Anyone like a Coke?

[cookie]

http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/2008/08/dandiest-hat.html

 

[olive bleu]

awww..nasty trick I was about to say,"yes, please..icey cold in the glass bottle"

 

[MrFusion]

Interesting. I like that they had Art in there as well.:eusa_clap

 

[Colby Jack]

Great little article...Loved the picture!...and of course the mention of Art sets it off wonderfully.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Lefty]

Here's another one of my "cool thing I learned from Debbie Henderson's Hat Talk" stories:

A derby is a bowler is a coke, depending upon where you are. The story, whether it's true or not, goes that Lord Coke needed a better form of topper for his men, who spent much of their time chasing poacher's off of Coke's land. The top hats got knocked off and were no defense for projectiles hurled by the poachers. Coke went to John Lock, the famous hatter whose business continues to this day, and asked Lock to design a suitable hat for the purpose. Lock bought his raw bodies from the Bowler brothers. He designed a short crowned, iron clad (shellac filled) hat. One myth says that Coke stood on the hat to test its strength. Coke liked what he saw, and a style was born.

On one side of the Thames, the hat was known as the Coke (Lock tradition dictated that a hat was named for he who commissioned it), while on the other, it was the Bowler. It's difficult to say why the hat is called a derby in the US, as that name is traced to the Early of Derby (which is pronounced Dar-bee).

With a shellac shortage in WWI and the growing acceptance of soft felt hats, bowlers themselves became softer hats. However, just as the every day top hat had transformed into a formal hat, the cultural significance of the bowler transformed. Within a few decades, the hard bowler became a sign of old sophistication and enjoyed a resurgence when President Eisenhower wore one.

All of this leads to the conclusion that the man in the photo is hardly a dandy. As well tailored as he may be, his hat indicates that he's dressed to chase away the thugs who have been poaching on the Lord's estate.

 

[LondonLuke]

Some old hatters call bowlers "coke" in reference to the aforementioned Lord Coke, the first man to request such a hat

 

[Lefty]

I've heard that.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Here you go, Lefty.

It's difficult to say why the hat is called a derby in the US, as that name is traced to the Early of Derby (which is pronounced Dar-bee).

The following quote has been attributed to John Cavanagh. If anyone would know the story from Knapp, it would be Cavanagh, who was the best brim curler Knapp had at the time. It was under Knapp's tutelage that Cavanagh became a master hatter.

The first derby hat made in America was made by James H. Knapp way back when the Crofut & Knapp concern was known as Knapp & Gilliam. In those days the factory products were sold through jobbing houses, and the jobbing house that Knapp & Gilliam sold their goods through was known as Henderson & Bird.

The story is that some one had seen a stiff hat, a good deal of the character of the square crown hats that were afterward worn by coachmen. This hat Knapp & Gilliam made and took to New York to the jobbers, they in turn taking it to a retail outlet then on lower Broadway, in the vicinity of Ninth Street. They placed an order for a dozen and a half each of brown and black. Mr. Knapp asked for a name for the style, because then, as now, most hats were given a name. An English clerk suggested that they call it the "Darby," as the English Derby was then on. The hat was so named and afterward by a mispronunciation was known as the "Derby."

Brad

 

[Lefty]

Thanks Brad. What's your source on that one? It sounds like I need to add to my library.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Lefty, that's from a letter to the editor in the NY Times. 1933, I think, but I'll have to dig it out to see.

Brad

 

[WideBrimm]

Bowlers for bike helmets ?

Any chance that bowlers are tough enough that they might serve as bicycle helmets?

 

[Will]

Any chance that bowlers are tough enough that they might serve as bicycle helmets?

Most of what's on offer today are soft hats.

If you got a copy of an original from Patey, perhaps. They were riding helmets after all.

Unfortunately, a Patey will cost as much as a case of bike helmets. I believe they want $800 for one.

 

[Dinerman]

Not a derby, but I saw someone today using an old polo helmet (the hard shell kind with the bill and leather straps) as a bike helmet