Here is the ‘50s factory label with block size, for Josh J
I've shown this photo before of what appears to be a giant Dobbs Boater. I don't know when it was taken, but it was published in 1924.
I now have a bit more on the hat. Not much, but it's something. Here's another photo of the hat, with three men. The man on the right is John Herbert Radley. The hat is mostly a Boater with the exception of the extreme roll on the brim. Probably to help it keeps its shape, as that would take an enormous amount of gelatine to stiffen it.
John Herbert Radley emigrated from England in 1911. He found work at the Marshall Hat Factory in Falls River, MA. In 1913, the Foreman P.D. (most likely foreman of the pouncing department) sent him a postcard asking if he'd like to come work for C&K. Radley did, and by 1914 he was working his way up through the company. He even may have met his wife there, as she was working as an "Operator in a straw hat shop" in 1910. They were married by 1915. By 1940, Radley was foreman of the Ladies' hat department of Hat Corporation of America, earning $2,080 a year (and all of this with a 6th grade education). Sometime probably before 1946 he became ill and had to take some time off of work. While being assured that his position was secure, he was denied it when he returned after his recovery, which left him bitter towards the company. I don't know where he ended up at that point.
Photo and story courtesy of Radley's granddaughter, Elizabeth. No idea when it was taken, or if Mr. Radley helped make the hat. It's possible that it was a novelty everyone had their photo taken with.
Brad
a couple of years back, I guess I didn't visit the Diner
a couple of years back, I guess I didn't visit the Diner
I'll have to locate the actual hat then.
Images of all the boxes in the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark just went thru my mind's eye.....
