Antique Wooden Hat Box / Hatter’s Storage Box Stamped Maker – Early 20th Cent

Size

56 cm round

36 cm tall

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Some age related wear

Unfortunately the leather strap handle is missing ( could be replaced)

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Displayed with other items for illustration only. It would make a great coffee table. This is an extremely large hat box. Please see pictures - a piece of round glass on top, easily obtained, would make this an interior designer piece wow!!

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Antique Wooden Hat Box / Hatter’s Storage Box

Stamped Maker – Early 20th Century

What this mark is

This is a trade stamp from a hat-box / hatter’s supply manufacturer, not a personal ownership mark.

The stamp shows:

A round wooden hat box illustration

A maker’s name across the top, which reads most plausibly as “WASSEST” or “WASSEST / WASSESTI” (the last letters are worn)

German text beneath, now very faint, which would have described the product and possibly the location

What it means

This type of stamp is typical of late 19th to early 20th century German or Central European hat-box manufacturers, who supplied:

Professional hatters

Milliners

Outfitters and gentlemen’s clothiers

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Germany (and what later became Czechoslovakia) was a major centre for bentwood and wooden storage manufacture, especially utilitarian workshop goods like this.

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The graphic of the hat box is important: it confirms this was a commercial product catalogue stamp, used by the maker to brand trade goods rather than retail items.

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Why the maker is hard to trace

Many of these firms were:

Small or mid-sized workshops

Trade-only suppliers

Absorbed, renamed, or lost during WWI / WWII

As a result, names like this often do not survive in modern directories, but the format, language, and illustration style are absolutely correct for the period.

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Original maker’s trade stamp, German, early 20th century, depicting a traditional round wooden hat box and bearing the name of the manufacturing firm. Such stamps were applied to professional hatter’s storage boxes supplied to the trade.

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This substantial antique wooden or bent wood hat box is a wonderful survivor from the golden age of bespoke hat-making. Crafted from probably pine known as bentwood with a gently domed circular lid, it is bound with a riveted metal edge and reinforced with metal fixings, giving it that unmistakable workshop-made, built-to-last feel.

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The exterior shows authentic age wear—softened edges, surface marks, and a rich patina that can only come from decades of practical use—while remaining structurally sound and visually striking.

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Maker’s Mark & History

To the interior is a faded but legible stamped mark, depicting a traditional round hat box and the maker’s name, which appears to read “Waspest” (or a close phonetic variant), followed by German text consistent with early 20th-century continental hatmakers or hat-box manufacturers.

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While the exact workshop is now obscure—common with trade suppliers of this period—the stamp strongly suggests a professional hatter’s supply firm, producing durable storage boxes for milliners and gentlemen’s outfitters. These were functional trade items, not decorative pieces, which explains their rarity today in untouched condition.

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Construction & Details

Bentwood construction

Riveted metal banding around lid and base

Original industrial fixings to the sides

Flat interior base, ideal for storage or display

Retains original maker’s stamp (nicely aged, not over-restored)

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Styling & Use Today

Perfect as:

Decorative storage for hats, scarves, or linens

A rustic side table or display plinth

Studio or shop display prop

Interior styling piece for period, industrial, or heritage interiors

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Condition

Good antique condition overall. Expected surface wear, marks, and fading consistent with age and original use. No structural issues.