The great hatters, by country

[Charlie Huang]

£15 is reasonable considering it is Lock.

Patey's sell the hat jack for £25. I did not know Christys' had hat jacks and for that much!

 

[avedwards]

Sorry, my mistake. Christy's does not sell a hat jack, I must have confused them with someone else. Either way, I would rather constuct my own than pay £35.

 

[Charlie Huang]

But t would probably cost you more than £35 to get all the materials together, research the dimensions and make one.

£25 from Patey's is not that bad IMHO.

 

[avedwards]

Not necessarily that expensive to make my own. It would only have to be in my size, not adjustable, so all it would have to be is a piece of 1cm thick wood cut to the shape of my head. I saw someone else do this on another thread. Since I have suitable wood, I might do this when I have time.

And about Locke, they sent my hat back a day after they called me, so they worked quickly. What a shame that I was not at home most of last week, so I will have to make my way to the post office to collect it. I'll post details of how well the job was done when I see my hat.

 

[The Elizans]

A gallery of English hats of the 1930's

I am always meaning to create a proper thread to post my research into British hat manufacturers; as yet I have not had time to consolidate my research, so here is a 'gallery' of some of the 1930's hats from my collection.

As a tip- James Lock & Co. St James Street London (not Locke) was the very finest British hatters in its day (but can be entirely disregarded as low-grade mass produced nonsense nowadays) I think of Dunn & Co as the English equivalent to Disney- stylish, bold, youthful and Battersby, Henry Heath and Lincoln Bennett as the classic, understated, austere British hat. For the time being, I hope these pictures will whet your appetite for fine British hats of days gone- long gone.

My favourite Dunn, box dated 1933:

A similar Homburg, Dunn & Co, early 30's:

An exceptionally fine Lock & Co in the long running 652 style:

A batterby Ambassador; top of the Battersby range, other hats in the portfolio included "The Diplomat" (Picture to be posted later)

A couple of classic French gray snap brims that epitomise the era. The first is a provincial Ceres dated 1939, the second displays the panache of G.A Dunn & Co.

... & the Dunn:

Finally an early G.A. Dunn & Co. pamphlet circa 33'

There is nothing left in England- we've forgotten how to make hats like this. The current offerings are poor quality by comparison, go vintage or go to Polkap Poland- they're the best new hats for vintage styling I've found in Europe .