1930s capeskin half-belt cossack jacket

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271469478475
This vintage leather jacket was made around 1936. It is made of lightweight capeskin leather, with a perforated Ostrich grain texture, popular briefly in 1936 and 1937. The jacket is an early cossack style, with a leather waistband and D-stitched pockets. The back is belted, with side adjusters, and is pleated. Cuffs are adjustable with two buttons. The jacket has an early Talon riveted “grommet” zipper, a style which started production in 1930, and continued through the 1930s. This one is missing its original slider, though at this date of manufacturer, it probably had a Talon branded fantail style slider. The jacket has a transitional half-lining. While it is constructed like the unlined leather jackets of the early 1930s, it is lined in the shoulders and sleeves. The lining remains, but it has shredded at most of the points where it attaches to the leather itself.

Chest (pit to pit): 20″ (doubled = 40″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 16-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem):22″

Photos from 1936 and 1937 Sears catalog, showing similar Sears Hercules ostrich grained models. Jacket is similar to models in advertisements, though differs in back pleat detailing.

1930s Grommet Zipper half-belt leather jacket

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281272035995
This vintage leather jacket was made in the mid 1930s. It is made from capeskin leather, rough side out. As was typical of these early-mid 1930s lightweight half-belt windbreaker styles, this one is unlined. It has an riveted “grommet” Talon zipper, a style which was produced from the early-mid 1930s, before being joined, then replaced by the deco “sunburst” style stopbox. The slider is an early style, with rays on the slider, a small hole puller, and an attachment section which is more oval shaped than those produced later in the 1930s. The jacket is a waist length Cossack style, and has a fancy pleated, belted back with side adjuster belts.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″
Shoulder to shoulder: 16-3/4″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 26″
Length (base of collar to hem): 21″

1930s capeskin suede Halfbelt leather jacket

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271370357479
This vintage leather jacket was made in the late 1930s. It is a halfbelt style in a hip length. It has a belted back with pleated detailing. It has flapped hip pockets and zipper chest pockets. The main zipper is a sunburst Talon and the pocket zippers are also Talon.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″
Shoulder to shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 21″
Length: 26″

Waxed Cotton A-1 jacket

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

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″

Early 1940s half-belt leather jacket

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

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″

Sears Topline leather jacket

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

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″

1930s H.B. Glover utility jacket

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281130396211
This vintage leather jacket was made in the late 1930s by the H.B. Glover Company of Dubuque, IA. It is a classic utility jacket style, with some very nice detailing. While it does not have a half-belt back, it has the side belt adjusters which are usually associated with it. On the front there are flapped pockets. Under one of the flaps is a smaller ticket pocket, fasted with a talon chain-style zipper. The breast pockets close under the shoulder yoke. The front is done up with a Talon Zipper of the type used in the late ’30s through early 1940s. It has a brown painted deco-ray stop box, marked slider and marked pull tab. There are leather knot buttons on the cuffs. The lining of the jacket is heavily stained and worn and sports the “Tailored by Glover” tag at the neck.

Chest (pit to pit): 20-1/2″
Shoulder to Shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23″
Length (bottom of collar to hem): 23-1/2″

The H.B. Glover Company was founded in Dubuque, Iowa in 1857. They grew rapidly from the 1870s through to the turn of the century. Early on, the company was known for their Pajamas, but they quickly added shirts, overalls, and other items of workwear to their product line. By 1913, Glover was one of the top selling overall brands. (Source)

Picture of factory, center left, 1904. 5th and Iowa Streets, Dubuque.

By the 1920s, Glover introduced leather jackets. Depending on the jacket ads and labels read “Tailored By Glover”, “H.B. Glover”, or “Glover Sportswear”. Glover had an endorsement deal in 1925 with the “Four Horsemen” of the Notre Dame football team, who sported their leather blouses (jackets).

According to the 1936 article “World of Romance Behind Glover Company Products”, Glover took great pride in their materials. “Most of the raw materials used in Glover Sportswear (Jackets, Coats, Ski Pants, Snow Suits, etc.) originate in the West and the Glover company in selling its goods is emphasizing this very fact. Wool from Wisconsin, Montana, the Dakotas; Mohair from Del Rio and San Angelo; Sheel leather, Horsehide, Piggrain, etc., from the great plains . . . all these find their way into Glover Sportswear. And yet not all grades of woolens and leathers are good enough for Glover garments. The selected Western Range Woolens, for example, are chosen with infinite care. The choicest portion is bought right on the range, direct from the sheep raiser, thereby eliminating costly brokerage fees and the handling of the wool in dirty, crowded warehouses.”

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Foster Sportswear motorcycle jacket

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281030496790

This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1940s by Foster Sportswear. It has an asymmetrical zip front, a forerunner to the modern style epitomized by the Schott Perfecto. While most jackets of this style turn up in horsehide or goat, this feels like it’s capeskin. Very nice and supple leather. It has slash handwarmer pockets, with flapped cargo pockets and a diagonal zipped map pocket. At the time, this probably would have been advertised as an aviator style.

The jacket has a quilted body lining and flannel sleeves, with knit storm cuffs. It has a conmar pocket zipper and a conmar main zip, though the slider is missing on the main zipper. There is one broken tooth about halfway up the zipper track, which is probably where it would have jumped. Somewhat surprisingly, the jacket does not have the standard half-belt back, opting instead for a paneled design with small elasticized side panels. The leather has some wear and patina, but overall is in very good condition. There is a small section of dropped stitching under the right armpit. The lining has a hole, see the photo.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″

Shoulder to shoulder: 19″

Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-1/2″

Length (collar to hem): 26″

Diagonal Zip Vintage Leather Jackets

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Spencer Stewart

The black leather jacket epitomized by the Schott Perfecto wasn’t always the motorcycle jacket default. Here is a small sample of diagonal zip leather jackets, ancestors of the style, which date from the 1930s-1960s. Top to bottom: Monarch, no label capeskin, Foster Sportswear, British Sportswear, no label Columbia. The silver British Sportswear jackets has exposed studs on the lapels, but none on the collar. The Columbia has concealed studs on both. The top three have none. They display a variety of pocket styles and placements, and of cuff styles.

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