Classic 1930s Made Gentlemans Black Silk Top Hat by Woodrow & Sons of London with Royal Warrant 

THIS IS A CLASSIC VICTORIAN ERA GENTLEMANS TOP HAT MADE BY WOODROW & SONS OF LONDON. IT HAS THE ROYAL KINGS WARRANT BY APPOINTMENT CREST ON THE INSIDE.
 
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued since the 15th century to those who supply goods or services to certain royal personages. This Royal Warrant is most propably that of George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. THIS WOULD DATE THIS HAT FROM CIRCA 1910-1936. However his Dad King Edward VII (King from 1901 to 1910) also used Woodrow Hats since he was the Prince of Wales. This hat might hence also be from and earlier era Circa 1901-1910.
 
THIS IS A BLACK TOP HAT WITH THE CROWN COVERED IN FAUX BEAVER FUR OR FELT OR SILK OF SOME KIND. IT HAS A VERY ATTRACTIVE SHINY BLACK TONE AND IS VERY SOFT TO THE TOUCH. THE UPTURNED BRIM IS SLIGHTLY WORN ON ONE EDGE. THE CROWN HAS A BLACK CORDED BAND AROUND THE OUTER SIDE. INSIDE THERE IS A LIGHT LEATHER LINING WITH INFORMATION ON THE MAKER MANUFACTURED BY WOODROW & SONS AND DOW OF STERLING ON THE INSIDE BASE AND A SMALL BOW STRING ON ONE SIDE.
 
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, TOP HATS HAVE ALSO BEEN REFERRED TO AS HIGH HATS, CYLINDER HATS, TOPPERS, DANDIES, BEAVERS, CHIMNEY POT HATS, HUNTNG HATS, SPORTING HATS AND STOVEPIPE HATS.
 
MARKINGS: BY APPOINTMENT ROYAL CREST
WOODROW 46 PICCADILLY LONDON
DOW OF STIRLING
 
SIZE: 31x25CM BRIM OVAL OUTER DIAMETER
20x16CM OVAL INNER DIAMETER 13CM HIGH
 
CONDITION: SLIGHLY WORN ON BROW AS SEEN ON PHOTOS. IN GOOD CONDITION.
 
AJ WOODROW & SONS (1851-1955):
Hat manufacturers to HRH the Prince of Wales in 1897. Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward, nicknamed "Bertie", was related to royalty throughout Europe. In the 1890s he was the Prince of Wales.
Woodrow & Sons were famous military hat manufacturers with premises at 46 Picadilly London since 1851 and Paris since 1855. With branches in Manchester, Liverpool, Dublin and Glasgow. Woodrow made a variety of hats and were not just distributed around the British Isles but had an international circulation. An advertisement in Australia's Sydney Mail on 4th September 1935 stated 'Woodrow Hats are British. Manufactured from the finest quality English & Scotch furs. Obtainable to First-Class hatters and stores for men.' The advertisement also declared the hats were issued with a Royal warrant by King George V. (George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Grandson of Queen Victoria.)
Woodrow was one of many Stockport hatters and were in business for over a hundred years. They were Sporting Hat Specialists and were known for their Hunting Hard Top Hats. Sadly the company didn't make it out of the decline in hat sales of the fifties and merged in the mid-fifties with Battersby who for there part closed down in the 1990s.
 
TOP HATS:
THE TOP HAT HAS A DISTINCTIVE SHAPE; IT IS VERY TALL WITH A FLAT CROWN, WHICH MAKES IT EASILY RECOGNIZABLE IN SILHOUETTE. ITS BRIM IS NARROW AND OFTEN SLIGHTLY CURVED. A HAT BAND IS USUALLY PRESENT, IT MAY BE THICK OR THIN AND MAY FEATURE A BOW.
ORIGINALLY, MENS TOP HATS WERE MADE FROM BEAVER FUR OR SILK. The silk top hat is not as common these days. Most modern versions are made from leather, felt, mesh or other materials, which are more durable than silk and less likely to be damaged.
BY THE 1790S, THE BLACK TOP HAT HAD EMERGED AND GAINED POPULARITY IN THE UPPER AND MIDDLE CLASSES. LATER, IN THE 1830S, SILK REPLACED BEAVER FUR AND BECAME THE MATERIAL OF CHOICE FOR THE VICTORIAN TOP HAT.
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, TOP HATS HAVE ALSO BEEN REFERRED TO AS HIGH HATS, CYLINDER HATS, TOPPERS, DANDIES, BEAVERS, CHIMNEY POT HATS AND STOVEPIPE HATS. The stovepipe hat style was popularized in the United States by Abraham Lincoln during his presidency. 
 
PLEASE ALSO SEE MY OTHER ITEMS LISTED. I HAVE ANOTHER OLD BRITISH HAT ALSO ON AUCTION THIS WEEK. COPY THE URL UNDERNEATH AND PASTE INTO GOOGLE AND IT WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO ALL MY LISTINGS THIS WEEK.
HTTPS://WWW.BIDORBUY.CO.ZA/SELLER/3685641/ERNREX1545