Press cards in hats?

[Smyat]

I think this is the right forum for this - not really a hat or a film question.

We've all seen reporters with PRESS cards in their hatbands... in the comics, and in films. Something I've been idly trying to find out for some time, and for which it finally occurred to the FL is the place to ask, is... did real reporters ever put real PRESS cards in their real hats? When and where?

Since I'm a writer, publisher, editor etc. my wife has suggested more than one time that I make a Golden Era card to stick in my hat. I told her to stick... well, no, I just laughed.

 

[PADDY]

Matt's got one.

If you ask him nicely, he might just post it 'here' for you to download (then again, he might not, but no harm in asking).

I think it's frome the 30's or 40's and is a nice little accessory for a fedora.

Good luck!

 

[Starius]

I'd like to see that myself. Although I don't use my journalism degree for anything other than an reason to pay college loans for the rest of my life, I always wanted a press pass in a hat too.

 

[Smyat]

Well, it might be cheeeeting, but I am a graphic designer as well... I could make some nice press cards with some examples to work with. Typed-in names and everything.

 

[J.B.]

I always thought that they just said "In this style 10/6" ???

 

[Smyat]

I always thought that they just said "In this style 10/6" ???

Naw, reporters' cards read:

Only Sober Between
10/6

 

[panamag8or]

Well, it might be cheeeeting, but I am a graphic designer as well... I could make some nice press cards with some examples to work with. Typed-in names and everything.

I'll take one, if you do.

Starius, it looks as if we are both doing the same thing with our degrees, only mine is broadcasting.

 

[Starius]

I'll take one, if you do.

Starius, it looks as if we are both doing the same thing with our degrees, only mine is broadcasting.

My emphasis was on Visual Communication so I got a nice little mixture of some broadcast, some video production, print media, etc. Doesn't do me a whole lot of good in an area where there is mostly just farm work or factory work. Oh well. If I had it all to do over again, I think I would have liked to learn some kind of archives restoration & preservation field.

 

[panamag8or]

My emphasis was on Visual Communication so I got a nice little mixture of some broadcast, some video production, print media, etc. Doesn't do me a whole lot of good in an area where there is mostly just farm work or factory work. Oh well. If I had it all to do over again, I think I would have liked to learn some kind of archives restoration & preservation field.

My problem is that I am in a college town, with one of the best J-schools in the country. There is always a student willing to work for peanuts, so they get all the jobs. It also shows in our local news, which it pains me to have to watch. They hire all the grads that can't get jobs anywhere else.

I'll stop now, because I could go on a rant for days about about the mickey mouse shop they are running.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Well, it might be cheeeeting, but I am a graphic designer as well... I could make some nice press cards with some examples to work with. Typed-in names and everything.

I'll take one, too! I've been thinking about this since I joined the Fedora Lounge. Got the hat, now I need the card and an ill-fitting suit, but I don't know if I should get a press card or press photographer card (if there's a difference), as I both write (a little) and carry a camera.


Lee
______________________________

"I am more the inspirational type of speller. I work on hunches rather than mere facts, and the result is sometimes open to criticism by purists." - Robert Benchley

 

[The Wolf]

I believe some reporters did put their press card in their hat band so the cops could see it when they were pushing through a crowd in get to the scene.
I wear a Daily Planet press card in my fedora when I'm dressed as Clark Kent on Halloween. :fedora:

Sincerely,
mild mannered The Wolf

 

[J.B.]

Naw, reporters' cards read:

Only Sober Between
10/6

Nyuk. Nyuk.

Oh, and if you do decide to go ahead with the "card/pass" project -- put me down for uno!

...Thanks.

 

[PADDY]

These are the only ones I have (photos)

From the World's Fair in NYC and the pre-war FDR Campaign trail.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Hmmm, my brother has a real live Speed Graphic. I wonder if he'd part with it?

 

[Starius]

I found a photo of a worlds fair pass just like that one:

http://www.the-forum.com/COLLECT/images2/003wfa40.jpg

 

[MrNewportCustom]

They're a lot bigger than I thought they would be. Wow!

I still want one, though.


Lee

 

[CharlieH.]

That sure beats the one I made by simply writing "PRESS" on an index card with a sharpie!

Say, can you tell us the size of that card? I think I might want to re-draw the one Starius linked to.

 

[Starius]

That sure beats the one I made by simply writing "PRESS" on an index card with a sharpie!

Say, can you tell us the size of that card? I think I might want to re-draw the one Starius linked to.

I believe the site I found that image on said it was 4" x 2.25". So they're a bit bigger than standard business card size (2" x 3.5") but I imagine standard business card format might work well just for printing purposes. Avery "8879" Glossy Clean Edge Business Cards paper might work well. (Though, a matte finish will probably be better than a glossy finish, now that I think about it.) I may give that a try myself.

By the way, I think I've seen the "sharpie press" card more times than I've ever seen a real one. Thats how its usually been portrayed in comics and cartoons.

 

[Smyat]

I might work up some PRESS card designs that can be filled in and printed out via PDF, or do a few for those interested.

You're also not limited to standard Avery sizes etc. You can lay out any size with some crop marks or a hairline outline, and then cut it out with a straightedge and an exacto knife. Frees up the creativity quite a bit. Also lots cheaper...

I'm still not clear if the practice of putting a press card in one's hat was ever real or widespread - outside the comics, which developed their own visual language, and film, ditto. These tropes tend to last far longer than any real thing they might be based on, if they ever were. (F'rex: when was the last time you saw a doctor wearing a head reflector? But you still see it in comics, and everyone gets the reference.)

Can anyone confirm this practice? With a real-world photo or some such? I've been through my big Weegee book and can't find any examples...

 

[The Wingnut]

Indeed, the question remains unanswered, it seems more of a pop culture or 'Hollywood' phenomenon than an actual standard. I'd imagine tucked into the hat ribbon would be a convenient place to put a pass, but pinned to the lapel or tucked into the breast pocket was more likely, especially if one had to remove one's hat.

We're used to seeing the brash, loudmouth reporter, 'Hey, mac, what's the word? Whaddaya say?' Toothpick or cigarette dangling from the lip, hat tipped back, tie loose, collar unbuttoned, pencil & jotter at the ready. ...with of course, the ever-present pass tucked into the hat's ribbon, with 'PRESS' printed big enough on it that it shows up for the camera. This purely for the sake of film...you wouldn't necessarily need a pass constantly displayed, you'd just need it to gain access to the event and show it if questioned.

In Victorian times, items stored in a hat's ribbon were a mark of the lower class.