Old men in Germany and Austria used to wear fez-shaped hats while they smoked
ornate pipes. I have see such an old man 40 years ago. There are pictures in
German literature from which I later recognized that this was a style. I don't
know its  significance, whether it is a social custom or refers to affiliation
with an organization. There were many German-speaking Czech and Slovak
citizens until World War II-- Bohemia had "belonged" to Germany and Slovakia
to Austria-Hungary before the Great War. When you finally get harder
knowledge, please forward it to me. I have always been curious about this
custom/costume.

David Formanek
Cyrus E. Dallin Museum
Arlington MA 02476 USA