Herbert Johnson "scoop"

Posted by Indy Magnoli from lobolab27.unm.edu on March 25, 1998 at 09:22:24:

I just recently returned from a trip to Europe where, while in London, I stopped in at Herbert Johnson. I met Richard Swales, the original maker of the Indy fedora, and talked to him about making my new hat. He had one waiting for me, the modified "Poet" as described all over the net. As I'm sure many of you are aware, Indy's hats change ever so slightly throughout each film.

Richard maintained that the modified "Poet" was the hat he supplied for the films. He proudly showed a B&W still, a production shot from Raiders with Ford's knee up and a whip in one hand, comparing the original with the one he'd just made. This still is one of the few shots where Indy's hat looks very dark. And, sure enough, Mr. Swales' hat was almost a choclate brown.

The hat turned out to be the wrong size, so I looked around the shoppe to see what options I had. He had no more Poets in stock, so I tried on a H.J. English Trilby. The color, in my opinion, was closer to the photos I'd seen. It had a slightly shorter crown, as seen in Temple and Crusade. And the felt was of a superior quality. The brim still had to be trimmed as the Poet's was all those years ago. The final product is, in my opinion, the true Indy fedora.

I apologize for my lengthy oration, but for all those fedora afficionatos, I recommend the Herbert Johnson Trilby over the Poet any day. Another employee there maintained that the felt of the Trilby was a better quality and more suited to the abuses of adventuring. ;)

-Indy Magnoli

P.S. I will probably post some photos of the various Herbert Johnson hats in the near future so you can decide for yourselves.

PITA Productions On-Line and Company Store

Follow Ups:

Re: Herbert Johnson "scoop" Michaelson 09:52:16 3/25/98 (4)
- Re: Herbert Johnson "scoop" Indy Magnoli 12:38:51 3/26/98 (0)
- Re: Herbert Johnson "scoop" Greg 20:26:38 3/25/98 (2)
  - I RULE JONYBERTO 17:12:53 6/27/98 (0)
  - Re: Herbert Johnson "scoop" Indy Magnoli 12:45:08 3/26/98 (0)

Post a Followup:

Name:    
E-Mail:  
Subject: 
Comments:

: I just recently returned from a trip to Europe where, while in London, I stopped in at Herbert Johnson. I met Richard Swales, the original maker of the Indy fedora, and talked to him about making my new hat. He had one waiting for me, the modified "Poet" as described all over the net. As I'm sure many of you are aware, Indy's hats change ever so slightly throughout each film.

: Richard maintained that the modified "Poet" was the hat he supplied for the films. He proudly showed a B&W still, a production shot from Raiders with Ford's knee up and a whip in one hand, comparing the original with the one he'd just made. This still is one of the few shots where Indy's hat looks very dark. And, sure enough, Mr. Swales' hat was almost a choclate brown.

: The hat turned out to be the wrong size, so I looked around the shoppe to see what options I had. He had no more Poets in stock, so I tried on a H.J. English Trilby. The color, in my opinion, was closer to the photos I'd seen. It had a slightly shorter crown, as seen in Temple and Crusade. And the felt was of a superior quality. The brim still had to be trimmed as the Poet's was all those years ago. The final product is, in my opinion, the true Indy fedora.

: I apologize for my lengthy oration, but for all those fedora afficionatos, I recommend the Herbert Johnson Trilby over the Poet any day. Another employee there maintained that the felt of the Trilby was a better quality and more suited to the abuses of adventuring. ;)

: -Indy Magnoli

: P.S. I will probably post some photos of the various Herbert Johnson hats in the near future so you can decide for yourselves.

Optional:

Link URL:   
Link Title: 
Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Indyfan Forum ] [ FAQ ]