Founded in 1838, the Knox Hat Company flourished in the mid- to late C19th--Abraham Lincoln's "stovepipe" hat was made by Knox in their Brooklyn factory, then the largest hat factory in the world.

Knox functioned as an independent hatter until the Great Depression, when it merged with Cavanagh and Dunlap to became The Hat Corporation of America.

This was originally sold by Woolf Brothers, which was the most successful luxury department store in the Midwest in the middle of the C20th. Woolf Brothersstarted in 1865 when Alfred and Samuel Woolf set up as shirtmakers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Their custom shirtsbecame famous, and they made them for such household names as Wild Bill Hickokand Buffalo Bill Cody. They opened their first store and offered hats and suits as well as shirts in 1879, adding women'sclothing after WWI. Woolf Brothers ceased to be independent in 1985, and so this hatdates to before then.

This is a lovely formal black Knox "Reel"hat, size 7 3/8. It was originally sold byWoolf brothers, of Kansas--in the middle of the C20th one of the most famous luxury department stores in the Midwest. It is in excellent condition, and comes complete with its original box--although this does have a tear, as shown.

Asking just $45, or offer, boxed, shipped, and insured in the USA.