German & Austrian Hutmachers

[Chepstow]

Steve, thanks my friend! The best is, after a good steam and a little bit stretching he fits perfect!

 

[mikespens]

Very nice early melone and you wear it well Manfred.

 

[WineGuy]

Need help dating and identifying this Czech Huckel

Forgive me if this is the wrong thread..but I figured that this Czech area is both Czech and Austrian historically.

I have not been able to find one single Huckel with the same liner or hat band, does anyone know anything about the Antilope model? The hat shop in Newark has been gone for decades so I have to guess the hat at least 30-40 years old. The felt is very soft and is a midnight blue/black in color, the band is of the same material. 2 1/4" brim and 5" crown at it's tallest. I'm cross posting a few other threads.

 

[mayserwegener]

I would say 1960s maybe early 1970s. J. Hückel´s Söhne was nationalized as TONAK after WWII. If you want to learn more you can check out the following link. The situation was complicated post WWII.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/6-johann-hueckel%c2%b4s-soehne-hueckel-hutfabrik-weilheim/


The Antilope is a type of felt finish (see the Lembert Antilope a few posts back in this thread). I don't think this was a pre WWII JHS model name.

By the way great hat!

 

[mayserwegener]

K. & R. Lembert Kristall Velour, mint condition, probably early 1950s. Very beautiful / high quality black Velour that reminds me of JHS Sigma finish. Unfotunately listed as 58cm but more like 55cm. Still it's the oldest K. & R. Lembert soft felt I have encountered. Shown here with brim snapped.

 

[mikespens]

Steve you just keep reel'n em in. Very nice and especially nice photo to capture it's blackness.

 

[mayserwegener]

Mike, Thanks! I wish it was my size but you can't win them all.

 

[Chepstow]

Mike, thank you very much for the kind words about the Melone and the flange. I really appreciate them, my friend!

Wineguy, great hat the Hückel Antilope, the felt finish is super on that!

Steve, what a pity that the Lembert is to small for you. Looks perfect for me! Great shape!

 

[Joshbru3]

WOW!!!!! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

Absolutely spectacular. That Lembert has such a deep black color, it almost appears blue with the camera flash.

 

[kolchak]

Cheptstow: Great upturned brim and shape to that Wilke Melone.
Mayserwegener: Great midnight color on that K. & R. Lembert - 'Made in Germany' - was this hat sold originally in the U.S.? Was the English tag used on a lot of hats or just those intended for export?

Also, I picked this up today at a Trödelmarkt in my neighborhood - its a beautiful old Rheinhut Homburg in very nice condition. I seem to remember reading about this headband style before... What would be the thinking on the period here? This hat obviously never left Berlin. I did a little poking around about the store Freimuth Hüte Berlin. It closed in 2006. Although I was here then, I never made it there. Here is the story. I translated it for the readers here from an article in a German national daily - no babblefish, I did it the old fashioned way ;-)

For those that read German - link to the original stroy:
http://www.welt.de/print-welt/artic...ner-Institution-Freimuth-Huete-schliesst.html

Die Welt
September 4th, 2006

Berlin -

The oldest and last specialty shop for hats in the Kurfürstendamm in the western district of Charlottenburg is due to close forever a day before the upcoming Berlin elections, September 16th. The third generation family-owned Freimuth Hüte Berlin was an institution. Udo Lindenberg, Manfred Krug, Mario Adorf and countless politicians were among the many famous customers that passed through its doors.

The closing of the store has been difficult for everyone involved. "My best childhood memories happened right here" says Peter Heinrichsdorff, grandson of the founder Paul Freimuth. The young boy was allowed to roam free in the business - helping to steam and shape customers' hats and free to watch in awe his grandmother fitting a hat for the mayor, Ernst Reuter.

This classic traditional hat store opened in 1914. "My great-grandfather Paul Freimuth was apparently a fearless businessman," says Amelie quantity, the daughter of the present owner. "In the mid 50s-years he even sold several hats to Georgi Maximilianowitsch Malenkow, Stalin's second in command as secretary-general of the Communist Party. This decadent luxury triggered a scandal that made headlines in the Russian press," the 36-year-old fondly remembered. It is just one of many stories from the firm's long history that Amelie likes to tell.

When her grandmother introduced women's hats in the 1970s to a store that traditionally offered only men's, actresses like Hildegard Knef, Gaby Dohm and Inge Meysel were more than happy to shop there. The remaining ladies hats found their way into the legendary hat parties of socialite Ulla Klingbeil and the business flourished. The old store was now too small and they moved it across the street bringing the original Jugendstil glass showcases, cast iron head measures, workbenches and portrait of the founder Paul Freimuth with them. The business was a popular shooting location for many TV series including the hit Tatort (Crime Scene.) Many of the same hats hats found their way to the theater stage as well.

The great grandchildren remember fondly the days when Christmas season brought the entire family together to help the staff. "Since then however, my brother and I have headed off into different directions," says Heinrichsdorff (66), now public relations director. He and his wife Barbara (63) took over the business from his mother at the end of the 70s. In the meanwhile they too have reached retirement age. "Efforts to find a successor outside the family to take over the business unfortunately haven't had any success."

The fact that the store occupies over 200 square meters in the Kurfurstendamm (Berlin's premier shopping street with today's rents around 160 Euro per square meter) also played a deciding roll in the store's upcoming closing.

© Axel Springer AG 2013. Alle Rechte vorbehalte
translation by Joel William Grossman 2013

And finally here are the pics of the Rheinhut Freimuth Hüte Berlin Homburg I found today:

 

[mayserwegener]

Thanks! The "Made in Germany" is unusual for a domestic hat. It might be that Lembert sold a lot of hats to US customers in the Bavarian sector so they stamped it on their hats. Fantastic Homburg! I don't believe Rheinhut is a hat company? Is there a paper label behind the sweatband? Is the liner stitched or glued? Great story on Freimuth. It's sad they couldn't find anyone to keep it going.

Manfred, Thanks! Unfortunately it's really small. I have no idea how the seller came up with 59cm. He was a nice guy so I didn't press it.

Josh, Thanks! I didn't use a flash on this one. Probably just a lighting issue. The Velour quality is very high. It reminds some what of the JHS Sigma finish which is high praise.

 

[mikespens]

Very nice Homburg kolchak and thanks for the proper translation. It's a shame to hear about the closing of any local old world institution.

 

[Chepstow]

kolchak, thanks for the kind words about the Wilke Melone, much appreciated.
Very nice story and interesting to read. My guess, your Rheinhut is from the late 40s to the mid 50s.
The gray sweatband is very rare. I have sold some Rheinhut in the past. This one is from the mid 60s.

 

[kolchak]

Fantastic Homburg! I don't believe Rheinhut is a hat company? Is there a paper label behind the sweatband? Is the liner stitched or glued? Great story on Freimuth. It's sad they couldn't find anyone to keep it going.

Inside band at stitch point. Liner stitched at points along the hat.

back of sweatband:

I think Rhein has only one meaning in German - its the native way of spelling the River Rhine. I guess it could be a style or model name relating in the Rhein-Ruhr - the Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen and Bonn metro area or somewhere along the Rhine. Like calling a hat 'the New Yorker' maybe...?

 

[kolchak]

I was writing the last post when yours came up Chepstow. Thanks for clearing that up!

Mikespens, I know what you mean. When a great old store goes under it feels like a friend has died.

 

[mayserwegener]

I would say late 1950s. This based on the construction of the hat + materials used. The naming of hats like this was common in that time period and into the 1960s and 1970s. It's possible it was made by or for Friedrich W. Schneider of Colonge. They are now Stetson Europe but have a long history that goes back to early 1900s.

 

[Garrett]

Post-WW2 Tonak Zephyr Seal Velour in midnight navy with silver ribbon (made at the Huckel plant). Refurbished by Optimo.

 

[mayserwegener]

Fantastic restore by Optimo! The ribbon / felt color contrast really is great! I really like it!

 

[ofcoursemyhorse]

Bunch of wonderful hats posted here recently, and extra kudos for the amazing photography of said hats. I can't imagine its easy to photograph a velour hat and get that wonderful shine to show through.

 

[mayserwegener]

Thanks! Yes it's hard to photograph Velours especially the black or dark blue ones.