I had no idea these adorable miniature Stetson hats with cute little matching boxes even existed until one popped up in my recommended list over on RubyLane.com. But now that I know, I want more of them!

I couldn’t find a ton of information on them but they are from the 1940s and 50s and contrary to popular belief, they are not ‘salesman samples’. Several hat makers at the time apparently used these miniature hats as gift certificates so that you could give someone a hat as a gift and they’d bring the certificate from the box in to the store to exchange it for the life sized one while having the little one as a collectible.

I thought this one was the best I’d seen (including the box) after looking at several of them, and I figured it might fit one of my handmade Steiff teddy bears.

Problem is, I’d have to pin it to his head somehow and I don’t want to do that since it’s in perfect condition. So back into the little box it went and it’s now living in the dressing room with the other antiques I’m collecting for that space.

I found some of these miniature hats for ladies, too, and I’m probably going to get a few for both sexes to add to my collection. They go so well with my growing collection of my own handmade teddy bears, too. I have two more I’m working on now and plan to move on to using real fur for my next one (from old fur coats, not new stuff). I can always make them hats and clothes and keep the antiques safely away in the boxes but use them for display.

I might have to dedicate a whole shelf or three to my bears and miniature hat boxes. They are both just too cute not to have more than one!