1950s Hell on Wheels Motorcycle Club Jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271306503829
This vintage jacket was made in the 1950s by Peters Sportswear. It is made of black gabardine with yellow piping on the collar, sleeves and pockets. The original owner was a member of the “Hell on Wheels” motorcycle club, when it was still a sanctioned AMA club. The original owner’s name, “Dan” is chainstitched in yellow thread on the chest. It looks like the name was originally longer (Danny?), but that stitches were picked out. The chest also bears a American Motorcyclist Association patch and the club name, “Hell on Wheels”. Somewhat enigmatically, the jacket also has a football letter, “S” stitched on. The cuffs have dragon liberty cuffs sewn to the outside for a bit of extra flair. The jacket has a brass Serval zipper with a pin lock

Chest (pit to pit): 24″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23″
Length: 23″

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1910s / 1920s Filson canvas jacket

This vintage jacket was made by the C.C. Filson company of Seattle, Washington in the 1910s or early 1920s. It is in remarkably good condition- the best I’ve seen. The label bears their early 1011 First Avenue address. By 1924, Filson had re-located down the block to 1005 First Ave, then again in 1930 to 1001 2nd ave, updating their label accordingly each move. This conclusively dates from the 1910s or early 1920s. The label is of the early style, reading, “C.C. Filson Co / 1011 1st Ave / Seattle Wash / Manufacturers / Complete Outfitters / For Miners, Prospectors, Lumbermen”. At this time, Seattle was still the jumping-off-point for Alaska, and Filson advertised themselves as a “Complete Alaska Outfitter”. Later on, the “Might As Well Have The Best” slogan would come into usage.

The jacket is a heavy dry tin-cloth canvas. It has half-moon pockets on the front, leading to an internal unlined game-bag. Flaps on the back lead to this pocket as well. This creates a double thickness of high quality canvas throughout the coat, making for a durable garment. The collar is corduroy, and has a matching corduroy throat latch / chin strap. The shoulders are reinforced against wear when carrying loads. The hip pockets are of the early double-round style, and share a common pocket flap. The main breast pocket is similarly enormous, with a more regularly sized pocket overtop. The underarms have football gussets for a greater range of motion. The cuffs are lined with wool, and close with United Carr snaps. The snaps, both on the cuffs and the breast pocket, are of the early printed type, and still are very clear.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 17-1/2″
Sleeve (Shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length: 29″

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Address up until 1923.  photo 1922.jpeg

Waxed Cotton A-1 jacket

SOLD
This jacket was made by Ralph Lauren under the Polo equestrian label. It is a reproduction of a jacket style popular from c. 1919 through into the 1930s, which would be adapted by the military into the A-1 flight jacket. The original civilian model of this jacket was defined by its knit collar, cuffs and waistband, and patch pockets. The style was originally a hunting/outdoorsman’s style, and was generally, though not always, made of leather. This reproduction is made of water resistant waxed cotton / oiled cotton, a material appropriate for the style, as it also shares the hunting / outdoorsman’s garment lineage. This jacket has two large patch cargo pockets, and a small functional ticket pocket. The jacket is lined with tartan flannel. Unlike many Ralph Lauren products, this jacket, made under the leather Polo Equestrian label was made in the USA,

Chest (pit to pit): 27″ (doubled = 54″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 21-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to end of cuff): 26-1/2″
Length (bottom of collar to bottom of waistband): 26″

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1930s cossack ski jacket

SOLD
This vintage jacket was made in the mid to late 1930s. The jacket has a waist length cut, a throat latch tab collar (chinstrap), two flapped patch pockets, a belted back, and button adjuster tabs on the sleeves. The pockets and collar are trimmed with contrast green wool, which, in combination with the style of the back, makes me think this was a ski jacket. The basic style, without the contrast trim, was used throughout the 1930s as a workwear jacket style, made both in wool, as found on this example, and in leather. Regardless of the material, the style was known as a cossack jacket. This jacket has a triple marked 1930s Talon zipper with a deco-sunburst stop box. This style zipper was introduced c.1936 as the “style 101” and was sold alongside the grommet zipper “the style 102”, until it replaced it in the lineup. In the earlier years of manufacture, this style was advertised as being available in “Rainbow Colors”, but colored examples are rare. Here we have one in green, with a green tape and green hardware. The throat latch detail on this jacket was common in the early-mid 1930s, gradually losing favor as the decade wore on.

Tagged size: 46
Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 18-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length: 23-1/2″

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1930s Woolrich hunting coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271277514189

This is a rare early variant of the classic Woolrich hunting coat. Most Woolrich coats you see are from the 1950s or 1960s. Coats of that era have snaps withe the “Woolrich” name on them. They have labels with a slimmed down sheep and a (R) registered trademark symbol in the corner. This one dates from the late 1930s, and has a number of details which differentiate it from the later, more common versions. The pocket snaps on this one are of the style used in the 1930s and before, with a meander pattern encircled by dots. The label is of the style used from the mid-late 1930s, with a blocky sheep, green text and a green border. Woolrich was an early adopter of zippers on their hunting garments. This one has twin double-marked Talon zippers on the game pocket. This is the style used in the late ’30s- early 1940s, with a beveled edge puller with a small hole, the Talon name on the component which attaches the slider to the puller, and the full “Made in U.S.A.” text on the back of the slider. By the 1940s, Woolrich had abandoned the use of zippers on their game pockets, in favor of a simpler and more easily repaired (though less secure) single button. With purely functional workwear and hunting items such as this, they were passed down for generations and worn hard, as there was no regard for changing styles, and a deer is unlikely to call the fashion police. The coat has a fair bit of mothing to the shell, but is in better shape than most I’ve seen from this era. Although there is some, there is also much less wear and staining than usually seen to the liner, the neck and the cuffs, the areas generally most heavily hit.

Tagged size: 42
Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24-1/2″
Length: 30″

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1930s American Field hunting jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281168068268
This vintage coat was made in the late 1930s by the Hettrick Mfg. Co. of Toldeo, Ohio. This was their signature model, the “Gun Coat”, with “free swing” shoulders, a corduroy collar and cuffs, roughout horsehide shoulder reinforcement, a gun pad on the right shoulder, large pockets, and an interior game pocket. The water-resistant game pocket does up with bell shaped Talon zippers. At the end of the listing are a couple of ads for this model of coat, dating from 1936 and from 1940.

Chest (pit to pit): 23-1/2″ (doubled = 47″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-3/4″
Length: 28″

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New Jersey Frozen Foods custom leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271277523946
This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1950s. It has a classic casual cut, sportcoat length. The jacket has a scaloped yoke on the back, which, along with the horseshoe belt buckle give the jacket an under-the-radar western vibe. The jacket has a button-on belt. Many jackets of this length from the 1930s-1950s had button on belts like this, but lost them over the years, it’s uncommon to find one still paired with the belt. There are two breast pockets which fasten with Conmar chain zippers. The main zipper is also a Conmar. The jacket’s label reads “Custom Made Deerskin Sportswear, New Jersey Frozen Foods, Inc., Morristown, NJ”. Somewhat of an unusual firm to be making leather jackets, but similarity to other leather jacket maker’s patterns make me think that it was produced by a third party factory, probably one of the Wisconsin deerskin jacket factories and sold by NJFF. The jacket is fully lined, with a material change about half-way down.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff):25-12″
Length: 32″

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Early 1940s half-belt leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271264162910
This vintage leather jacket was made in the early 1940s. Unfortunately, the maker’s tag is long gone, but it can be fairly accurately dated using other details. In one of the pockets is a union tag from the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. The last digit of the tag is mis-printed, but I believe it’s a 1939 tag, not a 1936. This puts the dating between 1939, when that tag first came into usage, and 1949, when it was replaced by a different design. The zipper is a spring loaded crown zipper, of the type used in the early 1940s, notably on several contracts of Army Air Force A-2 flight jackets. That narrows the dating from about 1939 to 1945.

The leather, still nicely soft and supple, has developed a nice fade and patina from its original russet brown color through decades of wear. The wear is heaviest on the neck of the collar, the hem and the cuffs. The jacket’s design is a classic: half belt back with side belt adjusters. The back has pleats to bring it in at the waist. On the front, there are two small flapped pockets, with double stitching to give them the look of patch pockets. Above them are buttoned, vertical chest pockets. The pockets are lined in a soft cotton flannel, and are presumably designed as hand-warmers. The body of the jacket is lined with plaid cotton in cream, blue and brown, and the sleeves in plain cotton.

Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (base of collar to hem): 28″

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Sears Topline leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281154512089
This vintage leather jacket was made for Sears under the short lived “Topline Men’s Wear” line. I have only been able to find ads for that particular line from the wartime years, early-mid 1940s. The jacket is a classic half-belt style. It has dual vertical chest pockets. The back has a half-belt. The buttons on either side of the belt indicate that when it was new, it probably had a button-on full belt. As with this one, most jackets that were so equipped had the belts discarded decades ago. The jacket is made of supple capeskin, which has been worn to a soft patina. The jacket has a quilted lining. The jacket fastens with a transitional Talon zipper. The pull is of the small-holed variety seen in the late 1930s and early 1940s, while the stop-box is a design seen more often in the mid through late 1940s.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length: 27″

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Campus Sportswear horsehide leather jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281154565976
This jacket was made in the late ’40s-mid 1950s timeframe by Campus Sportswear. It is made of horsehide in a classic half-belt utility jacket design that was popular from the 1930s-1950s. This one brings a bit of a ’50s twist to the design in the form of the swooping stitching/welt running up the front of the jacket. The jacket has slash handwarmer pockets, a zipped breast pocket, and adjuster belts on the sides. It has a brass Talon zipper of the design introduced in the late 1940s. The jacket has a quilted lining.

Chest (pit to pit): 22-1/2″
Shoulder to shoulder: 17-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-1/2″
Length: 25″

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