The Resistol Roundup

TPD166 said:

This hat has already been in the WHAYWT thread, but thought I would post here for Resistol fans. This is a 1960s (Byer-Rolnick) Resistol “El Lobo” 5X beaver western. It came to me unworn in the original B-R box. I really like the proportions and the silver ribbon on the silverbelly color felt.

In the 1971 Miller-Stockman Catalog (post # 73 - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/miller-stockman-catalogs.52929/page-4), they were still selling the “famous” Resistol El Lobo, but it was then a 7X and the color described as “Silver Grey (Lighter Silver Belly)” – mine seems more tan than silver. The 1971 dimensions are the same – 4-3/4” crown and 3-1/2” brim (with 3-1/2" also offered). Unfortunately for me, mine was a little more than the 1971 price of $40. But, since $40 in 1971 adjusted for inflation is $240, I still did pretty well!

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TPD166 said:

I am sure most of us are very familiar with the story of how Resistol came to be - E.R. Byer and Harry Rolnick coming together in 1927 in Dallas to form the company (http://www.resistolhat.com/history.php), and that the Byer-Rolnick era continued into the 1960s, with the post-B-R transition eventually leading to HATCO. Recently the story of the end of the Byer-Rolnick era was shared with me by a family member was there and lived through it. I thought other Resistol fans might find it interesting as well.

By 1965, "Resistol" was a company under the Byer-Rolnick Corp., then-owned by Harry Rolnick. In 1966, Harry turned over the title of President of the B-R Corp. to his son, Maury, who had little interest in selling hats, and Harry remained Chairman of the Board. In 1967, Harry sold out to Koracorp, a California corporation, headed by Bill Dow, who was 32 years old and had never had manufactured or sold hats. The Resistol Co. President (a relative of Harry's) was unaware of the sale, before it occurred, but stayed on until 1969, when he accepted an offer from John B. Stetson to become its Executive Vice-President and COO. That was the end of any B-R influence at Resistol, which changed hands again (more than once) before coming under HATCO. Harry Rolnick died in 1977 at age 77 in France, ten years after selling out his company.

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TPD166 said:

This hat has already been in the WHAYWT thread, but thought I would post here for Resistol fans. This is a 1960s (Byer-Rolnick) Resistol “El Lobo” 5X beaver western. It came to me unworn in the original B-R box. I really like the proportions and the silver ribbon on the silverbelly color felt.

In the 1971 Miller-Stockman Catalog (post # 73 - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/miller-stockman-catalogs.52929/page-4), they were still selling the “famous” Resistol El Lobo, but it was then a 7X and the color described as “Silver Grey (Lighter Silver Belly)” – mine seems more tan than silver. The 1971 dimensions are the same – 4-3/4” crown and 3-1/2” brim (with 3-1/2" also offered). Unfortunately for me, mine was a little more than the 1971 price of $40. But, since $40 in 1971 adjusted for inflation is $240, I still did pretty well!

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Frunobulax said:

"El Lobo," Spanish for "The Lobo."

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Redfokker said:

You are such a linguist Jim! Perhaps even cunning!

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Frunobulax said:

"El Lobo," Spanish for "The Lobo."

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TPD166 said:

This hat has already been in the WHAYWT thread, but thought I would post here for Resistol fans. This is a 1960s (Byer-Rolnick) Resistol “El Lobo” 5X beaver western.

Click to expand...

BobHufford said:

Super nice hat and great story! I also noticed that we are the same size so I should probably pay more attention to anything you put up for sale (or do Loungers ever sell hats?).

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Benzadmiral said:

I think that's a variation on Murphy's Law: "Any sufficiently attractive hat sold by a Lounger will be either too big or too small for me."

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Benzadmiral said:

I think that's a variation on Murphy's Law: "Any sufficiently attractive hat sold by a Lounger will be either too big or too small for me."

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Benzadmiral said:

This has actually been garbled over the years. The original title was "Lobo-el" or "Loboel," a name used by a Mexican manufacturer of cotton shirts and underwear: "Lo Boll," from cotton boll (or perhaps boll weevil; the exact derivation is unclear).

("Now what was that you put in my coffee . . .?")

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TPD166 said:

This hat has already been in the WHAYWT thread, but thought I would post here for Resistol fans. This is a 1960s (Byer-Rolnick) Resistol “El Lobo” 5X beaver western. It came to me unworn in the original B-R box. I really like the proportions and the silver ribbon on the silverbelly color felt.

In the 1971 Miller-Stockman Catalog (post # 73 - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/miller-stockman-catalogs.52929/page-4), they were still selling the “famous” Resistol El Lobo, but it was then a 7X and the color described as “Silver Grey (Lighter Silver Belly)” – mine seems more tan than silver. The 1971 dimensions are the same – 4-3/4” crown and 3-1/2” brim (with 3-1/2" also offered). Unfortunately for me, mine was a little more than the 1971 price of $40. But, since $40 in 1971 adjusted for inflation is $240, I still did pretty well!

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Frunobulax said:

"El Lobo," Spanish for "The Lobo."

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Joao Encarnado said:

The wolf...

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Michael A said:

This one should probably go in here since it's from the Roundup Collection.
DSCN1678 crop by Michael A2012, on Flickr
DSCN1679 crop by Michael A2012, on Flickr
DSCN1680 crop by Michael A2012, on Flickr
Seems to be quite a lightweight felt for a western.
DSCN1683 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
Model is Haymaker, color is Clay, 3 1/4" brim
DSCN1685 by Michael A2012, on Flickr

Michael

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