Dating a Stetson

[havershaw]

This is not a quiz - I have no idea what era this Stetson is from. It had no liner (I suspect it did have one originally), and the sweatband had an imprint I've never seen in a Stetson before. Looks incredibly old to me, though. Here are some photos (it's the last two on the page):

http://public.fotki.com/havershaw/hats_and_more_hats/page3.html

You can also see a shot of my wonderful Knox Twenty here.

Anyway...anyone know what era this Stetson came from?

 

[Matt Deckard]

I think the stamp is 40's. It could have been bought at Stetsons HQ.

is the leather band sewn in directly to the felt, or is it like most hats with a trim on the edge of the leather?

 

[havershaw]

The sweatband is sewn directly into the felt...which is a little sad, as it's coming apart in a few places. The hatter here claims they might be able to save it, but it will have to all be done by hand and they said it would probably take a while.

That is indeed the address of Stetson's Philadelphia retail store.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I think I remember seeing a stamp like that on a Factory second Grey Stetson I had from the 40's. It was in perfect condition to me, I just had too many grey hats so I sold it.

Having the sweatband sewn directly to the felt in a Stetson is a first for me, I have never seen that before.

It may not be from a factory store, though with no other store info and the Steson address stamped inside it, hmmmmmmmm.

Who knows.

 

[havershaw]

I'll bring it on Tuesday.