c.1946 half-belt leather jacket

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281248820993
This vintage leather jacket was made immediately post-war, around 1946 or 1947. It feels like horsehide, but without a label to confirm, it’s possible that it’s steer. It has square yoked shoulders, handwarmer pockets on the chest, and flapped pockets on the hips. The back has a half-belt and pleats. The zipper is a Talon of the type used just after the war, with a pre-war style “small hole” pull tab and a U-shaped stop box stamped with the Talon name. The makers tag is long gone, but the original owner’s name, John Meinel, has been sewn into the lining by the collar.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 27″

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″

Campus Sportswear horsehide leather jacket

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

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″

1930s Suede Leather jacket

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281142062357
This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1930s. From the rare variant of Talon zipper, it can be dated to about 1936 or 1937. It is made of brown suede leather, in a classic utility jacket style. From the sizing, I’d say this was made for the teenage market. Handwarmer pockets, yoked back, zip breast pocket, zip front, side adjuster belts. Both zippers are in excellent condition and work well.

Chest (pit to pit): 19″
Shoulder to shoulder: 15-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 22″
Length: 17-1/2″

AT Hendrick 1940s buckskin half-belt leather jacket

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271244469421
This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1940s by A.T. Hendrick. It is made of soft, high quality buckskin leather, in a button front waist-length half-belt style. The buttons are leather “football” knot style. It has fancy bellows patch pockets, and an action back. The chest pocket has a Talon chain zipper of the type used in the 1940s.

A bit about the maker: Allie T. Hendricks was born on January 27, 1896. He worked as a clothes cleaner through the 1920s and into the 1930s. In 1936, he opened his own tailor shop in the one bedroom house at 1796 Trenton St., Denver, CO which he shared with his wife, Marie. Early directory listings indicate he produced leather jackets exclusively. Later ones use the broader term “leather goods”. Like many small western leather shops, it seems he specialized in buckskin.
There is a bit of confusion over the name – his own labels read “AT Hendrick” (no S), but his directory listings and social security records spell it “Hendricks”. He died in early 1981, aged 84.

Chest: 21″ (doubled = 42″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25-1/2″
Length: 27″

1939

The home where Hendricks produced his leather jackets

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.”

1929

1931

1933

1934

1937

1947

Foster Sportswear long halfbelt

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281030603575

This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1950s by Foster Sportswear. It has a yoked back and front, a pleated and belted back and saddlebag pockets. It has pinked details throughout, giving it a casual western vibe. It has a Scovill / Conmatic zipper, which still works well. The leather has damage and repairs- there is a tear under one of the pockets, an old repaired tear on the side/back panel, and scuffing to the shoulder. The jacket is lined in Alpaca pile by “Inca Paca” / “Timme Tuft”.

Chest: 22″

Shoulder to Shoulder: 18″

Sleeve: 25″

Length: 33″

The McDorsey Yukon trench coat

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281017872862

This vintage coat was made just post WWII. It is a double breasted trench coat style, with a mouton sheepskin collar, and a combination alpaca pile and quilted satin lining. The gabardine shell of the coat is a medium blue color. There is a detachable belt. The coat was made by McDorsey Sportswear and is their “Yukon” model. One of the buttons does not match and there is wear to the bottom edge of the quilted liner.
Chest (pit to pit): 22-1/2″

Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″

Shoulder to Shoulder: 18″

Length (collar to hem): 39″

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