The Berg Ballroom

[Good Lukes]

I have not seen a dedicated Berg hat appreciation thread on this forum so figured I would get the ball rolling by posting a couple pictures of my Homburg.

 

[Good Lukes]

I have not seen a dedicated Berg hat appreciation thread on this forum so figured I would get the ball rolling by posting a couple pictures of my Homburg. View attachment 622638 View attachment 622639 View attachment 622641

I might be mistaken but I believe this lid is actually a "Lord's Hat". Hopefully, someone that knows better can corroborate.

 

[Blare]

Berg Fifth Avenue

Very light tan - Light weight felt
5 5/8 Crown (4 7/8 as shaped)
1 7/8 Chocolate Brown Grosgrain Ribbon
1 7/8 raw edge brim

Thanks go out to Jonathan @TheOldFashioned for alerting me to this likely pre-war .. possibly 1930s Berg that was practically being given away. It certainly had some issues appearing somewhat dirty and some indications of previous moth activity. Being that I don’t see hats of this era pop up too often.. I gave it a go.

It’s a very thin almost floppy felt.. a bit of steam brought it back to life a bit and allowed it to hold shape better.. especially in the brim. Most of the dirt either brushed out or was able to be hidden in the crease.. and luckily the moth divots were mostly very small and not too noticeable. Since the liner was unattached, I pulled it out and gave it a wash. It may have lightened some of the screen printing a bit but it really cleaned up nicely.

One thing about hats of this era.. they tend to have plenty of crown to work with. I gave it a fairly wide center dent and then settled on this somewhat elongated diamond. At 4 7/8 it is rather tall especially in proportion with its 1 7/8 brim.. so I may work it down some… but it does look quite neat as is.

In another thread @Brad Bowers indicated Berg was one of the Hat Corporation of America brands. I’m not sure the dating of this hat.. it definitely gives me 30s vibes.. has unreeded sweat and taped rear seam. curious if it could be a pre HCA Berg.. if not fairly early HCA.

Thanks again Jonathan for thinking of me and alerting my attention on this great piece …. Much appreciated.

 

[DaveProc]

Berg
Sta Shape
1923