Herbert Johnson

Posted by Max from proxy2.cityweb.de on July 27, 1998 at 07:48:59:

I recently visited Herbert Johnson in London and picked up a fedora there. I must say that the guys at the shop were very helpful and friendly. I talked to the man who made the hats for the Young Indy Chronicles. He told me that the ribbon was taken especially for the Indiana Jones hats for the movies and as they didn't think that the hat would be that popular, they didn't buy that Petersham ribbon anymore. Fortunately, they now can get it again.

The hat itself is really nice. The felt is pretty soft already and you can form it quite well. It may be a little bit dark but only slightly.
Remember that nearly all scenes were made with special light effects and it was also distressed. The ribbon is exactly the same color and
also seems to be the right size. I compared it to photos from Raiders, ToD and LC and it looks to me like the right size. I'm not a Indy hat expert but I wanted a high quality and authentic hat and as far as I
see it I got it. I must agree with you though that it costs an awful lot of money. I had to save my money over the time to be able to afford it. I'm unsure if I don't begin to regret it after I read all the previous messages about it but I think if you want it as an authentic collector's item, it is good as it WAS made by the man who made them for the movies. And also if you wear your fedora daily as it is a real high quality hat. Anyway, I wanted it for both collecting and wearing it when going fishing or anything. By the way, I have only seen pictures of the reproduction and so I can't really comment on them. But they don't look all that perfect to me either. I can't really understand why no one seems to like Herbert Johnson. The guy I talked was very friendly and helpful.

One thing I have to add to the previous dicussion about the hat: As Isaac, as you pointed out it is nearly impossible to get authentic Indy stuff. But I won't say that the hat has 'changed' a lot. I would say the jacket underwent most of the changes. And by the way, I hope you are aware of the fact that David Morgan's whip isn't the 'original' anymore. He changed some things in the interior construction. He also changed the fall and cracker of the whip.

Regards,
-Max

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: I recently visited Herbert Johnson in London and picked up a fedora there. I must say that the guys at the shop were very helpful and friendly. I talked to the man who made the hats for the Young Indy Chronicles. He told me that the ribbon was taken especially for the Indiana Jones hats for the movies and as they didn't think that the hat would be that popular, they didn't buy that Petersham ribbon anymore. Fortunately, they now can get it again.

: The hat itself is really nice. The felt is pretty soft already and you can form it quite well. It may be a little bit dark but only slightly.
: Remember that nearly all scenes were made with special light effects and it was also distressed. The ribbon is exactly the same color and
: also seems to be the right size. I compared it to photos from Raiders, ToD and LC and it looks to me like the right size. I'm not a Indy hat expert but I wanted a high quality and authentic hat and as far as I
: see it I got it. I must agree with you though that it costs an awful lot of money. I had to save my money over the time to be able to afford it. I'm unsure if I don't begin to regret it after I read all the previous messages about it but I think if you want it as an authentic collector's item, it is good as it WAS made by the man who made them for the movies. And also if you wear your fedora daily as it is a real high quality hat. Anyway, I wanted it for both collecting and wearing it when going fishing or anything. By the way, I have only seen pictures of the reproduction and so I can't really comment on them. But they don't look all that perfect to me either. I can't really understand why no one seems to like Herbert Johnson. The guy I talked was very friendly and helpful.

: One thing I have to add to the previous dicussion about the hat: As Isaac, as you pointed out it is nearly impossible to get authentic Indy stuff. But I won't say that the hat has 'changed' a lot. I would say the jacket underwent most of the changes. And by the way, I hope you are aware of the fact that David Morgan's whip isn't the 'original' anymore. He changed some things in the interior construction. He also changed the fall and cracker of the whip.

: Regards,
: -Max

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