Womens Hudsons Bay point blanket coat

This vintage coat was made in the 1950s-1960s by the Hudson’s Bay Comapny from their iconic multi-stripe point blankets. This style was produced in the 1950s and 1960s and was joined by and later replaced by a double breasted design. This one has a modified shawl collar and high button stance. It has buttons for the rarely seen and rarely used button-on hood, which is not included with this jacket.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 16″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 31″

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1930s Red Hudson’s Bay Company point blanket mackinaw coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281406858780
This vintage coat was made in the 1930s from Hudson’s Bay Company point blankets. It is a classic double breasted mackinaw cut. At some point, the coat was fully lined, but where it is coming away, you can see the taped seams and hanger loop which give away the original unlined construction, which was typical on blanket mackinaws of the era.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 21″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 31″

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1920s hookless zipper front pullover Hudson’s Bay jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271422243118
This vintage jacket was made in the 1920s. It was tailored from Hudson’s Bay point blanket material, at the time, one of the most expensive wools on the market, prized for its warmth and vibrant colors.
The jacket is a pullover style, with an A-1 style knit waistband. The separable-bottomed zipper was not introduced by Hookless/Talon until 1930. Prior to that point, if a manufacturer wanted a zip-front to a jacket, it had to be closed-bottomed, which meant a pullover style. This zipper is an extremely rare early Hookless, dating to the 1920s. It has a bent wire pull, probably meant for a leather pull attachment. This design pre-dated the grommet-zipper by a good five years or more.
It has a shirt style collar, with a long chinstrap, a detail borrowed from work clothing. The opening of the zipper has a layer of wool behind it to keep anything from becoming snagged in the teeth of the zipper. The Hudson’s Bay Company label bears the logo used in the 1920s, pre-dating the inclusion of registration numbers in the late 1920s.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 21″ (Replacement of missing cuffs would probably bring length to 24-25″)
Length: 27″

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Brown and Camel Hudson’s Bay point blanket coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271378596257
This vintage mackinaw coat was made by the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 1940s from their iconic point blankets. This is a particularly rare model, made in a tan point blanket, instead of the more typical red and black or multi-stripe. It has the classic mackinaw cut: double breasted, belted, with patch pockets on the hips and handwarmers on the chest. The lining of the coat is a transitional style, which helps date it. Generally, mackinaw coats like this made in the 1920s and 1930s were completely unlined. In the 1940s, half linings like this one has started to come into fashion. By the 1950s, most were fully lined. The original owner’s name. “G. Lasker” is written in the lining.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25-3/4″
Length: 34″

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1920s Hudson’s Bay Company point blanket coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281244175192

This vintage mackinaw coat was made in the 1920s. It is tailored from red and black Hudson’s Bay Company point blankets, in a classic double breasted cut. The coat is belted, with flapped hip pockets and slash handwarmers on the chest. The belt has buttons instead of a buckle, a typically 1920s detail. As with most mackinaws of this era, this example is unlined, with finished interior seams. This blanket material was highly sought after in this era for serious outdoorsmen. Upgrading to point blanket material over standard mackinaw wool could almost double the price.

Chest (pit to pit): 20-1/2″
Shoulder to shoulder: 16″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-1/2″
Length: 27″

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1920s Carss Mackinaw coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271352494287
This vintage coat was made by Carss Mackinaw, probably in the 1920s. This is a rare version. Most were made in striped point blanket material, with four patch pockets and a belted back. This one is made from a wool plaid. It has a squared off shawl collar, with patch breast pockets and handwarmers in a shape which would eventually inspire the D-Pocket found on motorcycle jackets. There are access flaps to an internal game pocket, and adjuster belts, mounted high on the back. The shoulders have pinked capes.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length: 30″

A bit about the company, from a history piece I wrote for “The Fedora Lounge”: Carss Mackinaw made blanket coats in Orillia, Ontario from at least 1897. Their signature model was single breasted with caped shoulders and a squared-off shawl collar. They are most commonly seen in red, green, and khaki, all with a blanket stripe at the base. The fabric used in these coats was advertised as a whopping 44oz, and was sourced from a variety of trade blanket manufacturers, including Hudson’s Bay and the Bird Woolen Mills. They were advertised as “The Only Genuine Mackinaw Made In Canada”. They were retailed by the Hudson’s Bay Company, as well as other stores.

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1937 Albert Richard Hudson’s Bay point blanket coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271323676616
This vintage mackinaw coat was made around 1937 by Albert Richard. It is tailored from English made Hudson’s Bay Company point blankets. When this coat was made, a standard Albert Richard mackinaw coat, made in either solid colors or in plaids, sold for $12.50. An upgrade to this red and black Hudson’s Bay blanket fabric raised the price to a whopping $22.50. Period advertisements identify this model as “The Souix”. As with many belted coats, this one lost the belt years ago. One belt loop was removed, the other partially so. The coat has classic mackinaw styling- double breasted with handwarmer pockets on the chest, and flapped hip pockets. As with most early mackinaws, this coat is unlined, relying on high quality heavy wool blanket material for warmth. I wear this same model mackinaw from about a year earlier as my winter coat, and trust me, it will keep you warm all winter long.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length: 30″

A bit about Albert Richard, from an article I wrote for “The Art of Vintage Leather Jackets”.
Fried-Ostermann was founded c.1902 as a glove manufacturer. They bought out their competitor, Price Gloves, and relocated production of that company’s products to their original factory, located at 617-645 Reed Street, Milwaukee, WI. By 1915, the company had gained a partner, and was known as the Fried, Ostermann, Meyer Co, but that looks to only have lasted until 1917. As the company grew, they relocated to 1645 S. 2nd Street, Milwaukee, WI. Fried-Ostermann diversified out of gloves and into outerwear in the late 1920s with the formation of a new division of the company, called Albert Richard. The leather jackets, mackinaws, overcoats and sportswear produced by Albert Richard would soon come to eclipse the glove-making side of the company. Pre-war advertising stressed health and sports, with endorsements from college football players. These ads also talk about bringing items of clothing which were previously thought of as workwear, like mackinaws and leather jackets, into the realm of ordinary streetwear, citing their comfort and durability.
During WWII, the Albert Richard factory made A-2 (contract AC 23383), M-422A (contract 1406A), M444A and M445A flight jackets under the name of their parent company, Fried-Ostermann. They advertised leather jackets, overcoats and sportswear heavily during WWII, giving their jackets model names like the “Spitfire” and the “Meteor”. During the war, the company gave away wall-sized posters showing a range of american military airplanes. 850 workers were employed by Albert r in 1946, with plans to hire another 400. The company was one of the first to use fiberglass insulation in coats, a technology borrowed from b-29 bombers. Sheepskin collared “storm coats” became a signature model after the war.
President of Fried-Ostermann, Richard Fried, sold their Albert Richard Division to the Drybak corporation of Binghampton, NY in late 1952. Drybak, a maker of canvas hunting clothing was looking to diversify their line. In the deal, they got the licensing, branding, patterns, dealership network, but other than the Vice President and designer for Albert Richard, all of the employees and equipment stayed at the plant in Milwaukee. Fried-Osterman re-focused the attention of their plant on the production of gloves, and on producing leather jackets under house labels for mail order and department stores.
Starting in 1953, under Drybak’s ownership, Albert Richard clothing was once again produced, this time under contract at a factory in New Jersey, which Drybak declined to name. The plan at that time was to have production moved to New York by 1954. Labels were changed in this period to read “Albert Richard by Drybak”. In 1955, Drybak acquired the Martin Mfg. Co. in Martin, TN. They closed their Binghamton operations in that same year and relocated their hunting clothing manufacturing and their Albert Richard division to the Tennessee plant to take advantage of the lower labor costs in the south.

 

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1920s Wool A-1 jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281196431961

This vintage jacket was made prior to 1926 in a wool A-1 style out of Hudson’s Bay point blankets.

In the early 1920s, a style of jacket emerged that would later come to be adapted into the A-1 flight jacket. This style had knit cuffs, a knit collar and a knit waistband, to keep of the wind and cold. It was produced in both wool and leather, and was marketed toward men who spent time out of doors- workmen and sportsmen. By the mid 1920s, the style started to evolve, with some makers dropping the knit collar for one in a shirt style made of the same material as the body. That variant, made in leather, later became the A-2 flight jacket. This jacket dates from the transitional period between the two. It has a waist length cut with a knit waistband and cuffs. It has a button front, as the separable bottomed zipper pioneered by Hookless Fastener, which allowed for zipper fronted jackets, would not go into production until 1930. Although most jackets of this style had flapped patch pockets, the positioning of them varied by maker and model. While some had them down towards the waistband in a setup now considered conventional, this one has them positioned midway up the chest.

The chinstrap detail is taken straight from workshirts of the period- constructed in the same way, with an extended collar stand with two buttonholes. The two tone nature of the red and black blanket material allows for a great two tone look, highlighting the pocket flaps and the collar.

The jacket is constructed from a three point sized Hudson’s Bay Company Point blanket. This material would have pushed this particular jacket into the top of the line position for this style. Jackets such as this made from HBC blankets were regularly double (or more) the cost of a heavyweight wool jacket of the same model and manufacturer. It was often an even pricier material option than the horsehide or capeskin leather options. The Hudson Bay blankets have a long and proud tradition in the history of rugged clothing for outdoorsmen. An icon of Canadian culture, the blankets at this time were made in England. The first mackinaw coats were tailored from then in 1780. Fur traders wore Capotes made from this fabric throughout the 19th century. Lumbermen of the late 19th and early 20th century prized the brightly colored coats as being the best on the market for warmth and durability. This one bears an early style label, before the “Reg. No.” was added to the bottom in 1926.

Chest (pit to pit): 27″ (doubled = 54″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 23″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23-1/2″
Length (to bottom of knit): 27-1/2″

 

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These ads are from the 1930s, but give an idea of the pricepoint comparisons. In this period, they were frequently advertised alongside horsehide and mouton ” Grizzly ” jackets, and other such expensive and rugged garments.  photo 193606Stitch-Copy.jpg

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1960s Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271246948755
This vintage coat was made by the Hudson’s Bay company from their iconic point blanket material. It is in their “Olympic” pattern, a double breasted style, with handwarmer pockets and flapped patch pockets. In this particular example, the points of the four point blanket are on the inside of the coat on the wearer’s right. The coat is fully lined.

Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 19-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 26″
Length: 36″

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The half-zip, half-double breasted coat

This style is an oddity to be sure.  The bottom half of the jacket has a conventional coat-style zipper in the center, single-breasted style. The top has a six-button, double breasted panel.

This Hudson’s Bay point blanket example sold on ebay a number of years ago.
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An ad from 1939 for a similar style, also made from Hudson’s Bay point blanket material. Marketed in Children’s sizes.
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A German ad from the same time frame, courtesy Florian Kremers. Also made from striped blanket material, but not Hudson’s Bay. The model name “Eskimo” references what seem to be the Canadian origins of this unusual style.
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http://blog.livedoor.jp/mcfly_store/archives/50731859.html
A modern reproduction of this style, by Freewheelers. This blends the styling of the blanket mackinaw originals, with that of hunting coats of the 1920s and 1930s, and throws in extra ’30s style zippers for good measure.
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