Club Obi Wan

Fedora and I were talking about how much this hat looks like an Indy.



And it is an established fact that Howard ownded Herbert Johnsons. This HJ was auctioned off on eBay a few months ago:

A Howard Hughes owned and worn fedora hat

A vintage brown hat owned and worn by Howard Hughes, with the initial hrh stamped on the headband, standing for Howard Robard Hughes. The hat has the makers mark and crest inside Numquam Nom Paratus Herbert Johnson Hatters 38 Bond Street London W. and Made in England Herbert Johnson for Brooks Brothers. Howard Hughes can be seen in many photographs wearing this style of that. This particular hat was originally consigned to auction by Bob Kuldell, a friend of Hughes and trusted Hughes Toll Company executive.

-It went for $40,000, by the way. Unblocked!

Obviously, these are not the same hat, but still Howard Hughes wore some Herbert Johnsons. It's possible the hat in the first picture is a Herbert Johnson, though I have no proof of this. It is fun to speculate that this hat was blocked with the Indy block. And even if there is no connection whatsoever, it is still exciting for me to see two of my heroes, Howard Hughes and Indiana Jones, having the same taste in hat blocks.

By the way, here is the Howard Hughes Hollywood Jacket I had made by reVamp vintage. I sent them the material. I tried to match the jacket from "The Aviator" as close as I could.




So what do you think of Howard's hat? Can you think of anyone else with an Indy blocked hat that predates 1981? How'd I do with the Hughes jacket?

Every HH hat I've ever seen had a C-dent.

Regards! Michaelson

I love the jacket it looks dead on great job.

Michaelson wrote:Every HH hat I've ever seen had a C-dent.

Regards! Michaelson

My dear, Michaelson:

indyguy wrote:I love the jacket it looks dead on great job.

Thank you, indyguy.

Here is Howard looking very Indy, from the New York Times:

That hat Mr. Hughes has on in that first pic just looks too Indyish!!!! Thanks for posting this.

Hemingway, you look quite dashing in that jacket!! The hat just really sets off the whole look as well. Good stuff. And thanks for piquing my interest in Howard Hughes. What a character!! Fedora

Fedora wrote:That hat Mr. Hughes has on in that first pic just looks too Indyish!!!! Thanks for posting this.

Hemingway, you look quite dashing in that jacket!! The hat just really sets off the whole look as well. Good stuff. And thanks for piquing my interest in Howard Hughes. What a character!! Fedora

Thanks Steve, I appreciate that.
Hughes is a pet project of mine at the moment.

So, that' s a photo I've never seen before.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:So, that' s a photo I've never seen before.

Regards! Michaelson

Wait... Let me take this in. Ah, feels good. So, this is how it feels, how it feels like to be Michaelson, to be a "knower of things." It's not bad. I am going to wallow in this moment a few seconds more. Wait... OK, back to the thread!

HJ....the title is Knower of Things...so, just exactly where did it say EVERY thing? Just not THAT thing.....


thank you....thank you very much....

Regards! Michaelson

I just came across this thread and couldn't believe my eyes. How do we account for the fact that Herbert Johnson was not at the address given inside the hat (38 New Bond Street) until well after Howard Hughes died in April 1976?

This can be checked quite easily... E-mail Paul Valoni at Swain, Adeney and Brigg. That is a very common model of Herbert Johnson hat (in the UK at least). I have one just like it. Same ribbon, everything. It was bought in the early 1980s.





Will anyone give me $40,000 for it? $20,000? $20?

Hemingway, that's a sharp looking jacket! Glad to finally see a pic of you in it. And if you're now like Michaelson, does that mean we get to pick on you as much as we pick on him now? WOOHOO!!!!

PLEASE!! Help yourself!!! (and you, HJ...SAVE yourself!!!! )

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks, Michaelson! Jerry! Release the hounds!!!!

Looking sharp there Hemingway! Those are some great pics too. That last pic is very "Indy" looking.

binkmeisterRick wrote:Thanks, Michaelson! Jerry! Release the hounds!!!!

Hang on, I'm having trouble attaching the lasers to their heads...

Indiana Jerry wrote:

binkmeisterRick wrote:Thanks, Michaelson! Jerry! Release the hounds!!!!

Hang on, I'm having trouble attaching the lasers to their heads...

Uh, the animal cruelty people called, and... well we don't have the hounds. We WERE able to get some sea-bass...

LeatherneckJones wrote:Uh, the animal cruelty people called, and... well we don't have the hounds. We WERE able to get some sea-bass...

Do they have lasers?

No, but they ARE ill-tempered!

And their fedoras have a REALLY bad taper

binkmeisterRick wrote:Hemingway, that's a sharp looking jacket! Glad to finally see a pic of you in it. And if you're now like Michaelson, does that mean we get to pick on you as much as we pick on him now? WOOHOO!!!!

As if you don't already!
bink "Knower of Petty Thefts."

Hey, some of 'em are "petty ugly," too!

Hey, Jerry, I got an electric bass. Does that count for anything?

Again, does it have a laser?

Sigh...good enough, just so long as you get all the stuffing up in one end before you hit him with it.

Slick duds, Hemi!

prairiejones wrote:Slick duds, Hemi!

Thank you, sir. I appreciate a compliment from a discerning gentleman.

I just came across this thread and couldn't believe my eyes. How do we account for the fact that Herbert Johnson was not at the address given inside the hat (38 New Bond Street) until well after Howard Hughes died in April 1976?

In April 1976, HJ was at 13 Old Burlington St., having moved from the above address in 1965. Maybe you're thinking of 30 Old Bond St., where they moved to from 13 Old Burlington St. Then too, they used liners and sweatbands from old addresses long after they moved. The best way to tell a date is to look for the paper tag under the sweatband.

Here's another good'n of Hughes with an Indy-ish lid. In the cockpit of a plane that resembles the tri motor from TOD, nonetheless.

Strider wrote:Here's another good'n of Hughes with an Indy-ish lid. In the cockpit of a plane that resembles the tri motor from TOD, nonetheless.

That is a very famous picture of Howard at the controls of the "Hercules," better known as "The Spruce Goose," which was housed in that dome-shaped hanger in Long Beach for many years before being moved to Oregon.

Dakota Ellison wrote: In April 1976, HJ was at 13 Old Burlington St., having moved from the above address in 1965. Maybe you're thinking of 30 Old Bond St., where they moved to from 13 Old Burlington St. Then too, they used liners and sweatbands from old addresses long after they moved. The best way to tell a date is to look for the paper tag under the sweatband.

Thanks for the information. I remember the shop behind Burlington Arcade. The sweatband on a hat I bought from Herbert Johnson in the early 1980s definitely says '30 NEW Bond Street'. I'm sure that's where I bought it from, but Old and New Bond street run into one another, so I could be wrong. Is this a miss-print, then? Also, how does the paper tag present the date? My HJ hats have paper tags but there's just a crest and a style name (and in one case a colour) with a number. Is the number a date in code?

I believe the style of the 'Howard Hughes' hat that started the thread is a Romany, by the way.

38 New Bond is where they were most of the 20th century til 1965. Doesn't take much for the middle of the 8 to be rubbed out. The number furtherest to the right on the tag should be the month and year the hat was assembled.

Dakota Ellison wrote:38 New Bond is where they were most of the 20th century til 1965. Doesn't take much for the middle of the 8 to be rubbed out. The number furtherest to the right on the tag should be the month and year the hat was assembled.

Nope, it's definitely a '30'. I don't think you can rub out embossing. This goes along with my memory, that after they left Old Burlington Street they were in New Bond Street - for the second time, but at a different number.

I spoke to Paul at ASB and he confirmed that HJ was at that address (30 New Bond Street) before being taken over by ASB. This is all a mystery.

I have a number of HJs from the 1960s to the 1980s and none of the paper tags has anything that looks like it could be a date.

Thanks for your help.

I purchased from first Poet from Mr. Swales, back in 1987. The address in the hat, receipt and shipping box was 13 Old Burlington.

~Ron