1928-1932 Spalding Aviation Clothing leather flight suit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272051885112

This vintage leather flight suit was made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. Aviation Clothing, between 1928 and 1932. It has a mouton collar, an offset closure, belted waist, large map pocket with sharply scalloped pocket flap, thigh pockets and a full silk pile lining. It is a size 42, and is their model 402. The suit has seven Hookless Fastener Co. Talon zippers, with the double marked sliders that indicate a date of manufacture between 1928, when the name Talon was introduced, and 1932, when Hookless dropped their company name from the product in favor of simply “Talon”. The zips are on the sleeves, legs, the chest and on two pass through pockets so the aviator could access his pants pockets.  The fly opening is accomplished by a snap on the zipper tape.  The large collar has a hook closure at the neck and a three button throat latch under the collar, to really secure it during open cockpit flight. While not his suit, Charles Lindbergh was a prominent endorser of Spalding’s flight suits of this era.

Tagged size: 42
Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Inseam: 28″
Length (base of collar to bottom of belt): 22″
Length (top of collar to bottom of leg): 61-1/2″
The flight suit has the original boots, also made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. Aviation Clothing. These are moccasin style, with a lace up front and Hookless Talon zipper back.  They are fully sheepskin lined for warmth, with a double layer moccasin sole and tongues front and back.  They are a large size, measuring 12-3/4″ front to back, and 4-5/8″ side to side and comfortably fitting my size 12 foot.  Inside are sheepskin slippers, which appear to be of slightly later manufacture, either added for extra warmth, or more likely to down-size the boots for a second owner.
Lastly, there are two flight helmets, one original to the suit and also made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. Aviation Clothing and another unlabeled one.  The Spalding cap is a size 7-3/8 model 1900 and has Spalding baseball branded snaps for the goggle retainers.  The second cap is unmarked, with a snap closure and ear grommets.
Note: gloves are not part of the suit, and were for photographs only, they are not included.

 photo edit spalding.jpg

 photo edit frontback.jpg

 photo edit sides.jpg

 photo edit back 34.jpg

 photo fly.jpg

 photo DSCF2054.jpg

 photo DSCF2056.jpg

 photo DSCF2060.jpg

 photo DSCF2061.jpg

 photo DSCF2062.jpg

 photo DSCF2063.jpg

 photo DSCF2064.jpg

 photo DSCF2065.jpg

 photo DSCF2068.jpg

 photo DSCF2125.jpg

 photo DSCF2124.jpg

 photo DSCF2095.jpg

 photo DSCF2096.jpg

 photo DSCF2097.jpg

 photo DSCF2099.jpg

 photo DSCF2100.jpg  photo DSCF2075.jpg

 photo edit boots.jpg

 photo DSCF2078.jpg

 photo DSCF2079.jpg

 photo DSCF2074.jpg

 photo DSCF2081.jpg

 photo DSCF2083.jpg

 photo DSCF2069.jpg

 photo DSCF2070.jpg

 photo DSCF2076.jpg

 photo edit helmet.jpg

 photo Cap 01 01.jpg

 photo Cap 01 02.jpg

 photo Cap 01 03.jpg

 photo Cap 01 04.jpg

 photo Cap 01 05.jpg

 photo Cap 01 06.jpg

 photo Cap 01 08.jpg

 photo Cap 02 01.jpg

 photo Cap 02 02.jpg

 photo edit ad.jpg

Advertisement

1920s Wright and Ditson canvas tennis bag

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271593818029
This vintage canvas bag was mad by Wright & Ditson. It fastens at the end with a Talon Hookless fastener. At this point, the product was still known as Hookless, while the product was known as Talon. This has the transitional pull design which bears both the Hookless and the Talon names, with patent dates 3-20-17, 10-16-17, 11-25-19, 10-13-25, and 12-22-25 on the back . Consistent with this early date, the slider is unmarked and the end has D shaped stoppers. The ball pouch on the front of the bag has a Greek key trim patterned snap, made by the United States Fastener company, which merged in 1929 with Carr to form United Carr. This hardware pre-dates that merger, which puts the dating of this bag somewhere in the 1926-1930 range. The bag was originally owned by Elmer Giesick of Billings, Montana.

 photo IMG_0129.jpg

 photo IMG_0130.jpg

 photo IMG_0121-1.jpg

 photo IMG_0123-1.jpg

 photo IMG_0125.jpg

 photo IMG_0116-1.jpg

 photo IMG_0117-2.jpg

 photo IMG_0119-1.jpg

 photo IMG_0120-2.jpg

 photo IMG_0115-1.jpg

 photo IMG_0126.jpg

 photo IMG_0127.jpg

1920s / 1930s Olympic Cap

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271397653107
This vintage cap was made by Knox hats in the late 1920s or early 1930s as part of the uniform of the United States Olympic team. It’s difficult to say with 100% certainty, but this looks consistent with what was worn at either the 1928 St. Moritz or the 1932 Lake Placid games. It is made from white felt in a traditional flat-cap style, with an embroidered US Olympic shield crest consistent with the early games. The cap has a cream colored leather sweatband of the type typical of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The deep embossing is also typical of what Knox was producing in this era. The style of brim is something I have never seen before. Usually the brim on these flat caps is a separate piece, usually with a snap on the top. This is interfaced inside for a degree of stiffness, then decoratively stitched, presumably so that the cap can be rolled up and stowed easily. There is a remnant of the original size tag, but not enough to tell the size. The sweatband measures 22″ in circumference.

 photo IMG_0157.jpg

 photo IMG_0158.jpg

 photo IMG_0162.jpg

 photo IMG_0163.jpg

 photo IMG_0164.jpg

 photo IMG_0165.jpg

 photo 1932LakePlacidUSAori.jpg