Robert Stetson Popular Books

Robert Stetson Biography & Facts

Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous hats when he headed west from his native New Jersey for health reasons. On his return east in 1865, he founded the John B. Stetson Company in Philadelphia. He created a hat that has become symbolic of the pioneering American West, the "Boss of the Plains". This Western hat would become the cornerstone of Stetson's hat business and is still in production today. Stetson eventually became the world's largest hat maker, producing more than 3,300,000 hats a year in a factory spread over 9 acres (36,000 m2) in Philadelphia. In addition to its Western and fashion hats, Stetson also produces fragrance, apparel, footwear, eyewear, belts, bourbon, and other products evoking the historic American West. Stetson University and Stetson University College of Law in Florida were named after John B. Stetson in 1899 for his contributions to the school. The university's athletic teams are known as the Hatters, and the official mascot is known as "John B." Beginnings John B. Stetson was born in 1830 in Orange, New Jersey, where his father, Stephen Stetson, was a hatter. He worked in his father's shop until he went West for his health. Prospector's hat Stetson created a rugged hat for himself made from thick beaver felt while panning for gold in Colorado. According to legend, Stetson invented the hat while on a hunting trip while showing his companions how he could make cloth out of fur without tanning. Fur felt hats are lighter, they maintain their shape, and withstand weather and renovation better.Stetson made an unusually large hat from felt he made from hides collected on the trip and wore the hat for the remainder of the expedition. Although initially worn as a joke, Stetson soon grew fond of the hat for its ability to protect him from the elements. It had a wide brim, a high crown to keep an insulating pocket of air on the head, and was used to carry water. As their travels continued, a cowboy is said to have seen J. B. Stetson and his unusual hat, rode up, tried the hat on for himself, and paid Stetson for it with a five dollar gold piece, riding off with the first western Stetson hat on his head. Boss of the Plains Stetson's western adventures came to an end in 1865. Stetson, then 35 years old and in better health, returned east and established his own hat firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which produced high-quality hats for outdoor use. After producing some initial designs based on popular styles of the day, Stetson decided to create a hat based on his experiences in the American West, which he called the "Boss of the Plains".The original "Boss", manufactured by Stetson in 1865, was flat-brimmed, had a straight-sided crown with rounded corners. These lightweight, waterproof hats were natural in color, with four-inch crowns and brims. A plain hatband was fitted to adjust head size. The sweatband bore John B. Stetson's name. Price and popularity Stetson produced a costly hat. The cowboy riding the range wearing the "'Boss of the Plains' hat showed the world that he was doing well". "Within a decade the name John B. Stetson became synonymous with the word 'hat' in every corner and culture of the West."The shape of the hat's crown and brim were often modified by the wearer for fashion and to protect against the weather by being softened in hot steam, shaped, and allowed to dry and cool. Felt tends to retain the shape in which it dries. The high-crowned, wide-brimmed, soft-felt western hats that followed are intimately associated with the American cowboy image. Mass production Stetson sent a sample hat to merchants throughout the Southwest with a letter asking for a minimum order of a dozen "Boss of the Plains" hats. The hat was an immediate success: in less than a year, Stetson set up a new factory in the outskirts of Philadelphia to handle his growing business. By 1886, Stetson's hat company was the largest globally and had mechanized the hat-making industry ("producing close to 2 million hats a year by 1906"). The Stetson Hat Co. ceased production in 1968 and licensed another hat company. However, these hats still bear the Stetson name, with the hats produced in St. Joseph, Missouri. Later the license was transferred to another hat company in Texas."Today's cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and design since the first one was created in 1865 by J.B. Stetson." Stetson also produced "dress" hats, distinguished from "western" hats by narrower brims and shorter crowns. However, his "Boss of the Plains" style hat and its many variants fueled the company's growth and fame. Singing cowboys and ten-gallon hats In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, a hat was an indispensable item in every man's wardrobe. Stetson focused on expensive, high-quality hats that represented a real investment for the working cowboy and a statement of success for the city dweller. Early on, Stetson hats became associated with legends of the West, including "Buffalo Bill", Calamity Jane, Will Rogers, and Annie Oakley. George Custer allegedly rode into the Battle of Little Big Horn wearing a Stetson. Later on, Western movie cowboys were quick to adopt the Stetson; many were drawn to the largest, most flamboyant styles available. Texans were known for their preference for the "Ten Gallon" model. According to Win Blevins' Dictionary of the American West (p. 388), the term "ten-gallon" has nothing to do with the hat's liquid capacity but derives from the Spanish word galón (braid), ten indicating the number of braids used as a hatband. However, an early Stetson advertising image, a painting of a cowboy dipping his hat into a stream to provide water for his horse, symbolized the cowboy hat as an essential part of a stockman's gear and was later featured inside every western style hat. Changing fashions Stetson also produced women's hats, operating a millinery department from the 1930s to 1950s. Hat sales suffered during the Depression years, but Stetsons remained ubiquitous until Americans' embrace of headwear faded after WWII. Stetson had operations in Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, and West Germany at its peak.Stetson changed its business strategy in the early 1970s, closing its Philadelphia factory in 1971 and continuing in the hat business through licensing arrangements with several manufacturers. Popular demand for western-style hats spiked during the 1980s after the success of Indiana Jones and Urban Cowboy movies. Both western and dress hats continue to be popular men's accessories. Diversification In the 1980s, Stetson began to diversify, releasing the first Stetson cologne in 1981 and Lady Stetson in 1986. Luggage, handbags, umbrellas, and.... Discover the Robert Stetson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Robert Stetson books.