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This
gorgeous hat is in very good
condition with minor pitting in the beaver and no fraying of the ribbon
hatband. The Stetson "Gus" has many names and has been worn by
many iconic figures in American history. It's a modified 10-gallon
hat, a perfected Col. McCoy that was invented for the actor Tim McCoy in
1910 by Max J. Meyer of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is sometimes called
the Tom Mix Hat, since it was worn by the actor in and out of film.
The most famous and flamboyant Western actors have worn the Stetson Gus,
from William Boyd
(Hopalong Cassidy) to John Wayne and Robert Duvall,
pictured at right in his Gus.
The 10-gallon name is derived from the Spanish word galon, meaning
braid, which was used in the manufacture of the
hat. This Gus has what is called a Carlsbad Crease (running from
the high back down to the front) after the area where it originated,
Carlsbad, New Mexico.
There
is a special and formal mystique about a Gus. There’s
a wonderful story about a restaurant in Dallas that had
received a reservation for 10. When the appointed time came,
five men came walking in the door. The maitre d’ was looking
around thinking that maybe the wives were still out in the
parking lot, but it was just these five men. So they sat
down at the table with a chair between each one of them,
took off their Gus Stetsons, and put them in the chairs.
bottom
is written: "STETSON".
The ranch for whom the hat was made is named on the opposite side of the
interior band -- "The
Bar-B-Q Ranch, Post Falls, Idaho".
#1 Quality
was the highest grade available in Stetson hats at the time. Probably a
blend of beaver, muskrat and coypu. This trademark was used from the
19th century up until the mid-twentieth century.
Updated:
Thursday May 17, 2012