The Bowler or Derby Hat

Ken O said:

Hello All,
I originally posted the below post in the "1890's-1900's early hat manufacture HAWES (Hawes Von Gal) HAT CO" thread and was asked to repost it hear. I have always loved hats and I love to save older items in general when I find them, I do have a few other hats and never thought much about the history behind them. This is my first derby and researching the history has struck a cord to find out more.


"I found you all after researching information about a Hawes Von Gal Derby I found at a thrift shop. Someone on this thread did a ton of research and I thank you. After reviewing the data on this thread and on the web I realized the derby could be around 100yrs old, which I found hard to believe. I was wondering if anyone here could help me confirm an approximate age on the hat. Here are the details I have and I will also provide some pics. Thank you in advance for any additional info that can be provided.

The hat is a Black or Grey, 6 7/8, Vented Derby, manufactured by Hawes, von Gal incorporated Danbury, Conn.
The Hat Band has two imprints - "Fine Quality von Gal made Hat" and "Hawes, von Gal inc. New York, Boston, Chicago".
It has a Hawes, von Gal style number tag but I cant make out the number, it could be 1828, 7828 or something else.
It also has a combination Hawes von Gal trade mark tag and a (misspelled) store tag from Wm. Argersinge(r), Johnston, N.Y.".
There is another "To duplicate mention" tag with the number 6870 and a tag with the numbers "(5 ' 4x2 ' 4)"
There is what I think is a union hatters tag as well.

Does anyone have additional info or an idea of the age? Condition seems great if the hat is almost a century or older."

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BobHufford said:

Fantastic Randy! Way to go Mike!

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steur said:

Beautiful hat, Randy. Mike sure does know how to get them right.

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Aahzz said:

Hi folks . I've been wearing a bowler as my daily hat for about 5 years now. I was always a fedora guy, but I was always still looking for something different - tried on a bowler at a booth at a renaissance fair and was instantly sold - it's the style for me. So far, I've been wearing a wool felt Scala, since that's what they had at the booth, though I made a trip to Batsake's today and will be picking up a Selentino tomorrow. Pics will be provided.

I do tend to get quite a few favorable comments about the hat. That is, if I'm not getting bad pirate jokes about my goatee. This is me in the Scala:

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Rmccamey said:

Most excellent, sir. You will find several here who wear bowlers regularly, myself included, and most have a least one in their collections. If you wear a smaller size, you will also find vintage bowlers (20s, 30s, 40s) on a regular basis on Ebay, etsy, etc. Steve @mayserwegener has a wealth of knowledge about European hats in general and has many fine examples of bowlers in his collection. Welcome to TFL. We are glad to have another bowler aficionado in our ranks.

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Aahzz said:

Thanks for the welcome! Nice pics. I'm really looking forward to picking my new bowler up tomorrow - they're reshaping the brim for me, it was too flat for my taste.

Sadly, I'm a solid 7 5/8, so the smaller hats are right out for me!

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Rmccamey said:

Large size. Sorry, but that does have its limitations. Brent @deadlyhandsome wears 5/8s, and he does a lot of buying, selling and trading and can probably give you some advice and recommendations. He has a vintage 5/8 bowler but they are very rare. Mike at Northwest Hats is a master at making custom modern bowlers, so consider a custom as you grow your collection. Mike made e a Cambridge bowler last year that I absolutely love!

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Rmccamey said:

Most excellent, sir. You will find several here who wear bowlers regularly, myself included, and most have a least one in their collections. If you wear a smaller size, you will also find vintage bowlers (20s, 30s, 40s) on a regular basis on Ebay, etsy, etc. Steve @mayserwegener has a wealth of knowledge about European hats in general and has many fine examples of bowlers in his collection. Welcome to TFL. We are glad to have another bowler aficionado in our ranks.

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Aahzz said:

Thanks for the welcome! Nice pics. I'm really looking forward to picking my new bowler up tomorrow - they're reshaping the brim for me, it was too flat for my taste.

Sadly, I'm a solid 7 5/8, so the smaller hats are right out for me!

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Aahzz said:

Hi folks . I've been wearing a bowler as my daily hat for about 5 years now. I was always a fedora guy, but I was always still looking for something different - tried on a bowler at a booth at a renaissance fair and was instantly sold - it's the style for me. So far, I've been wearing a wool felt Scala, since that's what they had at the booth, though I made a trip to Batsake's today and will be picking up a Selentino tomorrow. Pics will be provided.

I do tend to get quite a few favorable comments about the hat. That is, if I'm not getting bad pirate jokes about my goatee. This is me in the Scala:

Click to expand...

Rmccamey said:

Large size. Sorry, but that does have its limitations. Brent @deadlyhandsome wears 5/8s, and he does a lot of buying, selling and trading and can probably give you some advice and recommendations. He has a vintage 5/8 bowler but they are very rare. Mike at Northwest Hats is a master at making custom modern bowlers, so consider a custom as you grow your collection. Mike made e a Cambridge bowler last year that I absolutely love!

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Aahzz said:

Hi folks . I've been wearing a bowler as my daily hat for about 5 years now. I was always a fedora guy, but I was always still looking for something different - tried on a bowler at a booth at a renaissance fair and was instantly sold - it's the style for me. So far, I've been wearing a wool felt Scala, since that's what they had at the booth, though I made a trip to Batsake's today and will be picking up a Selentino tomorrow. Pics will be provided.

I do tend to get quite a few favorable comments about the hat. That is, if I'm not getting bad pirate jokes about my goatee. This is me in the Scala:

Click to expand...

deadlyhandsome said:

I don’t know when I’d wear it, but I really want a Cambridge bowler like that. You wear it well, but my current wardrobe isn’t so conducive to it.

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Hurricane Jack said:

I like to carry a Victorian era cane or early Catalin/Bakelite handled cane with a derby.

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Steve1857 said:

Welcome to the FL Aahzz and especially to this thread.

That's one great combo you have there. Bowler, died beard, Iron Maiden t-shirt, and a Griffindor ribbon. Cool all round.

Looking forward to seeing photos of your new Bowler.

Congrats too on eliciting so many replies. I don't think I've seen so many new posts in one day on the Bowler or Derby Hat thread.

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glider said:

With that goatee I think you could wear a bowler with any wardrobe choice, I mean that as a compliment.

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Rmccamey said:

A vintage cane goes perfectly with a vintage bowler.

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