Roebird cloche hat
- Thread starter Yunona
- Start date
lkranieri
VFG Member
Yunona, for educational purposes I am posting here the PM replies I gave you...
In all the years I have been researching labels, there have been only two instances when I found absolutely nothing. In one case I discovered the inquirer incorrectly spelled the name from memory (she didn't have a photo of the label). In the other instance the inquirer had the label, but still spelled the name incorrectly. In the second instance I was able to find the information for her when she finally posted the label.
When I was unable to find (in over 20 databases) a single thing for your Roebird hat, I knew something was wrong...and that was why I asked you for a photo of the label. When you sent the photo and I still couldn't find a single thing about a Roebird hat I was astonished and kept mumbling to myself that something was very wrong. A hat design/brand that would have been sold in New York and Paris (as the label says) would most certainly have some mention somewhere in the media.
So, for the past 2-3 days I sat and stared and tried to find the problem and I *think* I have the answer. I began to realize there is a larger space between the "o" and the "e" on your label than there is between the other letters. I also noted the "N" that should be in front of "New York" is missing...and there is a break in the flourish drawn from the front leg of the "R" of Roebird and that goes under the words New York and Paris. There is also a break there in the decorative circle that surrounds the whole trademark.
It was then that I thought there was a printing error, or something similar, in the label and I worked on what might have been between the 'o' and the 'e' and as I had seen "Rosebird" in some ads in my prior searches, I tried new searches with 'Rosebird' and 'cloche' and, sure enough, I found many relevant hits. I will send photos in my next reply...
In all the years I have been researching labels, there have been only two instances when I found absolutely nothing. In one case I discovered the inquirer incorrectly spelled the name from memory (she didn't have a photo of the label). In the other instance the inquirer had the label, but still spelled the name incorrectly. In the second instance I was able to find the information for her when she finally posted the label.
When I was unable to find (in over 20 databases) a single thing for your Roebird hat, I knew something was wrong...and that was why I asked you for a photo of the label. When you sent the photo and I still couldn't find a single thing about a Roebird hat I was astonished and kept mumbling to myself that something was very wrong. A hat design/brand that would have been sold in New York and Paris (as the label says) would most certainly have some mention somewhere in the media.
So, for the past 2-3 days I sat and stared and tried to find the problem and I *think* I have the answer. I began to realize there is a larger space between the "o" and the "e" on your label than there is between the other letters. I also noted the "N" that should be in front of "New York" is missing...and there is a break in the flourish drawn from the front leg of the "R" of Roebird and that goes under the words New York and Paris. There is also a break there in the decorative circle that surrounds the whole trademark.
It was then that I thought there was a printing error, or something similar, in the label and I worked on what might have been between the 'o' and the 'e' and as I had seen "Rosebird" in some ads in my prior searches, I tried new searches with 'Rosebird' and 'cloche' and, sure enough, I found many relevant hits. I will send photos in my next reply...
lkranieri
VFG Member
The primary thing I found and that you will see here are two photos of similar, but not identical, Rosebird labels from 1920s cloches. It is not at all unusual to have label designs change over the years, so this did not overly concern me. They both have the brand Rosebird surrounded by a decorative circle and they both say New York and Paris. Note also that the hats with the two labels I found and your hat are all cloches, so they are all of the same era. Note, too, that both Rosebird labels also have a copyright symbol, so in a little bit I will try to chase that down for further information about the brand.
I am comfortable now saying I think your label has a foofie and the brand is Rosebird, but as I have more time I will try to find more about Rosebird hats. Oh, I am also sending here an image of a 1927 ad that mentions Rosebird hats.
As usual, I am sharing this for educational purposes only. PLEASE do not post this publicly anywhere else. Thank you
I am comfortable now saying I think your label has a foofie and the brand is Rosebird, but as I have more time I will try to find more about Rosebird hats. Oh, I am also sending here an image of a 1927 ad that mentions Rosebird hats.
As usual, I am sharing this for educational purposes only. PLEASE do not post this publicly anywhere else. Thank you
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Yunona
Registered Guest
Thank you one more time, Lynne! Now I’m sitting in Tbilisi and looking for brands following the footsteps of the shoot that was done before me. The collection itself is located in Lithuania, so I can only use the information that was published in the catalog by another manager. But on March 15th I am flying to Lithuania and we will be shooting new storage units. Then I will try to carefully fix all the parts and all the labels.
The Vintage Vendeuse
VFG Member
LOL, that's the word we use in my family to mean something entirely different and rather odiferous, and I don't mean the animal!
Rue_de_la_Paix
VFG Member
Lynne,
What a fantastic bit of research and amount of work you put into this. Congratulations on success!
The only thing I might add to Yunona is that Rosebird was not actually the maker of the hat, but was a line of hats made by a hat manufacturer. Often these manufacturers had a dozen or more lines with fancy or made up names. They seldom (if ever) had factories or workrooms in Paris, by the way, they just put that on the label for the prestige. Sometimes they would rent a Postal Box in Paris just so they could add "Paris" to the label. The larger millinery firms on occasion might rent a tiny back office somewhere in Paris where they had buyers and copyists working during the season. This was very common.
It looks like a great hat.
What a fantastic bit of research and amount of work you put into this. Congratulations on success!
The only thing I might add to Yunona is that Rosebird was not actually the maker of the hat, but was a line of hats made by a hat manufacturer. Often these manufacturers had a dozen or more lines with fancy or made up names. They seldom (if ever) had factories or workrooms in Paris, by the way, they just put that on the label for the prestige. Sometimes they would rent a Postal Box in Paris just so they could add "Paris" to the label. The larger millinery firms on occasion might rent a tiny back office somewhere in Paris where they had buyers and copyists working during the season. This was very common.
It looks like a great hat.