It has been almost a year since I purchased, through eBay, a Bowler hat from the renowned hatter Lincoln Bennett & Co, from a trusted seller. In the listing, the seller stated that the hat most likely dated from the 1920s to the 1940s.

I bought it keeping that information in mind; however, the more I examined and inspected it, the more I began to notice certain inconsistencies — perhaps due to my limited knowledge of the subject. Inside the hat, on the leather sweatband, there is an inscription that reads: “By Appointment of Her Majesty the Queen.” At first, I did not pay much attention to it, but later I realised that it could not possibly refer to a queen reigning during the 1920s–1940s, since the only two queens to whom such a phrase could apply would be Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, neither of whom reigned during that period (assuming, of course, that the inscription refers to the reigning monarch and not a queen consort).

Therefore, I supposed that the hat might be from a later period — perhaps somewhere between the 1950s and the 1970s. The mystery might have ended there, had it not been for a recent discovery: beneath the leather sweatband I found a label I had not noticed before. I shall include a photograph of this label as evidence.

What I find curious about it is that it not only shows the size (7 1/8), colour, and possibly the model of the hat, but it also appears to have a number printed at the bottom — 1888. At first glance, it seems to suggest a year, yet I am by no means an expert, so I cannot confirm that with certainty. I merely infer it from the number itself, which would make the “By Appointment of Her Majesty the Queen” inscription more plausible if it were referring to Queen Victoria. Nonetheless, I find the hat’s overall shape somewhat inconsistent with that particular era, which leaves me uncertain.

After sharing all of this background, I would like to kindly request some assistance in interpreting the information printed on the label, and hopefully, in determining a more accurate date for this hat.

Many thanks in advance for your time and support. This is my first post, and I am very much looking forward to learning from the knowledge and experience of others.

Greetings from Mexico.