German & Austrian Hutmachers

65 Classic said:

I received this today. I totally forgot about it. It was offered as size 55 but it ended up size 57 I've debating if I should leave it in the car a few days in the hope it will shrink to or close to my size. Then I would hate to ruin such a fine felt hat.

View attachment 105796 View attachment 105792 View attachment 105790 View attachment 105791 View attachment 105789 View attachment 105793 View attachment 105794 View attachment 105795

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Ottmar Reich probably mid to late 1930 to early 1940s. I think the straw type is probably Asia sourced (possibly Japanese Paper Panama) but bleached in Germany. Interesting bow design, brim treatment and form. There is no paper label and I assume it probably had some type of crown tip patch originally. This is definitely a rare find. This came from the same East German (near Leipzig) seller of the recent Echt Velour.

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Ottmar Reich probably mid to late 1930 to early 1940s. I think the straw type is probably Asia sourced (possibly Japanese Paper Panama) but bleached in Germany. Interesting bow design, brim treatment and form. There is no paper label and I assume it probably had some type of crown tip patch originally. This is definitely a rare find. This came from the same East German (near Leipzig) seller of the recent Echt Velour.

Click to expand...

Mean Eyed Matt said:

Fantastic!
I'm very surprised of how and where to get such beauties!
Near Leipzig, huh! Never found someone in this region to sell hats like these last 2!
You have to tell me your contact!

Click to expand...

steur said:

Here's an interesting one I picked up last sunday. Wegener Elasticon bowler. Size 56, with a brim at 5,5cm and a crown height of 12cm. Unlined. From the auction pictures I thought it was a homburg, but it turned out to be a bowler. Still a bit lumpy and the sweatband has come loose from the reed tape. I decided to leave it like this. Quite early: thirties I guess, but could even be twenties. Interesting is that the label is partly in Dutch, so maybe made specifically for the Dutch market.

View attachment 107677 View attachment 107678 View attachment 107679 View attachment 107681 View attachment 107682 View attachment 107683 View attachment 107684 View attachment 107685 View attachment 107686


This is what it looked like when I picked it up:


View attachment 107687

Click to expand...

steur said:

Here's an interesting one I picked up last sunday. Wegener Elasticon bowler. Size 56, with a brim at 5,5cm and a crown height of 12cm. Unlined. From the auction pictures I thought it was a homburg, but it turned out to be a bowler. Still a bit lumpy and the sweatband has come loose from the reed tape. I decided to leave it like this. Quite early: thirties I guess, but could even be twenties. Interesting is that the label is partly in Dutch, so maybe made specifically for the Dutch market.

View attachment 107677 View attachment 107678 View attachment 107679 View attachment 107681 View attachment 107682 View attachment 107683 View attachment 107684 View attachment 107685 View attachment 107686


This is what it looked like when I picked it up:


View attachment 107687

Click to expand...

Redfokker said:

Surprising that you just didn't throw this one back based on how it looked. Wonderful save, it is beautiful now.

Click to expand...

mayserwegener said:

Stefan, Great to see an old Wegener Stiff Felt. The "Elasticon" must have been some what popular because they pop up occasionally. Normally they have a liner. It's possible this one had one too regardless of the crown patch.

Click to expand...

steur said:

Here's an interesting one I picked up last sunday. Wegener Elasticon bowler. Size 56, with a brim at 5,5cm and a crown height of 12cm. Unlined. From the auction pictures I thought it was a homburg, but it turned out to be a bowler. Still a bit lumpy and the sweatband has come loose from the reed tape. I decided to leave it like this. Quite early: thirties I guess, but could even be twenties. Interesting is that the label is partly in Dutch, so maybe made specifically for the Dutch market.

View attachment 107677 View attachment 107678 View attachment 107679 View attachment 107681 View attachment 107682 View attachment 107683 View attachment 107684 View attachment 107685 View attachment 107686


This is what it looked like when I picked it up:


View attachment 107687

Click to expand...

Steve1857 said:

You have a great flare for rescuing hats, Stefan. Nice job, well done.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

steur said:

Steve, thank you. Much appreciated. By the way: 65 classic has a Garant on offer that would be in your size. Just a few posts down you can take a gander at it. Lovely hat.

Click to expand...

steur said:

Here's an interesting one I picked up last sunday. Wegener Elasticon bowler. Size 56, with a brim at 5,5cm and a crown height of 12cm. Unlined. From the auction pictures I thought it was a homburg, but it turned out to be a bowler. Still a bit lumpy and the sweatband has come loose from the reed tape. I decided to leave it like this. Quite early: thirties I guess, but could even be twenties. Interesting is that the label is partly in Dutch, so maybe made specifically for the Dutch market.

View attachment 107677 View attachment 107678 View attachment 107679 View attachment 107681 View attachment 107682 View attachment 107683 View attachment 107684 View attachment 107685 View attachment 107686


This is what it looked like when I picked it up:


View attachment 107687

Click to expand...

moehawk said:

Nice save!
Funny that you found a bowler that you thought was a Homburg. I recently had the opposite happen with my Tirard. At least it's a pleasant surprise!

Click to expand...

steur said:

John, thank you. It's no punishment to get to work with loads of steam brushing to try to save a hat. Very therapeutic and gives me a chance to indulge my kapelolfactophylia.

Click to expand...

Daniele Tanto said:

Echter Brabant Haarhut Homburg size 58 cm or 7 1/4 US

Classic hat in black felt medium weight

Interesting ribbon in matching color with vertical lines. Wide 4 centimeters

Proportions are: curled brim at 5.5 cm. and crown at 10.5 cm. low point

It came, from Switzerland, with another black homburg and the Borsalino I wore yesterday

Interior with black and white lining and brand in various colors

The paper label in the interior is filled with a number, no size tag
I presume it was made in German

Steve for sure will help to identify this banker headwear

Click to expand...