Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[barrowjh]

I suspect that the Cuenca call is based on looking at the pictures of the hat; it appears to be the brisa weave, which is different from the llano weave of the hats more often called Montecristi hats (although there are probably some brisa weave hats made in the Montecristi area). Do a search for brisa llano, there have been lengthy discussions about this.

Both are panamas, and there are discussions about this also, that just about all straw hats of any weave made in South America were being shipped out of the Panama region during construction of the Panama Canal, and newsreel/newspaper coverage popularized the 'panama' hat. The brisa is an easier weave, uses wider straw strands, lower weave count. The llano can have a lower weave count, but I think that the prized higher weave counts are only the llano weave Montecristi hats, typically woven by a relatively few weavers near the village of Pile.

I am remembering from previous threads here, but there are several regulars here that have more direct expertise, hopefully they will clarify any errors I made above.

[barrowjh]

This is from a post by Panama Bob on a thread about how to count weaves per square inch:

The Brisa weave leaves the diamond or honeycombed shape in the hat. Brisa weave hat, one-two days of weaving because the paja is doubled over doubled when weaving. The Llano is one to one, and in Cuenca could mean 2-3 weeks of weaving. In Montecristi, much longer because they only weave at certain times. In Cuenca, they weave all day every day if needed.

A nice little set of pictures:

http://www.panamas.co.uk/info_grades.htm

Also, look at pages 7, 9, 10-15 of the Panama Canal thread, lots of good discussion about brisa weave, pictures of brisa and llano weave hats, links to videos.

[Brad Bowers]

Looks like I've gotten a little bit Cavanagh Homburg happy this past week. I've won two of the durn things lately.

This one is essentially 1950s (dates to 1950-1961) and the second Homburg is essentially 1940s (dates to 1936-1950).

Rilico was my only competitor on the first one. The seller let me know before he shipped it that he found the 7 1/8 size tag under the sweatband, and offered to let me back out if I wanted to. Since I don't care about the size, I had him ship it.

I'll have to wait and see what size the earlier one really is. If it's close to my size, I might wear it one in a great while. I also have to decide later if I want to keep both or not. Might be nice for my collection to have hats from consecutive decades.

Brad

[carouselvic]

What exactly are you guys looking at to make the Cuenca judgment? Is it the brim edge finish that is the clue here?

For me it's the "change-up" in the weave. In the ebay photo it can be seen.

Here is a older Cuenca hat of mine. The change in weave can be seen on the brim and on the crown.
PS The Llano weave is found on some old Cuenca hats. I recommend PANAMA A LEGENDARY HAT by Assouline. Great source of information on all Panama hats.

[Lefty]

Just to be clear -- what I mean is that it is the influence of this Forum

I've always referred to it as Lounge Buzz. The make or model of the week always carries a higher price, and the Strat, Whippet, and OR are often at the top. That tiny boater that recently went big bucks also really floored me.

[fluteplayer07]

A comparatively cheap Whippet (can't believe I just said that )

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_500wt_1182

Maybe the craze has died down a bit?

Cheers,

[Mario]

Maybe the craze has died down a bit?

Cheers,

I don't think so. They are just a little exhausted from bidding on the previous one. But do not fret: they'll get over it.

Beautiful Whippet, by the way. Gotta love that color combo.

[rlk]

Even the later Size 7 near-stingy Whippet broke $200.00 10 minutes earlier.
http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-40s-50s-...ht_4733wt_1167

[fluteplayer07]

Just curious; why is the 7 near stingy a later one? From what I see, it has no plastic liner tip, and the swirl motif on the liner is gold, not blue? Or do I have my wires crossed, and it's opposite?

[fluteplayer07]

Beautiful Whippet, by the way. Gotta love that color combo.

I wanted it just for that ribbon. But alas, I didn't want to remortgage my home just to get a different color.