The Dobbs Diner...

[Joshbru3]

Two More ads.....

1942 Dobbs Dawn Grey Envoy

1942 Dobbs Jolly Rounder

 

[Rabbit]

Dobbs early 1950s 5 3/4" x 2 3/4"

Got this one in January and forgot to post it here. The felt is quite something. Very malleable, medium weight. The pics don't render the color accurately; it's actually a lighter medium grey with a slight greenish undertone and nearly matching ribbon.

Original auction

 

[Chepstow]

Rabbit, thats a stunning Dobbs, mei Lieber! Looks really good! The condition seems really good too! My congrats!

 

[Rabbit]

Thanks, Manfred. It's in very condition, indeed.

 

[EggHead]

Good looking hat Rabbit!

 

[randooch]

Good looking hat Rabbit!

+Uno! Looks supple and downright caressable. My Dobbs 20 is also from Roos Bros.

Great ads, Josh. "Personality Builder" indeed . . .

 

[Aureliano]

+2 great hat!

 

[bowlerman]

Rabbit, that looks sublime.

 

[Rabbit]

Thank you, Gents! This Dobbs really has a surprisingly nice felt.

 

[Johnny J]

Thank you, Gents! This Dobbs really has a surprisingly nice felt.

I also have a Dobbs Hanover Square that I got from rlk and its one of my favorites.

 

[panama red]

I just bought a Dobbs grand beaver parugia, in light grey. Is it actually beaver or something made to look like beaver??

 

[gtdean48]

I just bought a Dobbs grand beaver parugia, in light grey. Is it actually beaver or something made to look like beaver??

Probably has some beaver content. Those labeled "beaver quality" are suspect. Pure beaver would usually be labeled as such.

 

[Mystic]

Nope, not long at all, as there isn't much in the way of variation.

This embossed and slanted style was used from 1908 until sometime around WWII. Let's call it Phase 1:

There are very slight differences in the exact shapes of the letters and depth of embossing over the years, but I don't know that we have enough information to necessarily pin down any changes due to differences the dies.

By the late 1940s the word Dobbs was stamped in gold, typically on a textured sweatband, and this lasted until the early 1950s.

The changeover to Phase 3 occurred in the early 1950s, and featured the Golden Coach. It has lasted until the present day.

The later logos do not feature as deep of a stamping as the earlier ones, nor the crisp gold edges. This example is from 1970:

Phase 4, if we want to mark it as a separate phase, is a revival of Phase 2 by the mid- to late-1960s. This example is from 1968:

Brad

I have seen a blue liner label like the red one in the bottom photo.

Are these labels specific to mid to late 60's ?

 

[Brad Bowers]

I have seen a blue liner label like the red one in the bottom photo.

Are these labels specific to mid to late 60's ?

Yes. Along with brown and green.

Brad

 

[Mystic]

Yes. Along with brown and green.

Brad

Don't recall ever seeing a brown or green label. Did these colors signify anything?

 

[Brad Bowers]

Don't recall ever seeing a brown or green label. Did these colors signify anything?

Possibly, such as Lee Hats did, but I don't have enough evidence to conclude anything. I've only recently begun adding '60s-'70s hats to my collection.

Brad

 

[Mystic]

Possibly, such as Lee Hats did, but I don't have enough evidence to conclude anything. I've only recently begun adding '60s-'70s hats to my collection.

Brad

I would think that if the different label colors were to mean anything to the buying public it would be made known in Dobbs advertising.

Although there probably wasn't too much fedora advertising going on in the late 60's.

red, blue and even green would be good color choices for adding appeal to a hat's liner appearance, but, brown seems like an unlikely choice for adding eye appeal.

As the quality of hats began to go down, it would make sense that companies would go the "eye appeal" or make strictly cosmetic changes to hats.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Dobbs Double Life

I've been wanting to see a Double Life firsthand, to see what all the fuss was about a double-layer brim. The brim is folded back under itself and glued to the inside of the crown.

The Double Life was first introduced in the Fall of 1955. I can find no records of it after 1970.

My Doulbe Life is probably right around 1965/66, based on the price of $18.50 and the inflation of Double Life prices from 1961 to 1968, as seen in these ads. There is no Union label on the back of the size tag, so it's possible it came out of the Winchester, Tennessee factory.

The brim is really thick, as you can imagine. The different stylings of the brim as portrayed below are very similar to how the Cavanagh Edge was described in early C&K advertising. My hypothesis is the Double Life brim was created as a chepaer substitute for a brim that behaved in a similar way to one with a Cavanagh Edge.

Brad

 

[Brad Bowers]

Deerstalker

This one is strictly for fun. This Dobbs Deerstalker is probably from the 1970s, maybe the 1980s. I can't imagine it being any later than that, based on the $10 price. Interesting that the Union size tag is a Large, but it's really a size 7 3/8. I guess I can always go as Sherlock Holmes for Halloween sometime. A few years ago I missed out on a Cavanagh Deerstalker, but comparing it to these photos, they are the exact same hat.

Brad

 

[winter_joe]

Need help dating this dobbs I got it for my brother as he's starting to try fedoras and such instead of beanies and caps unfortunately all I have is the ebay photos from the seller.

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=190669843505