• If you have comments or questions about my research, or
• If you would like information about a hat you own,

Then I want to hear from you!  Depending on my teaching schedule, it may take a few days or so to get back to you, but I will eventually respond!  Keep in mind, my knowledge is mostly limited to the brands listed on this site.

Due to unmanagable amounts of spam from China, please contact me through the Hatted Professor Facebook page.

Thanks!

~The Hatted Professor

A Note about Hat Values:

When folks contact me, one of the questions I'm often asked is, "How much is my hat worth?"   Please keep in mind a couple of things.  First, all of my appraisal knowledge pertaining to assigning value to hats has come from ten years worth of watching or participating in hat auctions on eBay.  I am not a professional appraiser.  Second, hats are greatly overvalued on eBay.  The past few years there have been several sellers that have advertised hats at outrageous Buy-It-Now prices, and this has served to get every eBay seller thinking that hats are worth that much.  The truth is, they aren't.  There are a few exceptions, of course.  Stetson Stratoliners and Whippets seem to command big prices, but that's a very specific market.   Hats once belonging to famous people also might command higher prices.  But again, these are exceptions, and most hats won't bring those kind of prices, so keep your expectations realistic.

A Few eBay commandments:

• Most hats one finds on eBay are from the 1950s up to the present.
• Older hats tend to sell for higher prices, as they are rarer.
• The style of the hat also affects the price.  Antique silk hats tend to sell higher, narrow-brimmed soft felt hats tend to sell lower.
• Larger sizes, from 7 3/8 on up, also sell for higher prices.  Supply and Demand, you know.
• Most hats will sell for $100 or less.  That's the plain truth.

Good luck with your auctions!

About the Hatted Professor

The Hatted Professor is an historian and full-time Professor of History at a community college in Colorado.  His interest in hats dates back to 2003 when he began looking for a suitable Indiana Jones hat.  From there he discovered classic hat manufacturing and developed an interest in the history of men's hat manufacturing in the United States.  His foremost obsession was trying to understand the Cavanagh Edge, and why it couldn't be reproduced anymore.  From there, he also developed an interest in discovering for himself how to make hats and the time-honored skills required.

His historical interests beyond hat manufacturing include railroads and the Colorado-Kansas Railway, Colorado history, local history, US history, World history, and a multitude of other subjects.  Other interests also include his cats, video games, comic books, and sci-fi and fantasy books, movies, and TV shows.

© 2016 J. Bradford Bowers