For example, apparently, on Friedrichstrasse very close to the original Borchert address, was one of the centers of the German Stummfilm (silent film) industry. This would be the kind of notoriety I am envisioning for Berlin W.8, and then the hatmaker just kept the “Berlin W” after the move because of tradition maybe.

But I can’t find proof to support the hypothesis, so I suspect it is wrong.

Aber danke sehr - ich dachte das ich der Einzige war, der ueber “die Frage von Berlin W” sich interessiert!

Nathan, it's my understanding that the pre WWII address with the W.8. designation was a postal address.

The post WWII address on Kurfürstendamm with its "Berlin W" designation was to show the establishment was now in West Berlin as opposed to its former address on Friedrichstrasse was now a part of East Berlin.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Nathan, it's my understanding that the pre WWII address with the W.8. designation was a postal address.

The post WWII address on Kurfürstendamm with its "Berlin W" designation was to show the establishment was now in West Berlin as opposed to its former address on Friedrichstrasse was now a part of East Berlin.

The former address in Friedrichstrasse was not part of East Berlin. I am 99% sure of that. Here is my argument:

Berlin Mitte was not “flattened” during the war as I said in one of my comments. That is hyperbole and it is important that even though the structures were in a catastrophic state they were still discernible and about 1/3 of them were still usable. That greatly aided the rebuilding efforts and also assured that most addresses remained the same before and after the war.

So yes, the building for address Friedrichstrasse 157 might have been ruined and rebuilt, but the address “Friedrichstrasse 157” remained in the same location as it is today.

With that in mind, you can look at Google Maps and clearly see that 157 lies south of Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse - and that was definitely within the American zone (Friedrichstrasse was cut in two by the wall - I guess about 2/3 of it was in the Soviet zone).

 

[Steve1857]

The former address in Friedrichstrasse was not part of East Berlin. I am 99.999% sure of that. Here is my argument:

Berlin Mitte was not “flattened” during the war as I said in one of my comments. That is hyperbole and it is important that even though the structures were in a catastrophic state they were still discernible and about 1/3 of them were still usable. That greatly aided the rebuilding efforts and also assured that most addresses remained the same before and after the war.

So yes, the building for address Friedrichstrasse 157 might have been ruined and rebuilt, but the address “Friedrichstrasse 157” remained in the same location as it is today.

With that in mind, you can look at Google Maps and clearly see that 157 lies south of Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse - and that was definitely within the American zone (Friedrichstrasse was cut in two by the wall - I guess about 2/3 of it was in the Soviet zone).

Good point, my bad. But Borchert still had to move. So their new address was no longer pre war W.8., but Berlin W as in West Berlin. Or maybe again the W just being a postal designation without a number.

 

[hatophile]

Stetson from Altermans at the Gunter Hotel San Antonio

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Good point, my bad. But Borchert still had to move. So their new address was no longer pre war W.8., but Berlin W as in West Berlin. Or maybe again the W just being a postal designation without a number.

Yeah i’m thinking it was another postal designation, but this time just the broader one. I mean, I’ve never heard of “West Berlin” as “Berlin West” (maybe an Italian would say that!). The old address and the new address were only a few kilometers apart - so they both could have easily been in the postal zone “Berlin W”.

Also, I am not 100% certain that the 157 address did not move. What does seem to be certain is that due to its immediate proximity to the border/wall, the area where that address is now was no longer commercially viable. Apparently it was slums during the entire Cold War and I believe that’s why they moved.

But this is all hypothetical and I can’t find any smoking gun online.

 

[Steve1857]

Pre WWI Battersby Top Hat

Worn for a præsentation at my school on the history of Top Hats.

I was pleasantly gratified by the reception of the students, and the back up of my collegues.