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Truman & The Stetson Open Road

Highlander

A-List Customer
Messages
473
Location
Missouri
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

Super Moderator
Bartender
Messages
10,562
Location
Bozeman, MT
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.
 

RBH

Bartender
Truman walking...

Truman_at_gate_97-6_1.jpg
 

Wolfmanjack

Practically Family
Messages
547
Dinerman said:
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.

22085.jpg

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.

22063.jpg

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:
hats_of_truman_02.jpg


And these:
22031.jpg.mno.jpg


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

Sponsoring Affiliate
Messages
899
Location
God Bless Texas!
Truman Hat Photos

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...

60-409-19.jpg

73-2777.jpg

73-2804.jpg


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.
 

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