Western Ranch Outfitters / Stockmens Catalogs

[carouselvic]

The Denver Dry Goods Co. 1935-1936

 

[hatophile]

Look, there's a "Douglas"!

 

[W4ASZ]

Great stuff ! Thank you ! :eusa_clap

 

[Benzadmiral]

"Ah'll take a 'Demi' in a 7. Yessirree, that's one nice hat. Feels right sharp on mah head. Sure, put mah old 'un in that there box; Ah'm wearin' this 'un home. Good day to ya."

 

[4spurs]

Great ads, thanks for posting them.

 

[carouselvic]

The Denver Dry Goods Co. 1945-1946

 

[carouselvic]

The Denver Dry Goods Co. 1945-1946

 

[gtdean48]

That Kingsway sure looks like an Open Road! Thanks for posting Victor.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Darn, I like that brown vita-felt Kingstall! You could get a mid-brown Campdraft, have the brim trimmed and rebound, and bash it like that.

And note the blurb for the "Governor Johnson" model!

 

[carouselvic]

Western Ranch Outfitters winter 1948-49

 

[carouselvic]

Western Ranch Outfitters winter 1948-49

 

[Benzadmiral]

And note the blurb for the "Governor Johnson" model!

For some reason I was thinking Lyndon Johnson, since he was known for wearing the OR style -- though as people here have mentioned, his was a Resistol. But:

1) LBJ wasn't ever governor of Texas, which I originally thought the catalog was referring to;

2) it was a Denver company, so the text referred to Colorado's governor, Edwin Johnson, who was governor of that state from 1933-1937 and again (!) from 1955-57.

 

[carouselvic]

Luskey's Western Store Fall & Winter 1960-61

 

[randooch]

I like the "Denton Pinch" best. That's pretty much what I shoot for on most hats.

 

[barrowjh]

carouselvic, thanks for posting those! Luskey's Denton Pinch is about the same as my favorite western crease, but I cannot tell from the pictures whether the crown is bubbled up within the crease or left low. I have a high natural crown so I have bubble everything up, one way or another, to make way for my noggin. It appears to be similar to a teardrop or maybe C-crown in all other ways, raked down sharp in the back. I see a key difference between the western ranch outfitters catalog from 1948 and the Luskey's 1961 catalog - note that only the women's Fiesta from the 1948 catalog has the brim curled up on the sides as much as the men's hats in the Luskey's 1961 catalog.

I also find interesting the row of 3 hats OR, Sovereign, & Sovereign Mode Edge from the 1948 catalog. All three shown with the front brim snapped down (also the 7X Kingston); note that the Sovereigns are priced about the same as 3X hats, and there is no premium for mode edge - same price as raw or bound.

 

[carouselvic]

Crease Catnip...look away JtL

 

[barrowjh]

Many of those creases are permanent - sharp lines pinched tight, and the white lines on 'Black Five' - looks like a treatment that can never be reversed. Either it looks nice, it can be restored to look as good as new (and you like that look), or its a throw-away, not going to be able to reshape them any other way. A sharp crease line breaks the felt, no steaming it out.

 

[randooch]

With the plethora of crease choices back then, I suspect that a customer bought the one they most liked. They would not have been looking at the changeability of the style so much.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Almost looks like the progression was from Kingsway to Kingston to Open Road...with some overlap. All appear to be described the same way and all appear to be the same hat. There were a couple of places where the very same photograph was used to illustrate what looks like the same hat...but with two different names.

I guess Stetson dating can be a bit frustrating...especially to an old flight jacket collector who is used to looking at contract and DSA numbers to find out when, and by whom, and out of what a specific jacket was made.

AF

 

[carouselvic]

Fred Mueller Saddles & Ranchwear 1966 Fall