A men's hat (Borsalino size 5) made by Charles Piotet of Lausanne, monogrammed to band 'DB' and once owned and worn by David Bowie. The owner was of the belief that this is the hat, or one of the hats worn by Bowie in early scenes of 'The Man Who Fell To Earth'. In very good condition. Provenance: the hat was purchased from a Berlin resident, whose aunt was aquantained with David Bowie during the period. David Bowie gifted the hat to her (the aunt) during this period. The vendor travelled to Germany to purchase the hat and included in the lot is email correspondence between himself and the seller, as well as photos of the aunt in question with David Bowie in Berlin (framed and unframed examples), a photograph depicting Bowie in a scene from TMWFTE, a letter the vendor wrote to Bowie hoping for confirmation re its history. In 2015 the musician 'Moby' shared an image online of a hat by the same maker and in the same style that he described as 'The Man Who Fell To Earth Hat' gifted to him by David Bowie - suggesting that this example is one of several owned by Bowie during the period. The hat comes from the collection of renowned Bowie super fan and collector Ton Van Der Horst who ran a popular Dutch fanzine 'The Voyeur'.
Sold for £18,500
Hammer Price
A men's hat (Borsalino size 5) made by Charles Piotet of Lausanne, monogrammed to band 'DB' and once owned and worn by David Bowie. The owner was of the belief that this is the hat, or one of the hats worn by Bowie in early scenes of 'The Man Who Fell To Earth'. In very good condition. Provenance: the hat was purchased from a Berlin resident, whose aunt was aquantained with David Bowie during the period. David Bowie gifted the hat to her (the aunt) during this period. The vendor travelled to Germany to purchase the hat and included in the lot is email correspondence between himself and the seller, as well as photos of the aunt in question with David Bowie in Berlin (framed and unframed examples), a photograph depicting Bowie in a scene from TMWFTE, a letter the vendor wrote to Bowie hoping for confirmation re its history. In 2015 the musician 'Moby' shared an image online of a hat by the same maker and in the same style that he described as 'The Man Who Fell To Earth Hat' gifted to him by David Bowie - suggesting that this example is one of several owned by Bowie during the period. The hat comes from the collection of renowned Bowie super fan and collector Ton Van Der Horst who ran a popular Dutch fanzine 'The Voyeur'.