Club Obi Wan

I was wondering if anyone tell me about the numbers and markings on their vintage Herbert Johnsons...thats if anyone has one thats about 20 to 25 years old...this may seem very odd but i would seriously appreciate it

One of my vintage Poets, made by Mr. Swales around the time of LC, is stamped "Poet" in the sweatband; on another one, he replaced the word "Poet" with my initials. Other than that, the HJ's I've owned have no markings except the usual manufacturer's name & address & the words "Fine Fur Felt" on the sweatbands, the sizing tags, and of course the HJ logos on the liners. I hope this helps you.

Jack

sorry my mistake...its weird twenty years ago was nearly 1990 ......i meant 30 years... ROTLA period poet details, the fedoras that were altered for the movie...this may seem wierd but is it fact that they were rabbit fur felt?!?...any hatters out there know for sure....

Cheers

yes its 100% confirmed that they were rabbit. Ask Fedora if you need any further confirmation. One of the things he's said is that it's easier to get rabbit felt to take the Raiders shape than beaver. :junior: -M

My vintage HJ was from the late 1970s (going by the liner) - it only said Herbert Johnson and the address on the label. No numbers or hat model. Itm was wonderfully soft and floppy.

Whiskeyman, please tell me you still have that hat.

Weston

Thats a beautiful fedora and the scarfs pretty funky too ...There was actually a HJ poet for sale on ebay there a while back, huge brim... white ribbon lol...didnt get it though too expensive for my blood...

One of the things he's said is that it's easier to get rabbit felt to take the Raiders shape than beaver

But what if they werent rabbit or beaver?!?

What else would they be? Rabbit and beaver are the two most common materials used in making felt (I'm not counting wool because that isn't REAL felt). :junior: -M

But what if they werent rabbit or beaver?!?

You think it's........kitten?

Weston

no. rat.

CJ

No thats ludicrous...not kittens....im going for antelope ....and yes before anyone asks im in sound health and have no previous history of mental illness in my family ...

Believe it or not, Stetson actually make one out of Buffalo fur. At least that's how it is advertised.

Weston

it was just something i was thinking about...has it ever actually been spelt out that HJ used rabbit felt?!?

Can I transfer out of this ward, please?

Seriously, as far as I know the rabbit fur is a known reality.

Jack

Yep. I can't cite anything, but I'm 100% certain the Raiders fedora was rabbit. :junior: -M

you can leave of your own free will lol but i have seen the details of two HJ fedoras for sale...the two different sellers have two different poet HJ's for sale and they both contain the details "11.345, antelope".....why the heck would antelope be in there???....why???

Honestly, I've never heard of that before. Are you sure the word "antelope" refers to the material used in making the hats? If so, I'm stumped, based on my limited knowledge of hatmaking. Maybe Fedora or one of the other pros could provide some insight about it.

Jack

Good point Eazybox. I remember I was browsing on evilbay a few months back and they had a camel fedora. I had absolutely no clue how on earth they felted camel hair...until I realized that that was the COLOR. :junior: -M

i do know that hats can be made out of antelope fur felt its possible ...and both of these hats have the blue crest in the liner with the address

HERBERT JOHNSON

38 NEW BOND STREET

LONDON W

GPN - B

you see im quite stumped too...its just very peculiar... that would make sense but one is black the other brown almost sable....the brown one went for over £200...

I think Mulceber may be right; now that my brain's synapses are working again, I do seem to recall seeing "antelope" offered as a color choice for hats.

EDIT: Just read about the one hat being black, so I'm stumped again, too; if this is important, you may want to contact the sellers and ask them about it.

Jack

That's a good looking hat; I'm not sure, but it's probably not a Poet. I've never seen a Poet with a front crease as low as that, or one with a white ribbon; although of course it may have been modified. The color does look about right to be described as "antelope," but if you saw a black one also described as "antelope," then perhaps that is what they are made of.

Jack

ive seen a black one as well with identical details given in regards to model...it does not say poet though... but i can't post the link for another while...

Again, not 100% certain of this, but I believe I read somewhere that the vintage Poets only came in grey or sable...

Jack

what hat was toht wearing in raiders then

The Avaitor wrote:what hat was toht wearing in raiders then

No idea; but not a Poet, IMO.

Jack

your totally right tohts hat had a bound edge...

Here are two photos of my 1988 Vintage Poet that I bought from Swales that summer. It has the "13 Old Burlington" address on the inside.







~Ron

Beautiful hat Ron! Tod or LC all the way, depending on what scene you want to pick from either movie. Wonderful!

Can I have it?

Weston

With the way that ribbon is sitting away from the crown, it looks identical to the TOD hat - awesome stuff.

Any pictures of the interior?

It's nice to see these old hats. Here's one of my vintage Poets:



And here's a photo of me wearing it (sorry girls, I've lost some of my hair and put on a few pounds since this was taken) :




Jack

Weston wrote:Beautiful hat Ron! Tod or LC all the way, depending on what scene you want to pick from either movie. Wonderful!

Can I have it?

Weston

hey!!! that's my line!!!

That black Hj on ebay i was talkin about i put in a bid and to my complete amazement i got it!! lol...its far away from an indy shape but it really needs a re-block and new ribbon....where could i look into that because i want a raiders shape to it?!?...anyway heres the ebay link that finished last night


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... Y.m238.lVI

any opinions?!?

Cheers

Brim and a half

yeah but that means theres plenty of material if the crown needs to be messed with.. ....least thats my excuse ...

Mulceber wrote:Yep. I can't cite anything, but I'm 100% certain the Raiders fedora was rabbit. :junior: -M

I second that. I did read somewhere that the original HJ used in Raiders was rabbit.

I think some hats have mink mixed in too, anyone else hear that??

Ahhh Avaitor that hat looks like something the cone heads would wear on Saturday Night Live!!!

But seriously with a reblock and some work it could be great, good luck with it. It looks very promising.

Yes, all that brim width will be handy when it's reblocked. You can probably squeeze some crown height out of it and/or size up some.

yeah well i think it needs to move up a size.....cant wait to examine it really...ive never owned a hj before only Akubras so im expecting a good bit of difference...it should be arriving on wednesday or possibly thursday so i will put some pics up...

Heres the pictures of the black HJ i got it today any opinions??


http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk26 ... 20Johnson/



Cheers

My opinion is you should get it reblocked and put a new sweatband in. And put a new ribbon on it. it's a pretty hat, and I'm sure the felt could withstand it.

Yeah i'm definately going to get it re-blocked...no question given the taper ...but im weary of either replacing the ribbon or sweat if I can help it...In my opinion it would rob the hat of its character, its twice my age (i think) so i expected some battle scars. it could still be indy-esque with the larger ribbon and a dimensional cut brim...

If you size up, though, you'll almost certainly have to replace both ribbon and sweat. The sweat may not be recoverable, anyway. You likely can save the lining, the most important part of its HJ markings.

I vote to have it rebuilt into a useable hat. For something like that I think that's the right way to make them 'live'. Have your hatter send the old ribbon and sweat back to you so you can keep them, though. And I'd have that brim cut down a bit.

Great score, btw.

The Avaitor wrote:Heres the pictures of the black HJ i got it today any opinions??

http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk26 ... 20Johnson/

Cheers

I love the look of that hat!!! Once reblocked and you replace the sweatband and ribbon it's going to be a real beauty, worth every penny I'm sure...There's just something appealing about it.

Nice hat! Reminds me a bit of the one that the "Phantom of the Opera" wears in the musical.

~Ron

Yeah i think useable hat is the best way to go!! ...no point having it if im not going to wear it ...i'm looking into getting it re-blocked but it will probably be a while before I will have a finished product, basically because I wasn't expecting to win it so i will need to scrape together the cash and as well as that I will be sending it to Marc to get all the work done...But I don't really mind about the wait or money because if its worth doing its worth doing properly....thats sooo cheesy so i'll apologise lol

Marc could do wonders with that thing. Sounds like the right course. I can't wait to see how it looks when he's finished with it.