Looking to document & preserve the Resistol "LBJ" 3X & the Resistol "Lyndon B." In 3X & 5X. It is said that Harry Rolnick was a personal friend & supporter of LBJ. These hats likely fall into the 1963 to 1968 timeline. The "LBJ" was based on the 3X Wide Country with 2-1/4" bound edge brim. Embossed on the sweat was "Made Expressly For President Lyndon B. Johnson". The side seam liner has an outline of the State of Texas and reads: "Johnson City LBJ Ranch". Note receipt lists the style as LBJ. The "Lyndon B." was a 2-3/4" bound edge brim, in 3X & 5X. Liner & embossing were the same. Was it based on the San Antonio? Was it unofficially known as the Lyndon B. just to distinguish it from the LBJ? Any pics of the Lyndon B.? Please post pics, documentations comments on either model hat.
I don't have any information or documentation about Resistol's "LBJ" or "Lyndon B." models. I imagine they were based on Resistol's "San Antonio," but again I have no direct evidence of such. On a side note, I was able to discuss the Resistol/Stetson question with a long-time family friend of LBJ and the Johnson family. The answer was that Lyndon preferred Resistol, since at the time, Resistol was a Texas-based company, and Stetson was not.
For sure the LBJ was made off the Wide Country. And I would agree with you that the Lyndon B. was probably made off the San Antonio in 3X & 5X. It is said that Johnson had the friendship & political support of Harry Rolnick, so it's obvious his allegiance was to Resistol. I have forgotten which hat the modern LBJ being sold by the museum is but it's probably based on the Stetson 6X OR. There is one among the members here so maybe he will weigh in with it. Thanks for the bump, Lefty.
The store at the LBJ Library bills the hat as "LBJ's Open Road Resistol Hat." https://www.lbjstore.com/all-the-way-with-lbj-lbjs-open-road-resistol-hat.html By the way, the Johnson family friend I consulted with was the son of the architect of the LBJ Library.
"Any jackass can tear down a barn. It takes skill to build one." --Lyndon Baines Johnson A quote I thought of often this past summer when agitators & provocateurs infiltrated lawful & peaceful protesters. More of his Resistol:
Senator & president-elect John F. Kennedy was given this hat by Senator & Vice President-elect Lyndon B. Johnson at the LBJ Ranch, Stonewall, TX on Nov 16, 1960. Not to be confused with the hat given to him the morning of his assassination. Looks like it could be a 2-3/4 brim, bound edge & thin ribbon with a box or brick crease. Note how the brim rolls in JFK's hand. Could this be the Resistol Lyndon B.? I was unable to find out anything more or the whereabouts of this hat today.
Because of the way he has it priced & because of the supposed provenance the seller seems to think this was President Johnson's personal hat. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1245180959...239456e1760aaee49606e09fff9afd9&ul_noapp=true
I have a normal Wide Country sold thru Shudde Bros & I couldn't remember if it had a trolley or not. Had to look thru pics & it does.
Last post & if it doesn't generate any documentation or hats I'll let this drop. Taken the morning after Johnson's reelection. Interesting dent in his LBJ.