Top Hat
I will christen this blog by posting about one of my absolute favourite vintage items – my top hat.
My wife, Emmie, bought the hat for me at a second hand shop for 150kr (£12.50 / $18). I wasn’t there at the time, but we share the same head size and she checked the hat on her, and felt it fit quite well. The hat came with a box, which was quite battered, and not a particularly good box for a top hat (Even inside the box, the hat is still held up by the base of the crown, rather than the brim, which means whenever you move the box the edge of the crown is knocked, which wears the hat down over time). However, I was thrilled.
When Emmie gave me the box and I took the hat out, I noticed that there was some newspaper at the bottom of the box, placed there I can only assume to prevent dust getting in through the holes in the hat box. A quick glance at the newspaper gave a date of the 22nd September, 1956. This immediately showed that the hat was not a modern creation, and I became even more excited. I noticed that the hat was made by “H.J. Olsson”, in a town quite near where I live.
For a while after that, however, I didn’t find much out about the hat. Nobody on the vintage forum I frequent, The Fedora Lounge, had any ideas regarding it, and I couldn’t find any information online from the names I had found on the hat’s lining.
One day, while looking at the hat, I noticed it was made in Eslöf. Until then I had read it as Eslöv, the name of a town quite near where I live, so I naturally assumed that the hat had come from there. A little bit of research revealed that Eslöf is the archaic name for Eslöv, so I thought it could assist with ageing the hat some more. I contacted the Eslöv library, asking if they would be able to provide any further information. I was quickly contacted by a librarian from Eslöv library, who, over a few e-mails, informed me that the hat shop was opened in 1890, and closed down in 1966, and for the last 20 years was not run by the Olsson family. She also informed me that the name of Eslöv was changed to Eslöf in 1927. This meant that the hat was created some time between 1890 and just before 1930 (Providing time for the linings with the old name of the town to be consumed).
I also checked the quality of the hat, the feel of the material used to create the hat, and the quality of the light reflection, and I am reasonably sure that the hat is made of silk plush. This makes the hat a much higher quality top hat, and makes the price Emmie bought it for even better! Once I have brushed and polished the hat, I will know for certain whether it is silk plush or melusine (felt).
I have recently aquired some hat brushes, so I can brush out the dust from the top hat. I am keeping my eye out for a velvet pad, which is required to polish the hat, so that it can get back the shine it deserves.
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Congratulations on the find. Granted, they’re easier to find in Europe, but that’s a ridiculously small amount to pay for a top hat in such good shape. Also, it is most definitely silk plush. Fashion, and the declining beaver population in the USA pretty much killed the high-quality beaver fur felt top hat by the mid-1800s, even though they were still colloquially called “beaver hats.” Unfortunately, the last remaining loom for creating this “hatter’s plush” was lost when the two French brothers who owned it, got in a fight and destroyed it in the mid-1900s. So, ironically, the only way to make them now is back with the old fur felt.
I also have a pristine top hat that fits my head perfectly. And it’s also one of my most prized possessions. So enjoy it and wear it well!
I would recommend trying to find someone to try to kill the mold on the underbrim. If you keep on top of it and store it in a dry place, you should be fine, but it’s better to get rid of it. Sadly, I can’t offer any suggestions on who can do it. I have a small spot on mine, but so far, no one here in the US even wants to touch it for fear of damaging it. Good luck!
Thanks, as I said it’s one of my favourite items. Also thanks for confirming that it’s silk, I’ve been edging more and more to just saying it’s silk as all the signs pointed to it, but it’s the only non-costume top hat I’ve ever seen, so I had nothing to compare it to.
I only know of one shop left in Sweden that advertise as a hatters, they are quite close to me and I plan to visit them shortly to ask if they renovate hats (I have another hat that could do with a little work). Unfortunately, I don’t think they will be able to do anything with the top hat – the only hats they seem to make themselves are soft felt hats, all the hard hats they sell are imported from England.
However, I am British and go back to England quite often, and so will take the hat to London if required – Lock & Co will repair it and kill the mould it if nobody else will, I’m sure. The other hat I want renovated is actually a Lock & Co hat, so again, I’m sure I can get their assistance if I need it.