Well, it finally arrived. What an absolutely gorgeous hat. A light blue/gray that is just beautiful. It is clear that this hat has been gently worn, but it is in excellent condition.
This is my first 3X Beaver, and I like this felt very much -- medium weight, but very soft and smooth to the touch. The open crown height is 5 1/2", and the brim width is 2 3/4". Width of the ribbon is 1 1/2", and the width of the edge binding is 5/8". The liner is sewn-in. There are two stickers behind the sweat at the rear of the hat -- a red/white John B. Stetson/Philadelphia sticker with size information, and a re-order sticker. The crown of the liner has no protective layer of either translucent material or plastic. Don't know if Stetsons like this ever came without such a liner protector, or whether the owner simply removed it. [The original owner, apparently a doctor, felt the need to ink his name onto both sides of the liner. Ah, well...] There is a store price sticker under the sweat that indicates the hat sold for $15.
Given the interest in this hat, I have taken some pains to document it photographically. After cleaning it up a bit, I lightly steamed it back into an open crown. The next step was to give it a center dent bash in order to get a sense of what this lid looks like with a center dent. After that, time for the teardrop...
The photographs are all taken outdoors in natural light. What is interesting is how the hat takes on different tones depending on the light. For the most part, it has a definite light blue quality. In flatter light (as in the teardrop photos), there is a bit more light gray in the mix.
I have posted more photos than I would ordinarily -- but I hope this helps to give folks a real sense of this beautiful lid.
Cheers,
JtL
Open Crown...
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Originally Posted by bolthead
