Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Stetson late '50s or early '60s employee retirement presentation piece with very weird attributes

mmbarnes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,202
Location
A tad northwest of Richmond, VA
I can't figure out where to post this weird Stetson hat to get thoughts from fellow loungers. So, I'm just creating a new thread. If it should go elsewhere, please let me know.

The hat was presented to Richard Stewart (haven't found any info about him on rudimentary Google and Bing searches) by Stetson "UPON RETIREMENT AFTER YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE". And it came to me in its original box. The felt is extraordinary and when I touch it, the oil from my fingers easily leaves marks.

I posted shots in the What Hat Are You Wearing? thread today. A number of folks pointed out the hat's several incongruities:

1. Liner tip states "Stetson One-Hundred" while the sweatband identifies it as 7X Clear Beaver

2. Sweatband identifies hat as Mode Edge, but the brim is bound. So if there is a Mode Edge under there, it was covered.

3. Crown is 6", brim is only 2". Bizarrely narrow brim (if not later trimmed down) for crown height as well as period (unless I am misunderstanding the popularity of narrower brims at the time).

After I first got the hat last spring, because of the odd things about it, I sent pics to a friend who doesn't frequent the lounge much, but is pretty darned knowledgeable about American hats and their history.

He suggested an odd but fun theory: That all of the parts, and brim treatment, are original and that the apparent mishmash was Mr. Stewart's friends' way of ribbing him upon his retirement.

I've looked pretty darned closely at it, and it all seems original. And it does not appear to have been worn much. Why would someone cut down the brim, bind it and never wear it?

Just lots of oddities...

Here are a bunch of photos? Any thoughts?
IMG_20161203_114353-picsay.png
4be9020e8175a24ed234bd905053f3ea.jpg
IMG_20161203_113947-picsay.png
f6fec1dab8edafd135aff565f088d2b3.jpg
7d6b9d3f0227e726afb386da75b7ff41.jpg
IMG_20161203_114205-picsay.png
IMG_20161203_114212-picsay.png
655dc3304635b91c01776be21a0c32a4.jpg
IMG_20161203_114052-picsay.png
IMG_20161203_114221-picsay.png
IMG_20161203_115521-picsay.png
IMG_20161203_115617-picsay.png
01b6900dae962e2d2cafd58f7d84c51c.jpg
469dc5ef9444e45e05ac2b77117e4834.jpg
IMG_20161203_113712-picsay.png
IMG_20161203_082954-picsay.png


Any thoughts and ideas about this one will be a great help.

Take care.
 
Last edited:

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,590
Location
NJ
my gut tells me the brim has been cut and bound after the fact

just does't look like factory stitching to me and something about the proportions don't seem to line up for my eye between the current brim width and crown

gorgeous hat ... but my guess is that it has been altered at some point in its life

it is very odd to have a 7X sweat and One Hundred liner ...

your buddys theory is a nice one ... just doesn't seem completely realistic to me if I am honest

what truly matters is that you love it and look damn good in it

I'd love to hear @carouselvic thoughts on this one
 
Last edited:

mmbarnes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,202
Location
A tad northwest of Richmond, VA
my gut tells me the brim has been cut and bound after the fact

just does't look like factory stitching to me and something about the proportions don't seem to line up for my eye between the current brim width and crown

gorgeous hat ... but my guess is that it has been altered at some point in its life

it is very odd to have a 7X sweat and One Hundred liner ...

you buddys theory is a nice one ... just doesn't seem completely realistic to me if I am honest

what truly matters is that you love it and look damn good in it

I'd love to hear @carouselvic thoughts on this one
Thanks moon. I certainly love the hat. But, truth be told... I'd love to cut and bind whoever may have done that to the brim. [emoji6]
 
Messages
17,533
It certainly would be helpful to know more about Mr. Stewart & the position of employment he held at the time of his retirement. If he held a management position in the company, even in manufacturing I would not buy the "friends ribbing him theory" unless maybe he was Manager of Quality Control. Retirement is a solemn occasion to fool around & embarrass someone in management. If he was just "Joe Blow" on the assembly line then anything goes. JMO & YMMV.
 

mmbarnes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,202
Location
A tad northwest of Richmond, VA
It certainly would be helpful to know more about Mr. Stewart & the position of employment he held at the time of his retirement. If he held a management position in the company, even in manufacturing I would not buy the "friends ribbing him theory" unless maybe he was Manager of Quality Control. Retirement is a solemn occasion to fool around & embarrass someone in management. If he was just "Joe Blow" on the assembly line then anything goes. JMO & YMMV.
Yeah. I'm gonna dig.

Family will beat me if I devote more time to this hat today. Neglecting family for hat bad. I'll get in trouble. [emoji6]
 
Messages
17,533
Thinking that he might have worked in St. Joseph, MO & retired there, there are no registered deaths ever in St. Joseph for a Mr. Richard Stewart. There are only 7 registered deaths for a Richard Stewart in the state of Missouri (hard to believe?): 1962; 1967; 1969; 1983; (2) 1986; 1992. There is only 1 Richard Stewart death in the state of Kansas (1980, Cowley, KS) which is not close to St. Joseph.

IF you were able to somehow pin down a death record as potentially being him THEN you would have to look for an obit in hopes it would mention his career employment.
 
Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
I can't figure out where to post this weird Stetson hat to get thoughts from fellow loungers. So, I'm just creating a new thread. If it should go elsewhere, please let me know.

The hat was presented to Richard Stewart (haven't found any info about him on rudimentary Google and Bing searches) by Stetson "UPON RETIREMENT AFTER YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE". And it came to me in its original box. The felt is extraordinary and when I touch it, the oil from my fingers easily leaves marks.

I posted shots in the What Hat Are You Wearing? thread today. A number of folks pointed out the hat's several incongruities:

1. Liner tip states "Stetson One-Hundred" while the sweatband identifies it as 7X Clear Beaver

2. Sweatband identifies hat as Mode Edge, but the brim is bound. So if there is a Mode Edge under there, it was covered.

3. Crown is 6", brim is only 2". Bizarrely narrow brim (if not later trimmed down) for crown height as well as period.

After I first got the hat last spring, because of the odd things about it, I sent pics to a friend who doesn't frequent the lounge much, but is pretty darned knowledgeable about American hats and their history.

He suggested an odd but fun theory: That all of the parts, and brim treatment, are original and that the apparent mishmash was Mr. Stewart's friends' way of ribbing him upon his retirement.

I've looked pretty darned closely at it, and it all seems original. And it does not appear to have been worn much. Why would someone cut down the brim, bind it and never wear it?

Just lots of oddities...

Here are a bunch of photos? Any thoughts?
View attachment 61717
4be9020e8175a24ed234bd905053f3ea.jpg
View attachment 61718
f6fec1dab8edafd135aff565f088d2b3.jpg
7d6b9d3f0227e726afb386da75b7ff41.jpg
View attachment 61719 View attachment 61720
655dc3304635b91c01776be21a0c32a4.jpg
View attachment 61721 View attachment 61722 View attachment 61723 View attachment 61724
01b6900dae962e2d2cafd58f7d84c51c.jpg
469dc5ef9444e45e05ac2b77117e4834.jpg
View attachment 61725 View attachment 61726

Any thoughts and ideas about this one will be a great help.

Take care.
As a relative newby, I am amazed at this one. The history, no matter how bizarre is all over this one! I'll be following this threat with great interest.
 

Tonio

A-List Customer
Messages
445
Interesting find, last year I came across a very similar hat at an antique sale. Higher quality Stetson, grey, very short brim and also referencing someone's retirement.

I'll try to do some digging also to see if I can find info on the gentleman.
 

mmbarnes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,202
Location
A tad northwest of Richmond, VA
Thinking that he might have worked in St. Joseph, MO & retired there, there are no registered deaths ever in St. Joseph for a Mr. Richard Stewart. There are only 7 registered deaths for a Richard Stewart in the state of Missouri (hard to believe?): 1962; 1967; 1969; 1983; (2) 1986; 1992. There is only 1 Richard Stewart death in the state of Kansas (1980, Cowley, KS) which is not close to St. Joseph.

IF you were able to somehow pin down a death record as potentially being him THEN you would have to look for an obit in hopes it would mention his career employment.
Thanks for the digging, Jack.

What led you to suspect St. Joseph, MO?

I am ignorant about how many Stetson production (and if there were any separate administrative corporate facilities) there were around that time and their locations.

I suspect that data is somewhere posted on the Lounge or at the bare minimum at least hanging out in some Loungers' heads. I'll look elsewhere on the internet for it, too

I wish that we had a middle name or initial to add to our limited info... Oh well...

P. S. Found the St. Joseph reason myself. Rudimentary Stetson history. Duh... [emoji6]
 
Last edited:

mmbarnes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,202
Location
A tad northwest of Richmond, VA

Tonio

A-List Customer
Messages
445
Thanks. Regretfully I passed on the similar one I had seen based on the price the seller was asking and the short brim!
 

mmbarnes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,202
Location
A tad northwest of Richmond, VA
The brim thing is something we've been bouncing around a fair bit. But what about the liner tip and sweatband variation? Why would that be?

One-Hundreds and 7X Clear Beaver were different price points right? Do we think that someone may have replaced the 7X liner with the One-Hundred one after-market?
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,590
Location
NJ
The brim thing is something we've been bouncing around a fair bit. But what about the liner tip and sweatband variation? Why would that be?

One-Hundreds and 7X Clear Beaver were different price points right? Do we think that someone may have replaced the 7X liner with the One-Hundred one after-market?
those are some other things that don't match up ... the size tag is 60s but the sweat it is attached to is at the latest early to mid 50s

very odd piece

Frankenstein
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,021
Messages
3,026,577
Members
52,528
Latest member
Zonko
Top