John Frederics was an American millinery brand, founded in 1928 by a famous hat designer Mr. John (John P. HARBERGER, c.1902-1993) in partnership with Frederic HIRSCH (1903-1964). They opened a millinery shop in one room over Delman's shoe store on Madison Avenue in the Fifties, just as the Great Depression approached. Strangely enough, but the Depression was a major factor in the partners' success. Women's hats in the early 1930s were usually manufactured in large quantities to be sold as cheaply as possible. Style took second place; if a woman wanted a distinctive hat she had to go to a custom milliner for it. In the next few years the partners expanded to outlets in Palm Beach, Hollywood and several hundred department stores, becoming a multi-million dollar business by 1940. John-Frederics hats were famous in Hollywood – according to an interview with John in 1978, they did the hats for 800 films, the most well-known being the straw and green velvet bonnet made for Vivien LEIGH in "Gone with the Wind" in 1939. Among their customers were Norma SHEARER, Beatrice LILLIE, Greta GARBO, Helen HAYERS and Joan CRAWFORD. The hats for the film were made by John and his talented team, which included African American milliner Mildred BLOUNT. The brand is also credited with popularizing the WWII model Doll Hat. The John‐Frederics partnership lasted for about 20 years. After it dissolved in 1948, John P. HARBERGER changed his name to John P. John; he designed solo as Mr. John, and Frederick HIRSCH as Mr. Fred. It was HIRSCH who continued the John-Frederics label into the early 1960s. At the time of Mr. Fred's death in 1964, their shops were lined up back to back off Fifth Avenue: Mr. John, Inc., was at 24 West 57th Street, and John Frederics at 23 West 56th Street.