Interesting bit of hat history

[Pilgrim]

I'm not touting an Ebay auction (and for more than one reason, because it starts at $3000) but there's an Open Road hat purported to have been given to his Air Force One pilot by LBJ at auction.

The auction includes an Open Road, AF One Matchbook and lighter. Thought some of the Lounge members might want to drop in and give it a look, as there are pretty decent pictures.

This note was posted because of the historical interest to Lounge members.

 

[WEEGEE]

HAVE TO BE MORE

LBJ...practically ran a hat shop out of his ranch...had a room full of open roads in various size and would bring honored guest through to leave with a
Stetson Open Road as a vist souvenir.

(as per Neil Steinberg's "Hatless Jack"...excellent book on U.S hat history)

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Hey, hey, LBJ, how many hats did you give away today?

 

[Pilgrim]

I got a PM from a member asking for help finding the auction - you'll find it if you search for "LBJ lighter" since those words appear in the auction title.

 

[Kaleponi Craig]

Intersting. Turns out LBJ was a 7 1/8. I always thought he had a bigger head.

Also, this Open Road is made by Resistol. What is the relationship between Stetson and Resistol?...KC

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Intersting. Turns out LBJ was a 7 1/8. I always thought he had a bigger head.

You were mistaking LBJ's ego for his head.

 

[D. Hats]

I also find this interesting...

It's a Resistol, not a Stetson.... Hmmm.
I guess this would make sense in that He was a Texan...

Quote:
E.R. Byer sold his company in the early 1920's in Michigan and traveled south to further his fortune. He decided to invest in a hat maker named, Harry Rolnick, who was operating a small factory at the time. Byer was a customer of Rolnicks and was so impressed with Rolnick's hard work, fashion and quality of felt hats that in 1927 the firm of Byer-Rolenick was founded in Dallas,Texas. From here, the company started producing felt hats in western and casual style, which were marketed under the name Resistol, meaning they could withstand all sorts of weather. They sold the hats mainly in Oklahoma and Texas, but the process of which they made their hats gained national exposure, which caused them to transfer to larger facility in Garland, Texas, where Resistol hats are still made today. The success of Byer-Rolnick continued and the Resistol brand became the greatest name in western hats. In order to have better control of the quality and flow of product, Byer-Rolnick acquired a fur cutting plant and built a rough-body plant in Longview, Texas. These additions made Byer-Rolnick the first and only manufacturer to operate the entire felt hat making process, which contained over 200 processes. By operating all phases of production, Byer- Rolnick were able to obtain maximum quality control and thereby produce the most consistent and finest hats known around the world.