Black Homburg

Description

An original Homburg from the 1920s or 1930s in immaculate condition for its age, made by Hillhouse & Co, Hat & Cap Makers, 11 Bond Street, London. Invented by Edward VII (then Prince of Wales) on a visit to The Möckel Hat factory in Bad Homburg, Germany, in 1882, where a local style of hat took his fancy. He commissioned something similar to Kaiser Wilhelm II’s hunting hat of pale green felt with a dark headband and a curled, bound brim, but in grey felt. Always one for starting national trends (see spats, the dinner jacket, and undoing the bottom button on one’s waistcoat), the Prince’s’s new Homburg quickly caught on back home and soon everybody wanted one. The Homburg gradually overtook the bowler and the topper as the formal hat of choice for English gentlemen. This one measures 7.5 x 6.5 inches on the inside, 12 inches on the brim and 5.5 inches tall, with a gutter, as opposed to pinched crease.