Vintage Battersby London Hand Made Brown Fur Felt Fedora Hat 7 3/8

This is a quality mens fedora hat made by Battersby of London.  Battersby, of course, was a legendary English hatmaker, with head office in London and factory located in Stockport.  It is that Stockport factory that Giuseppe Borsalino visited in 1897 to learn the secrets of hat production.  The Battersby factory closed its doors in 1980.

This hat is hand made of 100% superior quality fur felt in a very attractive tone of medium dark brown.  The crown has a narrow grosgrain band and bow around its base.  The sweatband is gold stamped “Battersby London Made in England”, “Made in England 100% Fine Fur Felt Hand Made” and with the Italian retailer’s name “Made Expressly for A. Giusti Galleria Cavour 9 Bologna”.  A. Giusti is a Bologna hat shop founded in 1885 by Leopoldo Giusti and developed by his son Armando - they were the first company in Bologna to import British brands.  The interior crown is white stamped “Battersby London” along with a graphic of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.  I believe that the hat dates to the 1970s.  There is a fabric label attached to the sweatband that sizes the hat as a 7 3/8 (60), which is a large/extra large size.  It measures 23” around the sweat band and 8” by 6 1/2” across the opening.  The brim measures 2 1/4” in width and the crown measures 4 5/8” in height.  The hat is in very good condition with no pronounced wear - it would benefit from a professional brushing/cleaning, although it is very acceptable to use as is.  The fur felt is very soft and supple on this hat - excellent style and attractive color, great hat to own!