Editing Stetson (section)

==Mass production==
[[File:John B. Stetson Co. Factory, Philadelphia, PA 1894.jpg|thumb|right|Stetson's nine-acre factory in Philadelphia (1894)]]Stetson sent a sample hat to merchants throughout the Southwest with a letter asking for a minimum order of a dozen "Boss of the Plains" hats.<ref name="Reid" /> The hat was an immediate success: in less than a year, Stetson set up a new factory in the outskirts of Philadelphia to handle his growing business.<ref name="Reid" /> According to Bender, within a decade the name Stetson had become synonymous with the word "hat" almost everywhere in the West.<ref>Bender, pg,12</ref> By 1886, Stetson's hat company was the largest globally and had mechanized the hat-making industry ("producing close to 2 million hats a year by 1906").<ref name="Reid" /> The Stetson Hat Co. ceased production in 1968 and licensed another hat company.<ref name="Reid" /> However, these hats still bear the Stetson name, with the hats produced in St. Joseph, Missouri. Later the license was transferred to another hat company in Texas.<ref name="Reid"/>

{{quote|"Today's [[cowboy hat]] has remained basically unchanged in construction and design since the first one was created in 1865 by J.B. Stetson."<ref>Reynolds, William and Rich Rand (1995) ''The Cowboy Hat book''. p. 8 {{ISBN|0-87905-656-8}}</ref>}}

Stetson also produced "dress" hats, distinguished from "western" hats by narrower brims and shorter crowns. However, his "Boss of the Plains" style hat and its many variants fueled the company's growth and fame.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}