7X Clear Beaver Open Road

[alanfgag]

Thanks for unearthing... always interesting to reread the old threads and remember former Lounge members and their contributions.

Do you know if your 7x is a Shudde renovation? It would show RENSH stamped in large letters on the reverse of the sweatband. The renovated hats might have replacement parts such as this generic liner without reference to "clear beaver quality."

I think the wide range in member responses to 7XCB and Stetson 100 quality and characteristics is due to the era in which they entered the market. Though there is reference to 7X quality $50 hats going back before WWII, old ones are rarely, if ever seen. The $100 hat is a later offering - arriving after WWII with the early ones being c.1950. Many of the Stetson One Hundreds that show up are 1960 and later. The Stetson factory in Philadelphia ceased making hats in 1971. This area on the storied Stetson timeline - 1950-1970 - is one of rapid change. The hats produced during this period show quite different personalities depending on where in this timeline they were manufactured. So a comparison of 7X and Stetson 100 as hat models is likely less telling than the contrast of the years in which they were produced.

 

[alanfgag]

Here is a short Stetson story with pictures of the factory buildings.

When I think of the complex my offices are in, a restored Model T factory totaling 675,000 sf, the Stetson factory at 1.4 million square feet is remarkable.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Thanks for unearthing... always interesting to reread the old threads and remember former Lounge members and their contributions.

Do you know if your 7x is a Shudde renovation? It would show RENSH stamped in large letters on the reverse of the sweatband. The renovated hats might have replacement parts such as this generic liner without reference to "clear beaver quality."

I think the wide range in member responses to 7XCB and Stetson 100 quality and characteristics is due to the era in which they entered the market. Though there is reference to 7X quality $50 hats going back before WWII, old ones are rarely, if ever seen. The $100 hat is a later offering - arriving after WWII with the early ones being c.1950. Many of the Stetson One Hundreds that show up are 1960 and later. The Stetson factory in Philadelphia ceased making hats in 1971. This area on the storied Stetson timeline - 1950-1970 - is one of rapid change. The hats produced during this period show quite different personalities depending on where in this timeline they were manufactured. So a comparison of 7X and Stetson 100 as hat models is likely less telling than the contrast of the years in which they were produced.

Thanks for your post, Alan. I have not tried to roll out the sweat on the 7XCB as it is just a bit stiff & I especially didn't want to risk tearing the slotting. I don't believe there are any tags either. But based on your knowledge & the liner I would tend to believe it is probably a Shudde Bros refurb. I had always assumed the plain sweats with just the Shudde Bros embossing that Bowen is asking about in another thread were probably the refurbs.

My 100 is a 3x6 Raw Edge & is not an OR but very much like one. I believe it to be from sometime in the 50's. And I would say it is pounced to a dress weight felt.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Interesting old thread. I remember seeing it and bookmarking it but then got buried.
OR hats and their morphology are probably my favorite hat class. I am by no means an expert in ORs with respect to other members, but i have collected quite a few different models branded OR, from 7x down to RD. I always felt if you couldn’t teach something, you didn’t know it!
I can’t teach OR, but i can contribute, if nothing else to the confusion. It is bewildering to me. A quick survey i think i found 5-6 different branded OR models and the above mentioned Shudde Bros. branded pure beaver and Stetson 7X Fifty, not OR branded.
Anyway, just thinking out loud.
Bowen

 

[MikeinRome]

Interesting old thread. I remember seeing it and bookmarking it but then got buried.
OR hats and their morphology are probably my favorite hat class. I am by no means an expert in ORs with respect to other members, but i have collected quite a few different models branded OR, from 7x down to RD. I always felt if you couldn’t teach something, you didn’t know it!
I can’t teach OR, but i can contribute, if nothing else to the confusion. It is bewildering to me. A quick survey i think i found 5-6 different branded OR models and the above mentioned Shudde Bros. branded pure beaver and Stetson 7X Fifty, not OR branded.
Anyway, just thinking out loud.
Bowen

This is one of the few references I've seen on the Lounge about the Shudde Pure Beaver, and haven't seen any such hats shown, so here's mine I got on eBay several months ago. 3 1/4 inch brim, crown about 5 1/2 to 6 inches. It had never been shaped. I just barely shaped it a bit with a little steam. Shown with the box I got it with, which may be original to it. Date wise, I'm clueless. 1940's to 60's is all I can guess unless anyone knows how to date these unicorns.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

This is one of the few references I've seen on the Lounge about the Shudde Pure Beaver, and haven't seen any such hats shown, so here's mine I got on eBay several months ago. 3 1/4 inch brim, crown about 5 1/2 to 6 inches. It had never been shaped. I just barely shaped it a bit with a little steam. Shown with the box I got it with, which may be original to it. Date wise, I'm clueless. 1940's to 60's is all I can guess unless anyone knows how to date these unicorns.

Rare & beautiful buy, Mike.

 

[MikeinRome]

Rare & beautiful buy, Mike.

I'm glad you guys appreciate it.

 

[Just Daniel]

pretty sweet. How is the felt?

This is one of the few references I've seen on the Lounge about the Shudde Pure Beaver, and haven't seen any such hats shown, so here's mine I got on eBay several months ago. 3 1/4 inch brim, crown about 5 1/2 to 6 inches. It had never been shaped. I just barely shaped it a bit with a little steam. Shown with the box I got it with, which may be original to it. Date wise, I'm clueless. 1940's to 60's is all I can guess unless anyone knows how to date these unicorns.

 

[MikeinRome]

pretty sweet. How is the felt?

Don't know that I'm good at describing felt. It has a great smooth feel on the surface. It isn't super stiff but requires steam to do any shaping that will hold.

 

[MikeinRome]

Looking at the white To Reorder tag behind the sweatband, I see a similar tag on a Stetson Number 1 Quality hat, bone white, which is for sale on eBay right now by Ken (wyldkarma) from the Lounge. The size tag on that hat is the "mixed numbers" type, with both the number and the fraction, which I associate with the late 50's to early 60's. Based on that, and the maple leaf in the hat's logo, I'm estimating the age of my Shudde Pure Beaver to the late 50's to early 60's also.

 

[MikeinRome]

Looking at the white To Reorder tag behind the sweatband, I see a similar tag on a Stetson Number 1 Quality hat, bone white, which is for sale on eBay right now by Ken (wyldkarma) from the Lounge. The size tag on that hat is the "mixed numbers" type, with both the number and the fraction, which I associate with the late 50's to early 60's. Based on that, and the maple leaf in the hat's logo, I'm estimating the age of my Shudde Pure Beaver to the late 50's to early 60's also.

PS- Ken is shown on the Lounge wearing his Number 1 on pg 9 of the Stetson Number 1 Quality thread.