The Bowler or Derby Hat

[RickP]

Found an interesting youtube video last night from "The History Guy" podcast. it covered the history of the Bowler hat, Campaign Hat, as well as the Fez, The Kepi, and the Pressed fiber tropical helmet. I dont have a kepi/ forage cap, but Ive got the others! Go check it out on youtube. Search for "Best of hats"

 

[BobHufford]

Saw this “out there” and thought this Kensington was worth documenting here for the ribbon/bow alone.

 

[Steve1857]

Saw this “out there” and thought this Kensington was worth documenting here for the ribbon/bow alone.

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That is quite a unique bow treatment, Bob.

Did you buy it?

 

[BobHufford]

That is quite a unique bow treatment, Bob.

Did you buy it?

No … spaced out the end of the auction. :-(

 

[steur]

Saw this “out there” and thought this Kensington was worth documenting here for the ribbon/bow alone.

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Very cool one, Bob. Thanks for posting. We tend to forget how widepsread the use of the bowler was and just how many variations of it there were.

 

[alanfgag]

Saw this “out there” and thought this Kensington was worth documenting here for the ribbon/bow alone.

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Love the combination of the sassy upswing bow and the even sassier off-center placement. A lot of style to that one.

 

[steur]

I have posted this bowler before. If you search for "negretti" you'll likely find it. This one was part of the batch that came back this week from Penumbra hats. This one used to have a hole in the brim in the from, which drew the eye towards it, no matter how much you wanted to ignore it. Fleur did a stellar job of repairing the hole; couldn't find it if I wanted to now.
Negretti woolfelt bowler in a size 56. The sweatband and liner are of high quality.

 

[steur]

Another one I have posted before. This one was destined for Japan, but that was so long ago it's unlikely Gary @The Shoe even remembers.
Mossant Bowler in a size 60. No liner. Brim at 5cm and 13,5cm high. Before Penumbra hats took care of it, the brim binding was in tatters and the sweatband needed attention as well. It took the longest time to source ribbon that would work for the repair, but in the end I managed to find a roll of it and Fleur worked her magic. Best bit however is that she re-attached the sweatband in a bon-ton-ivy style because the sweatband had shrunk somewhat. Not many hatters can do that.

 

[The Shoe]

Another one I have posted before. This one was destined for Japan, but that was so long ago it's unlikely Gary @The Shoe even remembers.
Mossant Bowler in a size 60. No liner. Brim at 5cm and 13,5cm high. Before Penumbra hats took care of it, the brim binding was in tatters and the sweatband needed attention as well. It took the longest time to source ribbon that would work for the repair, but in the end I managed to find a roll of it and Fleur worked her magic. Best bit however is that she re-attached the sweatband in a bon-ton-ivy style because the sweatband had shrunk somewhat. Not many hatters can do that.

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I do remember that. It seems I would have been waiting an awful long time! Looks great, though. You may have seen, though that after my interactions with Robert, I’ve discovered my true size is a 58 long oval. Keep your eye out, please!

 

[Rmccamey]

Excellent recovery on them both!

I have posted this bowler before. If you search for "negretti" you'll likely find it. This one was part of the batch that came back this week from Penumbra hats. This one used to have a hole in the brim in the from, which drew the eye towards it, no matter how much you wanted to ignore it. Fleur did a stellar job of repairing the hole; couldn't find it if I wanted to now.
Negretti woolfelt bowler in a size 56. The sweatband and liner are of high quality.

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Another one I have posted before. This one was destined for Japan, but that was so long ago it's unlikely Gary @The Shoe even remembers.
Mossant Bowler in a size 60. No liner. Brim at 5cm and 13,5cm high. Before Penumbra hats took care of it, the brim binding was in tatters and the sweatband needed attention as well. It took the longest time to source ribbon that would work for the repair, but in the end I managed to find a roll of it and Fleur worked her magic. Best bit however is that she re-attached the sweatband in a bon-ton-ivy style because the sweatband had shrunk somewhat. Not many hatters can do that.

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[steur]

I do remember that. It seems I would have been waiting an awful long time! Looks great, though. You may have seen, though that after my interactions with Robert, I’ve discovered my true size is a 58 long oval. Keep your eye out, please!

I doubt that it's really a 60. Have to take measurements and see what the real size is. You would indeed have needed to wait for years for this one. If you already have several others that isn't the end of the world, but otherwise it's a bit too much to ask for.

Excellent recovery on them both!

Thank you, Randy. There are so many of them out there, we hardly consider refurbishing bowlers.

 

[Steve1857]

Sadly, the sweatband has worn loose

However, this is still a great example of Scott & Co at their finest.

Made by one of my favourite English hatmakers and sold at one of the best Danish hatmakers back in the day, I just had to have it in the collection.

Icing on the cake, it fits so nicely.

 

[cazares]

Bowler, sold by Chappellerie des 4-8 of Bordeaux, France. Size 56 with the brim at 4,5 cm and the crown at 12cm. Weighs 140 grams. No label under the sweatband.
I don't need another bowler, but when I looked at the crown patch I just had to get it; cartoony and cute.

That's quite a D'orsay roll

 

[steur]

That's quite a D'orsay roll

It is. You have to marvel at how skilled these manufacturers once were.

 

[TheEnglishSwede]

A recent find on an auction site, it came wrapped in newspapers from 1984, so perhaps that is when it last saw the light of day.

Hat arrived a little dusty but was easily removed, and subsequently replaced with the hairs of a white cat.

A hat from Woodrow & Sons, manufacture for A.E. Wallerius & Co in Göteborg, Sweden.



Front


A little fraying of the bow








The sweat band was a little lighter, and was rather dray, I took the risk with a little saddle soap and some leather balm. The join at the rear has also separated, however I will look at this in the future.


Close up of the lining, text reads
Woodrow & Sons
Manchester
Hat manufacturers
to his majesty
King Edwards VII
Dublin Liverpool Glasgow
40 Westmoreland st, 8. Castle st, 11. Gordon st.
46. Piccadilly & 42 Cornhill
London.
Specially manufactured for
A.E. Wallerius & Co.
Göteborg(Gothenburg Sweden)



Text reads Undyed Calf, with Manufacturers to His Majesty the King embossed in the leather.



Text reads Manufactured by Woodrow & Sons



Size 7 1/8, unfortunately the hand written text is hard to read, possible B350 and 94, I plan to take a better image and use some filters to see if more is visible.

The liner is loose, and there are a few chalk marks,image in next post.


So there is the hat, it just about fits me, a tad loose front and back and my head is not wide enough for it, I plan to place cork strips in the sides too see how that helps, then maybe also in the front or back.


As for the age of the hat, I'm thinking around 1910. I am not a hat historian, and have pieced together information from searches within google. Edward was king 1901 until 1910, George V superseded Edward may 1910, and the official hatter to the king became possibly H.J. & C.J. Smith. So this hat could potentially have been 'new old stock' which was exported to Sweden after Edwards death.

I have not investigate A.E. Wallerius & Co much, but they appeared to be a mens fashion shop in the centre of Gothenburg, that maufacturered their own shirts (skjortfabrik) and offered fashion to men (herrekipering), I have found a few newpaper adverts, but they name Lincoln Bennet & Co, Christy and Co, P Söderström. More time is needed to look through adverts of newspaper around 1910.

 

[TheEnglishSwede]

Inside of hat with liner removed, showing some chalk marks


The outside of the liner, no markings that I can see, there are a number of glue pads, but most of these have released from one side.


A sticker on the inside of the sweat band, text reads 1471, there is also a white paper triangle, this is in the front of the sweatband, so it is presumably marking the centre point.


A close up of the size sticker

 

[steur]

Very cool find. Bowler liners are often loose, because they are tough to sew to the inside of a hard hat. The frayed bow is intentional; almost all older bowlers had their bow that way.

 

[Steve1857]

A recent find on an auction site, it came wrapped in newspapers from 1984, so perhaps that is when it last saw the light of day.

Hat arrived a little dusty but was easily removed, and subsequently replaced with the hairs of a white cat.

A hat from Woodrow & Sons, manufacture for A.E. Wallerius & Co in Göteborg, Sweden.


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Front

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A little fraying of the bow

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The sweat band was a little lighter, and was rather dray, I took the risk with a little saddle soap and some leather balm. The join at the rear has also separated, however I will look at this in the future.

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Close up of the lining, text reads
Woodrow & Sons
Manchester
Hat manufacturers
to his majesty
King Edwards VII
Dublin Liverpool Glasgow
40 Westmoreland st, 8. Castle st, 11. Gordon st.
46. Piccadilly & 42 Cornhill
London.
Specially manufactured for
A.E. Wallerius & Co.
Göteborg(Gothenburg Sweden)


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Text reads Undyed Calf, with Manufacturers to His Majesty the King embossed in the leather.


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Text reads Manufactured by Woodrow & Sons


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Size 7 1/8, unfortunately the hand written text is hard to read, possible B350 and 94, I plan to take a better image and use some filters to see if more is visible.

The liner is loose, and there are a few chalk marks,image in next post.


So there is the hat, it just about fits me, a tad loose front and back and my head is not wide enough for it, I plan to place cork strips in the sides too see how that helps, then maybe also in the front or back.


As for the age of the hat, I'm thinking around 1910. I am not a hat historian, and have pieced together information from searches within google. Edward was king 1901 until 1910, George V superseded Edward may 1910, and the official hatter to the king became possibly H.J. & C.J. Smith. So this hat could potentially have been 'new old stock' which was exported to Sweden after Edwards death.

I have not investigate A.E. Wallerius & Co much, but they appeared to be a mens fashion shop in the centre of Gothenburg, that maufacturered their own shirts (skjortfabrik) and offered fashion to men (herrekipering), I have found a few newpaper adverts, but they name Lincoln Bennet & Co, Christy and Co, P Söderström. More time is needed to look through adverts of newspaper around 1910.

That is a really super find from a fine Manchester hatmaker. In great condition too for an antique Bowler.

Congrats!

 

[mayserwegener]

J. Hückel´s Söhne "Flexible", FP 6 1/2, possibly mid 1930s. This Stiff Felt was for the Czech market and from a Czech seller. Great Form and Finish plus good condition. It has a Hanging Cord which is less common with JHS Stiff Felts.

Hanging Cord

J. Hückel´s Söhne Stiff Felts Post WWI Type 3 Paper Label Type. Also can see the Hanging Cord.

 

[RickP]

Ive done a few ribbon bound brims on flat brims, but how they did the wide binding on the complex curved brims of a bowler have always amazed me!!!

Now if I can just find that elusive vintage light grey one!