habigman

Tonak Hückel Guama Somberero, size 55cm, probably mid 1960s. I believe JHS made these style hats for the Venezuelan market going back to the early 1900s. This is a nicely made hat for the time period but the brim is stiff following the trend of later American Western sytle hats. Interesting that TONAK was still using the old JHS international size tag at this later date. The long hair finish resembles the edible fibre like pulp of the Guama fruit. "An unusual fruit that resembles a giant bean pod, with a sweet, refreshing, cotton like edible fiber on the inside. The pods are generally narrow, straight, and sometimes as long as a person's forearm. They can easily be cracked open to expose the white, sugar-rich pulp, similar to cotton candy, surrounding the seeds. In English they have been called ?ice-cream beans? due to the sweet flavor and smooth texture of the pulp."

Echter Borsalino, light brown, measures around 59cm, probably late 1950s.

This hat holder belongs to Robert (RLK) on the FL.

Habig Hüte, Berlin at Night (1928) Recent postcard pickup.

J. Hückel´s Söhne Zephyr Seal Velour, size 7 3/8, color black, very good condition, made for the American market, possibly later 1920s early 1930s. This beautiful hat was graciously offered to me by M_Jones (Hollis), a long time FL poster and collector of fine hats. In my opinion JHS produced the finest Velour finishes. Vent (similar to Borsalino)

http://vimeo.com/36081008

Man wearing a Schützen Homburghut, Hannover-Linden (1900). This shows a different aspect (the original) of the style although the term Homburg was not used in Germany.

JohnnyJ of Cordova Handmade Caps was inspired by the cap in the Indra ad I posted on the Fedora Lounge. Johnny made a great copy of the cap which ended up in St. Valentine's (also of the Fedora Lounge) hands. St. Valentine (Frank) in turn did a great job duplicating the Indra ad wearing JohnnyJ's cap. Here is St Valentine's post from the FL. "Ok guys, here we go: Another beautiful cap from Johnny is in Germany now. This time it´s a kind of "coming home" as it is a replica of an old german cap. I can´t remember who posted the nice pic of a 50ies advert of this "INDRA" brand cap, but I wanted such a cap and couldn´t resist (as always...). Lightheartedly I remarked that I wouldn´t mind having such a cap and Johnny jumped for it! Be careful what you wish for.... What can I say? Again it´s a piece of art, Johnny´s work getting better and better. The leather sweatband is very precisely sewn to the cap, it has a flashy red liner and even a little bow to mark the back of the cap. Unfortunately it was a near miss for the brand patch but there will be another cap for sure (can you hear me Johnny?). It was saying "Wear Indra Mützen!" back in the days, but today I´d say "Wear Cordova caps!" Please excuse my poor Photoshop skills, here´s one without the decoration: A big thank you goes to California again, keep up the good work Johnny! :eusa_clap"

Austrian young man with hat (1928). I picked up this photo because of the hat's very interesting crease and over welt (?) + binding. The photo shop (Foto Hirnschrodt) in Ried im Innkreis, Austria is still in business today. http://www.foto-hirnschrodt.at/

I am thinking this Nagy store brand could have been made by Halban & Damask Wien. The tip label makeup is very similar to this Halban & Damask belonging to Qirrel of the FL.

This one belongs to Fritz (Manfred). "Rockel Echt Haar Homburg arrived! Lovely Hat, indeed. Nice the white sweatband! The condition is very good, I would say little worn. No label inside. I think it's from the 50s, maybe earlier."

Probably late 1920s A. Breiter Munich advertisement card that I picked up. I have few great vintage hats from this establishment. I believe all their stores are still in business today.

I have received scans of Hutmacher - Zeitung (Hat Maker News) Berlin for the years 1898-99 and came across ads for other trade papers. Many on here are aware of "The American Hatter" but probably not the others. These were the major hat making countries in the world at that time. America England France Italy Austria Hungaria Germany

Milz & Co. (Hutmacher - Zeitung, December 17, 1898) Milz & Co. a straw hat maker combined with Mayser in 1929. Mayser moved all their hat production to Lindenberg in 1971.

Mayser's Hutmanufactur in Ulm a. D. (Hutmacher - Zeitung June 3, 1899)

This one belongs to Fluteplayer07 (Alex) on the FL. Probably mid to late 1950s and made for the US market.

Dermotta Wien Homburg, size 58cm.

A. Peschel & Brüder Böhm factory sites. [media=] [/media]

I picked up this old post card that shows the Peschel's Hut-Industrie location in Neustitischein, Austria (now Nový Jičín, Czech Republic). The factory was converted to some other purpose post WWII. When I visited Nový Jičín in April 2011 the factory buildings were being demolished to build a shopping center.

Mainz, Germany, late 19th Century. German style soft felt hat (known as the Fedora, Homburg, Alpine in America at that time). I picked this photo up a while back but never posted it.

C. G. Wilke Melone, size 56 cm, probably 1930s. Custom model for Breiter Munich.

Mayser Talpa (Mole in Italian), size 56cm, 1930s. This is the first old Mayser soft felt I have found after looking for 6 years so very rare. The Velour color and finish (Mole like color and finish?) are right up there with the finest old Austrian Velours. The original size tag is still present. Also a taped sweat which is a first regarding Mayser. I checked with Rosenheim city archives and the hat store did not survive WWII. This is my top find of the year so far. From the Rosenheim Stadtarchiv. Sehr geehrter Herr Heck, aus den Adressbüchern der Stadt Rosenheim geht über das Hutgeschäft August Zimmerers Witwe folgendes hervor: - 1921 ist das Geschäft noch nicht aufgeführt - 1926 wird das Geschäft genannt - 1939 wird das Geschäft genannt, mit dem Zusatz Inhaber Karl Kuhl - 1949 ist das Geschäft nicht mehr aufgeführt. Zur genauen Datierung des Hutes empfehle ich Ihnen sich direkt an die Fa. Mayser (http://www.mayser-kopfbedeckungen.de/) zu wenden. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Dear Mr. Heck, from the address books of the city of Rosenheim on the millinery August Zimmerers's Widow shows that: - 1921, the business is not listed - 1926 is the business called - In 1939, the business called, with the addition of owner Charles Kuhl - In 1949, the business is no longer listed. For the exact date of the hat, I suggest you directly contact the Mayser (http://www.mayser-kopfbedeckungen.de/) to apply. Yours sincerely

This ad was posted by Flat Foot Floey on the FL. This solved the M.W. mystery. Thanks!

Halban & Damask, Velour, size 58cm. Very rare find by Qirrel on the FL. This is the first soft felt Halban & Damask Wien soft felt I have encountered. It was an export to Norway.

I found this in the September 2, 1899 edition of Deutschen Hutmacher-Zeitung. Moeckel was the original maker of the Homburg hat for Edward VII. This is the first mention of the style as a Homburg Hat that I have run across in a German or Austrian publication of the late 19th or early 20th centuries. The use of English is directed towards export markets.