1917 Hookless Zipper- The first production zipper

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281479010615
This vintage money belt was made in 1917 or early 1918. It is khaki colored canvas, with a three compartment zippered pouch and a waist belt. These were generally advertised to servicemen during WWI, and were one of the earliest applications of the then brand-new Hookless fastener. The zipper on this one is the earliest production model produced by Hookless, produced under patent no. 1219881, applied for in 1914 and granted in 1917. An improved model came out later in 1917, narrowing the dating of this model down significantly. These early sliders were intricate, and were simplified significantly in later versions. The stop at the end of the zip is made from unstamped teeth, unlike later versions, where this was a specialized component. The buckle on the belt was made by Adjusta and was patented in 1912, and on January 27, 1914.

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Late 1940s Deerskin cossack jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271647952876
This vintage jacket was made in the late 1940s from soft buckskin leather. Going by the unusual details, like the reinforcing stitching at the base of the bi-swing back, it’s safe to say that it was made in Denver, Colorado. The jacket has a Talon zipper front in a transitional style, with a large holed pull, unmarked slider connection and Talon branded stopbox. That helps narrow the dating down considerably, since these Denver produced jackets had their own unique style and did not follow the larger overall fashion trends the way mass produced jackets did. The jacket has flapped pockets with leather buttons, a plain front, bi-swing back, and a seam where there would generally be a half-belt, but which performs the same visual function.

Chest (pit to pit): 21-1/2″ (doubled = 43″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (Base of collar to hem): 25-1/2″

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Late 1930s Mongolama overcoat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271647982141
This vintage overcoat was made in the very late 1930s or early 1940s from “Mongolama” cloth, and was sold in Bozeman, Montana by Wagner Bros. It is a double breasted cut, in a heavy gray wool blend fabric. It has lazy peak lapels, a belted back, cuffed sleeves, and a 3×6 double breasted fastening, a very 1930s style. It has a 1939 Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America union tag which puts its manufacture between 1939 and 1949. The style, and the date range where Mongolama was advertised put it at the earliest end of this time frame. The coat is fully lined, which is somewhat unusual for overcoats of this period.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (base of collar to hem): 47″

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1940s Patrick Duluth Hollywood jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281479077025
This vintage jacket was made by the FA Patrick Company of Duluth, Minnesota. It is made in blue-gray striped wool, in a casual Hollywood jacket style. It has three patch pockets and a wide collar. From the label and styling, this jacket dates from the late 1940s to early 1950s.
Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 29″

A bit about the company, from a history piece I wrote for “The Fedora Lounge”
: The F.A. Patrick Company, proprietors of the Patrick-Duluth Woolen Mills of Duluth, Minnesota were responsible for taking the Mackinaw coat out of lumber camps of western Canada and introducing them to students, workmen and athletes across the United States. Early on, the Patrick Company were jobbers, making dry goods, primarily for clients in the Northwest of the United States in Canada. In 1901, Patrick began buying fabric from a Scandinavian mackinaw cloth factory in Fosston, Minnesota. In 1906, seeing potential, Patrick bought that factory and began making their own Mackinaw cloth, eventually becoming one of its leading producers. The fabric and the coats made from it were popular with miners, fur trappers, lumberjacks and hunters.

In 1912, Patrick launched a new, refined mackinaw design. It was double breasted, belted and sported a collar described in the ads of the period as a “nansen” collar. Though the term also existed then, we now refer to this style as a shawl collar. The coat was 35″ long and was available in 24 and 32 oz wool mackinaw cloth, in a wide variety of colors. Salesman Harry Harrington began to pitch the Patrick Mackinaw to clothiers in college towns. “It was not long after that that mackinaws became a fad with students generally, and as the college student invariably sets the styles for young men’s clothing, it quickly spread over the whole country”. The early mackinaw trend was marketed in a similar way to the current workwear trend, trading on the rugged associations of the workers for whom the garment was originally designed. The mackinaw fad boomed, and shortly, a number of other manufacturers sprung onto the scene, producing mackinaws of varying quality from a variety of cloths. Large quantities of Patrick mackinaws were sold through such high end stores as Brooks Brothers, Rogers Peet, Wannamaker, Abercrombie and Fitch, Brokaw Brothers, and A. Raymond.
It is around this 1912-1913 period where the name “Mackinaw” begins to be more associated with the short, double breasted, shawl collar style, and less with the mackinaw cloth material from which it was made. The fad lasted about a year and a half. Patrick could not keep up with the growing demand caused by the collegiate fad, and the inferior fabric quality of some competitors led to the downfall of this first-wave craze.

Seeing the end of the craze, Patrick-Duluth re-branded its mackinaw once again, refining its pattern and marketing it to farmers, children, hunters and outdoorsmen, workers, and sportsmen. Its durability, warmth, low price compared to comparable overcoats or sheeplined coats, made it an easy sell to these markets. Alongside sheeplined canvas coats, Patrick Mackinaws became the de-facto winter coat of railroad employees. To further expand the market, patterns were made for men and women, boys and girls. Patrick intensified their national advertising, placing ads in the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, Farm Journal, Woman’s World, American Boy, Youth’s Companion, Boy’s Life, and many more. The name of the product was shortened from “Patrick-Duluth Woolen Mill Mackinaw” to simply “Patrick”, in a bid to make their brand name the generic trade name on the market, thereby foiling the business of competitors. Their slogan “Bigger than Weather” was penned by Elbert Hubbard. Ads were illustrated by Peter Newell and Clare Briggs. In the years between 1911 and 1914, Patrick had quadrupled its production, expanding from their two story mill to a six story mill on Duluth habror, a garment factory in Duluth, and knitting and spinning mills in Mankato, MN.

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Captoe dress boots

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281479092219
This vintage pair of boots is typical of dress boots of the 1920s, although the heels and overall construction make me think they were manufactured in the 1940s. They remained popular at that point with older, more conservative markets. They are made of black leather with five eyelets and four speed hooks. They have black flat cotton laces, and a nice curve to the back seam. The boots have Vulcan rubber heels and a leather sole.

A guide to dating Talon Zippers

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1940s half-belt leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281472895438
This vintage leather jacket was made in the mid to late 1940s. It is made of goatskin, with a pointy collar, buttoned yokes which form the pockets on the front and a scalloped yoke on the back. It has a half-belt back and an action back. The jacket has patch pockets with scalloped pocket flaps, and belted adjuster cuffs. It is fully lined. The jacket has a Talon zipper with a rectangular hole pull and a Talon marked stopbox. The jacket has distinctive leather buttons and is made of goatskin leather. It bears an Amalgamated Garment Workers union label. The jacket is marked on the leather E5 and the size 36.

Chest (pit to pit): 20-1/2″ (doubled = 41″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23″
Length (base of collar to hem): 28-1/2″

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1930s Canvas Messenger Bag with Talon Grommet zippers

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271640985218
This vintage canvas messenger bag was made in the late 1920s-early 1930s. It is made of lightweight green canvas, now faded. It has a single button closure flap, a divided interior and a strap with a D ring adjustment At some point, the original owner, a Mr. R.G. Pease, decided that he wanted a zipper top to make the contents of the bag more secure and added a zipper top. Instead of adding a closed end zipper that you would normally use on bags, he added two separable bottomed jacket zippers, with the early grommet bottomed stopbox and double hinge, pinlock, round holed slider, folding the separable end of the zippers to the inside of the bag.

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1940s Allen gabardine western cossack jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281472851496
This vintage jacket was made in the late 1940s by the Allen Mfg. Co. of Denver Colorado. While Allen primarily made westernwear, this jacket seems to fit more into the mold of 1940s California sportswear. It is a waist length Cossack style, with pleated patch pockets. Their angled tops wrap around into the buttoned side adjuster belts. There is a single chest pocket with a Conmar chain zipper. The main zipper is a spring loaded Crown with the “two way” teeth developed by them during WWII. It has a bi-swing back.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (Base of collar to hem): 26″

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1950s Lockshire gabardine overcoat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281472843346
This vintage overcoat was made in the 1950s by Lockshire of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is single breasted, with notch lapels. It has a vented back and slash handwarmer pockets. It is half-lined, as was customary at that point. The jacket has a fantastic label and a 1949 union tag. With a 48″ chest, this will best fit someone who wears a size 42 suit.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 26″
Length (base of collar to hem): 46-1/2″

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