Jump to content
Invision Community

C. G. Wilke Hutfabrik Guben


habigman

Recommended Posts

Founded by Carl Gottlob Wilke in 1822 Guben, Germany. He invented the weather-proof wool hat and was a major contributor in the mechanization of hat making. Wilke manufactured both wool and hare/rabbit felt hats. Wilke was nationalized after WWII and stopped production in the early 1990s.

 

3823802819_4ee4d32bbf.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found some interesting information regarding C. G. Wilke Hutfabrik, Guben (East Germany) . Appears Guben was important hat making center similar to Nový Jičín (Neutitschein) -> Peschel, Brüder Böhm, Peschel. Unfortunately the hat museum closed in 2005 but the site has some good information.

 

http://www.acol.de/hutmuseum/index.htm

 

Appears some it was moved here.

 

http://www.technikmuseen.de/127.0.html

 

A video on the Guben hat making industry.

 

http://lexi-tv.de/themen/kunst_und_kultur/huete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

C. G. Wilke Melone (Bowler), size 55cm, probably late 1920s early 30s. They were a famous hat company out of Guben (near Berlin), Germany prior to WWII.

 

4672211541_fa9954c204_b.jpg

 

4672211657_27eed10a02_b.jpg

 

4672868456_7b8e69992e_b.jpg

 

4672211791_831986a2d2_b.jpg

 

4672211839_437ecab480_b.jpg

 

Very unique logo design!

 

4672838006_5af7e70dae_b.jpg

 

4672838068_efe27b5dfd_b.jpg

 

4672211891_0241ba6d5d_b.jpg

 

A book I have on C. G. Wilke "Die Hutmacher".

 

4672305673_fb65c57d09_b.jpg

 

4672938212_c6880a2633_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...

Manfred, I am going to post the links to the Wilke 75th Anniversary book you found.

 

This is a very interesting document that covers both wool and fur felt hat making at Wilke Hutfabrik Guben (near Berlin), Germany at the turn of the 19th century. Many interesting photos too.

 

http://friedrich.song-vision.de/downloads/die_wilkesche_hutfabrik.pdf

 

Google translation.

 

https://www.box.net/shared/0bun4bvrlhaspmhuj1d1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Manfred, I am going to post the links to the Wilke 75th Anniversary book you found.

 

This is a very interesting document that covers both wool and fur felt hat making at Wilke Hutfabrik Guben (near Berlin), Germany at the turn of the 19th century. Many interesting photos too.

 

http://friedrich.song-vision.de/downloads/die_wilkesche_hutfabrik.pdf

 

Google translation.

 

https://www.box.net/shared/0bun4bvrlhaspmhuj1d1

 

 

Thank you Steve for posting the links.

The photos are great

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 4 months later...

C. G. Wilke Blitz

 

First old soft felt C. G. Wilke that I have come across so this is a rare one. It's most likely from the 1930s but could be older. Unfortunately the non-reed sweatband was hand stitched back in place but otherwise complete. Fantastic silver gray Velour that is very close in quality to JHS Velour. I assume that Hut-Seidel Frankfurt a.0. (Oder in east Germany) is related to Hut-Seidel München. Size 56cm.

 

8518712241_1e3d9ebf39_b.jpg

 

8518720427_61ed78db37_b.jpg

 

8518722487_430aced948_b.jpg

 

8519904754_d40aa5ac61_b.jpg

 

8518748613_343aa00309_b.jpg

 

8518765635_0c989a423a_b.jpg

 

8518761863_aaf9f1527e_b.jpg

 

8519847410_5c1ce79f97_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This pristine beauty belongs to Manfred. The men's store (Richard Nebel Bautzen, east Germany) that it came from is still in business!

 

"Wilke Electron Melone arrived today! Very nice Melone, light weight, 156g, size 56. Unfortunately the sweatband stitching is loose. I repaired it. "

 

12351334345_6053bb0efd_o.jpg

 

12351334155_7877b1be97_o.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

C.G. Wilke Velour (Guben, Germany), measures ~ 59cm, crown ~ 6 inches open, brim ~ 2 1/2 inches, non-reeded sweatband, 148 grams, probably early 1930s. This one is in very good condition with all original parts. The Velour felt and finish are very high quality. Also a unique light green-blue silk liner. Been looking for one these in my size for a long time. The only other pre 1940 soft felt C.G. Wilke I have is a small size and in below average condition.

 

9605170261_cfab144382_b.jpg

 

9608415538_eca11bf216_b.jpg

 

9608426544_8a383da404_b.jpg

 

9606025196_553682c745_b.jpg

 

9602681599_b0708426f6_b.jpg

 

9605223241_267fb81095_b.jpg

 

9608447904_01f5d6c925_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

C.G. Wilke Flamand, over welt, size 59cm. Has all the original parts including the tip patch. Really fantastic / unique felt. I am thinking 1920s.

 

13175191723_83c43837f7_b.jpg

 

13175554344_9cd76ce743_b.jpg

 

13175372054_588cb99311_b.jpg

 

13244188895_b299f9464e_b.jpg

 

13175626834_849cbdec70_b.jpg

 

13175122313_b90dab6556_b.jpg

 

13244595724_38d05f819f_b.jpg

 

13244315495_75161c2b76_b.jpg

 

I found the hat shop (Reinhold Mette Freiberg) was established in 1926 and is still owned by the family today (Barbara Mette Freiberg). I assume the shop is still in business. Prior to opening the hat shop they manufactured fur felt ware (established 1825).

 

13184244684_098d3f4fbc_b.jpg

 

Obermarkt 6 Freiberg, Saxony

 

13183956715_ca023a0fde_o.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

C. G. Wilke Velourhüte, C. G. Wilke Lodenhüte Postcard (1932)

13667517585_ef0aafd7d1_b.jpg

Based on the folk song "Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken". Thanks to Steve (Steve1857)  on the FL for this information.

Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken,

drei Ecken hat mein Hut.

Und hätt er nicht drei Ecken,

so wär’s auch nicht mein Hut.

13667513105_2d35d94d0b_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I found the hat related meaning of "Flamand".

 

15598145274_8df15e6b19_b.jpg

 

"The unshorn Velour hair called Flamand;...."

 

Fabrikation von Damen- und Herren- Filzhüten, Der Deustchen Hutmacher Zeitung,188 (1933)

Fabrication of Women's and Men's Felt Hats, German Hat Makers News,188 (1933)

 

C.G. Wilke "Flamand"

 

13175191723_83c43837f7_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

C.G. Wilke "Bürstel Electra", 58cm, Open Crown 6 inches, Brim 2 1/4 inches probably later 1930s. I received this fantastic gray Wilke Velour via trade with Fastuni (Armin). The Velour finish is really nice and it still has the original paper size label. It originally had a Crease Clip/Holder. I could tell by the wear on the liner label and the remnants of a very sharp center crease. This hat has already been posted but these new photos are more accurate color wise. Also a really great model name. C.G. Wilke like use interesting model names.

 

28644897491_4e256d6313_b.jpg

 

28616778952_835d84899a_b.jpg

 

28621529241_9c4456f6b2_b.jpg

 

28593463062_749497d606_b.jpg

 

In my opinion the best logo I have seen!

 

28667251586_4edb71962a_b.jpg

 

28414668730_f97e80cebb_b.jpg

 

28414666660_fe1cc2fd1e_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
  • 3 months later...

C. G. Wilke Guben photos and documents from the Stadt- und Industriemuseum Guben collection.

 

C. G. Wilke, 111 Years (1933)

 

36096394936_ef880fbd17_h.jpg

 

Time Clock (1920-29)

 

36096424556_30f386bea3_h.jpg

 

Women of the Felting Department (1910)

 

35967344592_738430e1e0_h.jpg

 

Women of the Dressing Department (1920-29)

 

36096394496_6016b14703_h.jpg

 

35967343402_9a888e2445_h.jpg

 

Statutes of the company's sickness fund of the hat factory C.G. Wilke in Guben-Druck by the publisher Albert Koenig in Guben. (1914)

 

36096402126_cd3794c03b_h.jpg

 

Certificate of the State Insurance Institution Brandenburg by Charlotte Zindler for offsetting at the factory sickness fund of the hat factory C.G. Wilke. (1938)

 

36096417116_1b7d35cd5e_h.jpg

 

At the end of the war in 1945, the company premises and the production facilities of the company C.G. Wilke were destroyed or severely damaged by about 45%. These included the middle building, a warehouse, workshops and the administrative building as well as the private villa of the Wilke family. The last eight weeks of war in February and March 1945, in which Guben was a frontier, brought the economic ruin to the once flourishing and traditional Gubener hat industry. At the end of the Second World War nearly 90% of the historic city center was destroyed. The city resembled a rubble landscape. In the western part of the city about 20% of the building fabric was affected by destruction, including numerous industrial plants.

 

36096402936_20bef7adb3_h.jpg

 

Destroyed Villa Wilke in Guben, 1945

 

35745566170_ba5ce56d36_h.jpg

 

Letterhead C.G. Wilke; Guben, 12/23/1947

 

36096410246_14e9231c7d_h.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 7 months later...
The following is a translated footnote from "Chapeau, Das Westalgäu behütet die Welt, Die Geschichte der Hutprodukrion in Lindenberg und Umgebung, 2015" (This is a great book that I purchased at the Deutsches Hut Museum Lindenberg).  The footnote contains some info on Guben's pre WWII major hat companies C.W. Wilke and Berlin - Gubener Hutfabrik, post WWII  VEB Vereinigte HutWerke Guben, and post unification Gubener Hüte GmbH.   

 

"In Guben (city law since 1235, known as cloth-maker town) developed the hat maker Carl Gottlob Wilke 1822 waterproof wool felt hat. His sons - especially Friedrich Wilke - made from the hat maker's workshop the largest Gubener hat factory, the C G. Wilke hair and wool felt hat factory Guben. In addition came as another large business, in addition to several smaller hat factories, the Berlin-Gubener hat factory, founded by Apelius Cohn and Hermann Lewin (Berlin 1859, Guben 1876), which employed in 1922 alone 3000 workers and employees. In 1927, the year of crisis in Westallgäu's straw hat industry, Guben had a total of 7,460 people working in the felt hat industry. In the same year, around 10 million hats were produced, of which around 30 percent were for export. For comparison: In 1925, the city of Lindenberg had a total of 5,168 inhabitants, and in 1927 it was probably not much more. In March 1946, the Berlin-Gubener Hutfabrik was dismantled as reparations to the Soviet Union; 1952 developed from the C. G. Wilke hat factory in conjunction with the other Gubener hat factories, the national VEB Vereinigte Hut-Werke Guben with about 1,200 employees; In 1989, 1.2 million stumps and 800,000 felt hats were produced there.

 

After the turnaround, the state-owned enterprise was privatized in 1990 by the Treuhandanstalt and transformed into the Gubener Hüte GmbH. The number of employees sank to 600; In 1992 there were still 70, the end of 1999 with 10 employees, the operation was closed. In summer 2006, a hat and technology museum was opened in a building of the old hat factory C. G. Wilke."

 

"Chapeau, Das Westalgau behütet die Welt, Die Geschichte der Hutprodukrion in Lindenberg und Umgebung, 2015"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

C. G. Wilke "Helios", 58cm, Wool, 186 grams, possibly late 1920s to 1930s.  This Wool Stiff Felt is in near mint condition so a great find.  The liner really shines especially at the center so that might be the reason for calling it "Helios".  I didn't get a good photo of the label because I didn't want to break the super fine threads that hold the sweatband together.  The sweatband has a reed on the outer edge which is fairly common with old German and Austrian Stiff Felts.

 

 

 

 

42692374035_1b7f3cdb71_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

43549667832_70b78af081_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

28709346247_7611efb2a1_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

43550064272_21c160eca4_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

29726937808_95017181f0_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

43549952972_a8e01bd72d_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

43597256261_9f22db8185_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

29683702418_e91dd0c5ec_b.jpg
 
Natural Light
 
40832673483_e1e330dda7_b.jpg
 
47009526664_096648d367_b.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...
  • 4 months later...
  • 4 months later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 11 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Wilke, H.J.H. Copenhagen, 59 cm, possibly 1950s. I don't have any current information H.J.H. Copenhagen.  The unmarked size label is similar Wegener and Rockel hats from the same time period. Also I have never seen this type of sweatband before.  I know that F.W. Schneider Köln owned the Wilke mark for Germany but I have no information for outside of Germany.  This hat belongs to Panos on the FL.

20210507_093110-jpg.333049

20210507_093049-jpg.333050

20210507_093100-jpg.333051

20210507_093008-jpg.333047

20210507_093021-jpg.333052

20210507_093548-jpg.333054

20210507_093620-jpg.333055

20210507_093755-jpg.333057

20210507_093605-jpg.333058

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...