Truman & The Stetson Open Road

[Highlander]

Truman was famous for the Open Road. But, all of the Open Road's I have seen have a cattleman crease, and I know I have seen photos of Truman with on with a tear drop or at least a pinched crease...

Did they make one like that, or did Truman just have it steamed and re-formed?

Just wondering if anyone knew.

Steve

[Dinerman]

Back then, the open road would have come open crowned. Either stetson shaped it by hand when they custom made it for him, or he did it himself.

[analogist]

[url]WWW.VINTAG ESILHOUETTES.COM features the H.S.T. which after an exhaustive study of the man and his hats, this is pretty much quintessentially
Truman.

As a kid, I remember my Dad taking me to the Waldorf Astoria to see Truman on one of his morning Constitutionals and my distant memory of him with his hat and walking stick.

analogist

[RBH]

Truman walking...

[Wolfmanjack]

Back then, the open road would have come open crowned. Either stetson shaped it by hand when they custom made it for him, or he did it himself.

Right, Dinerman. Here is a pic of the Truman "Homberg" on display at the Harry S Truman National Historic Site. Ironically, it is an open-crowned Stetson 'open road', not a Homberg.


The description is as follows:
HOMBERG, HSTR 22085
DESCRIPTION: Tan, matching narrow band, cord and button, and ribbon-bound brim. Unblocked. Size 7 3/8. Embossed on sweatband is "John B. Stetson/Company/Chestnut St. Phila", "Stetson / 100" and "Made By Stetson / Especially For / Harry S. Truman". White satin lining. Coat of arms and "Stetson/One-Hundred" under clear plastic panel in top of crown.
MEASUREMENT: H 13.5, W 29.0, L 33.0 CM

Here is another "Homberg" actually worn by HST, with the iconic Truman bash.


The description on this one is as follows:
HOMBERG, HSTR 22063
DESCRIPTION: Gray with wide black band, and cord and button. Ribbon-bound brim. Blocked. Size 7 3/8. Embossed on sweatband is "Harry S. Truman" and "Eddie Jacobson's Westport Men's Wear main at 39th street Kansas City, MO.". White satin lining with "the Sovereign/ Stetson". Crown crushed and water stained. Cord broken. Lining yellowed.
MEASUREMENT: H 13, W 29.0, L 35.2 CM

Check out these:


And these:


These are some of Truman's other hats from the interactive website The Many Hats of Truman. On the website, you can click on each hat to get a closeup and a description.

Enjoy!

[johnnyphi]

Interestingly enough... I downloaded a few photos of Truman with his hat several weeks ago. At the time, I couldn't tell exactly what style of hat he wore, so I was interested in photos that showed the lining of the hat.

These are the photos I found...





Now that I know it was a Stetson Open Road, I'll go back to the Truman Library website and look for some photos showing the POTUS with his hat on his head.