Leather Cowboy Hats

Started by Icebox Bob, May 24, 2009, 11:30:12 PM

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Icebox Bob

May 24, 2009, 11:30:12 PM
Were cowboy hats ever made out of leather in the 1800's?  It would seem that leather would have been easier to come by on the frontier than felt (that was good enough for a hat)...... 

And making your own out of leather seems easier than making one out of felt.  Just curious!
Well.... see, if you take your time, you get a more harmonious outcome.

Delmonico

#1
May 25, 2009, 12:42:12 AM
Nope, they wern't and I don't mean to offend anyone but a hat had to be useful also and those leather hats are about as useful as the mammary glands on a male pig.

Besides a felt hat ain't that hard to build, John B. Stetson built one in a camp in the Rockis, sold it to someone and decided to found the company.

Not sure when leather cowboy hats first came out, but as far as I can tell they're part of the Woodstock era.
Mongrel Historian


Always get the water for the coffee upstream from the herd.

Ab Ovo Usque ad Mala

The time has passed so quick, the years all run together now.

Ten Wolves Fiveshooter

#2
May 25, 2009, 07:26:44 AM
Quote from: Delmonico on May 25, 2009, 12:42:12 AM


Not sure when leather cowboy hats first came out, but as far as I can tell they're part of the Woodstock era.

    I agree with Dell, I don't remember ever seeing leather hats until the 60's, it started out as a Hippie/ flower child thing,

                                             tEN wOLVES
NRA, SASS# 69595, NCOWS#3123 Leather Shop, RATTS# 369, SCORRS, BROW, ROWSS #40   Shoot Straight, Have Fun, That's What It's All About

St. George

#3
May 25, 2009, 09:05:31 AM
You see them in the 'Spaghetti Westerns' ('Two Mules for Sister Sara' comes to mind) and on one of the 'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers', but that's about it.

One more reason not to use the Silver Screen as any sort of reference...

Vaya,

Scouts Out!
"It Wasn't Cowboys and Ponies - It Was Horses and Men.
It Wasn't Schoolboys and Ladies - It Was Cowtowns and Sin..."

Forty Rod

#4
May 25, 2009, 01:39:38 PM
Unless you have an old military steel helmet and liner you won't find much that's heavier and more uncomfortable.

Or hotter in the sun.
People like me are the reason people like you have the right to bitch about people like me.

cowboywc

#5
May 25, 2009, 03:24:33 PM
Howdy FR
You are right there.
WC
Leather by WC / Standing Bear's Trading Post

RollingThunder

#6
May 25, 2009, 07:07:59 PM
Don't forget Col. Teague in "Cold Mountain" ... while it may not have been leather, it certainly looked like one of them.

And the other thing ... full seat, Association tree saddles prior to the early 1900s? They got the guns right, but screwed up the saddles and a few other items. Who the heck roped in the Blue Ridge anyway?

Oy. And vey!
Just because you CAN ride the hide off a horse, doesn't mean you should.

http://www.youtube.com/artroland - The home of Backyard Horsemanship!

JD Alan

#7
May 26, 2009, 08:19:56 AM
Hey there RT, I took a look at some of your videos on horsemanship. Really great stuff. I wish I'd had something like that back in 1962, when my parents bought me my first horse! It's a great service to the riding community, and I hope lots of people take advantage of your experience and advice. JD

The man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.

santee

#8
May 26, 2009, 08:48:14 AM
Always kills me how a movie (like Cold Mountain) can do so well on an authenticity scale and mess it up with one bad choice. Maybe I'm a hat nazi.

Historian at Old Tucson
SASS #2171
STORM #371
RATS #431
True West Maniac #1261

St. George

#9
May 26, 2009, 11:25:51 AM
Sometimes, it's not 'quite' the fault of the prop guys - there's an 'artistic vision' at work that no amount of arguing and reference will overshadow.

Then - there's 'availability'....

Kevin Costner's 'Wyatt Earp' went into production after Kurt Russell's 'Tombstone' was filming.

The prop guys for 'Tombstone' scoured the leathermakers for period-correct leather and there simply wasn't anything left for the follow-on propmasters for 'Wyatt Earp'.

The big problem is that there doesn't seem to be the massive stage prop warehouses of yesteryear, where all manner of the 'right' sort of stuff was available.

They were sold out a long time ago - lock, stock and barrel, and no pun intended...

Today, almost immediately after the wrap party, the props used in a movie go to the sellers of such and on ebay.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

"It Wasn't Cowboys and Ponies - It Was Horses and Men.
It Wasn't Schoolboys and Ladies - It Was Cowtowns and Sin..."

santee

#10
May 27, 2009, 07:23:55 AM
You're right, it may be the costumer or even producer wanting that particular hat, even if the historian deems it inaccurate.
But with so many sources for period correct attire, there shouldn't be a problem anymore.

Sorry, Bob. I took us off topic!
Historian at Old Tucson
SASS #2171
STORM #371
RATS #431
True West Maniac #1261

Ottawa Creek Bill

#11
May 27, 2009, 07:33:49 AM
The hat that Ray Winstone (the bad guy wanting to get into Nichole Kidman's panties) was wearing, looks like a modern slick leather Aussie hat that they tried to rough up to make it look old, it didn't work.

Bill
Vice Chairman American Indian Council of Indianapolis
Vice Chairman Inter tribal Council of Indiana
Member, Ottawa-Chippewa Band of Indians of Michigan
SASS # 2434
NCOWS # 2140
CMSA # 3119
NRA LIFER

RollingThunder

#12
May 27, 2009, 12:16:07 PM
LOL. OCB. Now, no self-respecting Aussie would be caught dead wearing leather on his noggin. Oilskin. That's the ticket! Which reminds me, I have to re-proof my Aussie coat this weekend. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours and man alive is it worth it's weight in gold!
Just because you CAN ride the hide off a horse, doesn't mean you should.

http://www.youtube.com/artroland - The home of Backyard Horsemanship!
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