Bulgarian Borsolino

562lonnie · Dec 27, 2007

Hello all,
I kinda stumbled onto to this site and I'm glad I did because now I decided to register as a new member because I can relate to all what you have in common...hats.
I was doing some research on this hat I had purchased from ebay from a guy in Washington State. This hat is a Borsolino Trionfo from the Simeon Zlateff shop in Sofia Rue Alabinska 31 and it is supposedly to be dated before WWII.
When I googled this name thats when it led me to The Fedora Lounge with others who have purchased hats that came from this same shop.
My main concern at first was if this was a genuine Borsolino or some old imitation hat made in another Country because it not saying "Made in Italy" anywhere on the hat.
Is it supposed to say "Made in Italy" anywhere on the hat, I don't know. I was told that it did come from Italy and was sold from this Bulgarian shop.
I know someone from this site owns one of these same type hats because of the past threads I have read about them but can anyone tell me more about this particular type vintage Borsolinos and if they are somewhat of a collector item worth owning or some old vintage hat. It is a well made hat and I really like it but I just would like to get more history on them and what their true value might be.
Can anyone please enlighten me on this particular subject.
Is it a winner?
I will post Pictures soon...

Thanks for your time.
Lonnie

Snrbfshn · Dec 27, 2007

Pix, please...

More than anything else, it helps if you can post pictures (or links to pictures), especially showing liner, logo and sweatband. It sounds, however, like you got an authentic Borsalino, though what year vintage is unclear until pix are shown. Don't be concerned with lack of "made in Italy."

Fletch · Dec 27, 2007

They use the Cyrillic alphabet in Bulgaria.
A Borsalino would be a BOPCA/||/|HO.

562lonnie · Dec 27, 2007

Hi again,
I have pictures of my hat and I have problems posting them here on this site.
Can anyone tell me how I may go about doing so? It keeps asking me for a URL and everything I seem to put does not help.
Sorry...

Regards,
Lonnie

KilroyCD · Dec 27, 2007

Lonnie, are you trying to post them straight from your computer or are you using an image hosting service? If you are trying to load them from your computer, are you using the "manage attachments" feature in the additional options box? If not, this will allow you to post a clickable thumbnail that, once clicked, will allow people to view the photos. If you are trying this and it's not working, you might consider opening a Photobucket or Flickr account to host the photos. These accounts are free, and they provide image tags that alllow the photo to be posted in the body of the text. Hope this helps.

562lonnie · Dec 27, 2007

Here are Pictures of my Borsolino...
Thanks for all the help Kilroy.

Lonnie<center>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010639.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010639.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010638.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010638.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010636.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010636.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010635.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010635.jpg"></a>
<br><br>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010631.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010631.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010593.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010593.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010587.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010587.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/P1010578.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/562lonnie/th_P1010578.jpg"></a>
<br><br>
</center>

KilroyCD · Dec 27, 2007

Nice hat Lonnie!

I don't know too much about Borsalinos (yet), but I'd say there's no doubt it's genuine. You made a good buy there. It looks like you might want to do a little reshaping of the crown, but it's a very nice looking hat. Nice job, I think you have a winner there! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

562lonnie · Dec 27, 2007

Thanks again Kilroy...
I know I do need to reshape the crown. Any ideas on how I may do so or what I can use?

Regards,
Lonnie

KilroyCD · Dec 27, 2007

There are a lot of people on this board who have far more experience at this than I, but I have reshaped a few hats so far. I used this as a tutorial for steaming and reshaping: http://www.hatsuk.com/hatsuk/hatsukhtml/bible/care.htm
My results were surprisingly good, but I also had the advantage of being able to practice on a cheap hat before tackling the Stetson I rehaped.
I'd rather see some of those with more experience weigh in before you start on reshaping that Borsalino.
There are also past threads on here (as well as some of the stickies at the top of this page) that may be of help.
Good luck!
-Chris

Jerekson · Dec 27, 2007

That is a fantastic block shape.

scotrace · Dec 27, 2007

That is the Real Thing. QUITE a hat.

DOUGLAS · Dec 27, 2007

Yup,that is a keeper! Beautiful. :eusa_clap

thunderw21 · Dec 27, 2007

Whatta hat! :eusa_clap

feltfan · Dec 28, 2007

Interesting

No venting in the front of the sweatband.
As I recall, the Eulan Bayer tag indicates it's from
the 60s or 70s (there's a thread about it here somewhere)
and is a moth repellant treatment. But the liner looks
older. A mysterious and very fine hat.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=6201

(along with many other references to Eulan Bayer on this site)

Shape the crown with your hands. If that isn't enough, there
is a lot of information on this site about using hot water, cold water,
or steam. Play with it and don't worry too much.

562lonnie · Dec 28, 2007

Hi again fellas,
Thanks for all the help and compliments on my hat. I also have another question for the string lace on the back of this hat. Is that for pulling & tightening the band to your preferance or some sort of tie down?
I'm thinking like shoe laces...tightening.
Can you tell I'm a beginner at these types of hats or what.

Regards,
Lonnie

cookie · Dec 28, 2007

The String

Its for when the wind blows it off your melon - NOT!

I have seen those Zlateff hats on OFAS. I suspect in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, it was THE place where the Party big shots, nomenklatura types went to get their titfers.

Now with the opening of Eastern Europe someone has got onto a source of ownerless Borsos bound for heads in the (capitalist) USA.

cookie · Jan 4, 2008

Bulgarian Borso Stash - the True Story Explained?

This classic hat comes from that now-legendary cache of Italian-made Borsalino fedoras and homburgs that were put into storage in Sofia, Bulgaria, at the outbreak of World War II, when Simeon Zlateff ("Fournisseur Royal") was forced to shut down his haberdashery establishment there. In hibernation for over six decades, the secret stash of vintage Borsalinos has been rediscovered within the past few years, and fedora collectors have been lining up in droves to grab their share of this historic find.

zetwal · Sep 19, 2010

feltfan said:
No venting in the front of the sweatband.
As I recall, the Eulan Bayer tag indicates it's from
the 60s or 70s (there's a thread about it here somewhere)
and is a moth repellant treatment.

It seems that Eulan Bayer went onto the market in 1926.

http://books.google.com/books?id=bE...=onepage&q=Eulan Bayer when developed&f=false

daizawaguy · Sep 20, 2010

Nice!

Paste your pics from beginning with the "1256" and end with the .jpg, by the way

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