When the American West was first being settled, everyone wore whatever hat was available. But John Stetson, a hatmaker who had followed his dream of going West, invented a wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat that quickly became the most popular hat west of the Mississippi. This unusual biography, illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Holly Meade, captures the little-known story of the hat that has come to symbolize the West--and the man who invented it. Full color.
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When the American West was first being settled, everyone wore whatever hat was available. But John Stetson, a hatmaker who had followed his dream of going West, invented a wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat that quickly became the most popular hat west of the Mississippi. This unusual biography, illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Holly Meade, captures the little-known story of the hat that has come to symbolize the West--and the man who invented it. Full color.
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Boss of the Plains: The Hat that won the West
Illustrated biography of the man who made the hat. Son of a hatter who went West for his health. After making felt for a tent, designed and built the prototype for the first mass-produced cowboy hat.
The story of J.B. Stetson is the story of the birth of the Cowboy Hat. Growing up the son of a hatter he heard stories of the West. He went West for his health and had great adventures. Traveling with some friends he made felt for a tent, out of fur. About a month later he saw that his short brimmed derby hat, offered near no protection from the sun, wind, rain and snow. So he built himself a wide brimmed, tall crowned, thick felt hat, unlike anything else.
Eventually a trail-boss bought the hat right off of his head for a quarter ounce of gold. When Stetson returned to Philadelphia he really could not sell many hats. But in his mind he could see the horseman wearing his high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat as he rode away. It must have been a sight.
John decided to market a hat in the West using an unique marketing method. He called his hat the ?Boss of the Plains.? He made them all the same: light tan felt, with a wide brim, a high crown and a plain band. He sent free samples to every hat store in the West.
He used advanced payments from the West to turn out hats as fast as he could. A Boss of the plains hat could cost a cowboy's whole month's wages. But it met the needs of the west like no other hat can. It protected against the sun and the rain. It was used to fan the flames of campfires. Carried feed and water to horses, and used to wave cows into the corral.
Stetson's were expensive hats, they would impress the lady's at a dance, or be used to gather berries. It was the perfect decoy when a cowboy was in trouble, or soft padding for his head when he slept.
John B. Stetson made his mark on the West with what later would be known as the ?Cowboy Hat!?
