Just continuing to looking at old 'first hand information', re-read what was posted in this 2005 discussion, and once again, first hand information in the form of an email by Ms. Landis to one of our members:
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Note in her email in the first post, there is no mention by name of the famous 'Austrialian' model that has been bantered about and quoted by her for the past several years as being THE source/model of the Raiders hat.
The oldest reference to the Australian model I can find in a search of this site was a post made in January of the same year, 2005, this from her comments on one of the DVD bonus materials:
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This just for comparison to comments made in the first post where it wasn't mentioned. Of interest is the fact it was emphasized what kind it was in the January thread, but not specifically mentioned in the June email, and both first hand comments from the designer, so it seems the importance was shifting back and forth as to what kind of hat the prototype was.
In the June email, was she talking about this particular hat with this statement:
There, I started with a hat which had the body and strength that I needed for the action - and was of course the right shade of brown.
We can assume that is the case, but we all know what assumptions are, so unless it's stated, we can't say it was one way or the other. We can only assume based on other comments made at other times...but then that would be considered 2nd hand information if so stated.
It's interesting to compare these emails from two data points in 2005, and then in 2007 she once again emphatically states in the email to Indygear that it was, indeed, an Australian model and that she had never heard of Richard Swales.
Then you have the claim by HJ and Swales himself in letters he packed with every HJ he made that told HIS story of how the hat came about. The way their website reads, and correct me if I'm reading it wrong, but they make it sound like all creation and final design tweaks were done by Swaine and co (Swales) under direct supervision of Ford and Spielberg at the shop. That's the story Swales repeated to individuals who walked in his shop or called til the day he died, and he stated it in writing. If not true, why hasn't Mrs. Landis sued Swaine and co. for slander or libel? Puzzling, but in the larger picture, maybe not worth all the money and effort....but HJ sure has sold a lot of hats using this story, and continue to do so.
All interesting if you're following such things, and all considered 1st person comments from the primary participants involved with the production.
Like I said, the actual truth lies somewhere in the middle.
We also beat the @#$% out of this back last August to no good effect, so I'm not sure what is being gained by hammering this yet again.
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Regards! Michaelson