Dating a Cavanagh hat

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Yes, that's a '30s Cavanagh - the label is '30s, as is the taped sweatband seam. It's too bad the liner is gone, as it would tell us whether it's pre-'36 or post-'36. There should be a store name (Cavanagh Associate, officially) stamped on the sweatband, and we probably just can't see it in the photos.

The box is also of '30s construction. You'll find it's quite heavy-duty. Later decades still used the oval box, but the construction was different and lighter.

Don't let the blocking on Cavanagh hats fool you. Because they were very conservative in their styling, you could buy the same style of hat in 1928 and in 1968. Sure, they offered more modern stylings by the 1950s, but also still made the classics.

Nice find!

Brad

Thanks for the help, Brad! Here are the pics of the hat. Arrived today (er, yesterday)...

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...avanagh-Club&p=1506345&viewfull=1#post1506345

Cheers!

 

[Mr. Pink]

Help dating another Cavanaugh

I'm wondering if anyone can give me an idea when this hat was manufactured. It looks as though it was never worn but came with this deep center dent and tight pinch:

Open crown is just under 6" and brim is 2.5"

Sweat has no markings and colors of liner are muted:

\

Size tag:

Other tags:

No other identifying information that I can find. Felt seems very nice, both soft and dense with a smooth hand.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Mid-1950s, based on the liner and size tag. That type of factory label was around for a few decades but was only used on rare occasions, especially that late. That fabric with handwritten black ink is something different and unusual. This hat possibly might have been a custom order.

Brad

 

[ManofKent]

Mr Pink, I defer to Brad's knowledge on dating. It's a lovely looking hat.

 

[Mr. Pink]

Mid-1950s, based on the liner and size tag. That type of factory label was around for a few decades but was only used on rare occasions, especially that late. That fabric with handwritten black ink is something different and unusual. This hat possibly might have been a custom order.

Brad

Thanks you. It seemed very odd to me that there were no store or model markings.

Mr Pink, I defer to Brad's knowledge on dating. It's a lovely looking hat.

I brushed and steamed it last night and gave it a more normal center dent and pinch this morning. It looks very nice.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Thanks you. It seemed very odd to me that there were no store or model markings.

Not unusual about the model name, but a bit odd about no store markings. Cavanagh rarely put the model names in hats, even though most of their hats had model names. That was true of most manufacturers, I think. Most model names probably lasted no more than a year or two at best. Only a few would have any kind of longevity that would warrant the expense of a model name die.

Brad