J.O. Ballard Malone mackinaw

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281200082748
This vintage mackinaw was made by J.O. Ballard & Co. of Malone, New York. The company was founded in 1888 by Jay Olin Ballard, and traded alternately under the J.O Ballard name and the name, Malone Woolen Mills. The company began making wool outdoorsman’s breeches in 1891 and followed up with mackinaw coats like this one. They were famous for their Malone plaid- gray with red and green overchecks. Coats of this cut were advertised to hunters, hikers, mountain climbers, lumberjacks, workmen and all other stripes of outdoorsmen. The depression closed the company in 1933. It re-opened again in 1935 with the assistance of an Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan, a depression era loan program.
The coat has four flapped pockets and two slash pockets. The slash pockets, in the traditional position of handwarmer pockets, pass through directly to the game pocket. There is also access to the game pocket from flaps on the back of the coat. Unlike the similar Woolrich design, this one has buttons on the pockets instead of snaps and exposed buttoning on the front. The lining is mustard colored cotton. The sleeves have buttoned adjusters.

Chest (pit to pit): 22-1/2″ (doubled = 45″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length: 29″

ClothCraft gray flannel sportcoat

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271307328400

This vintage gray flannel jacket was made in the 1950s by Joseph & Feiss under the ClothCraft label. The jacket bears a 1949 union label. It has a two button front, patch pockets, and a half lining.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25-1/2″
Length: 31″

Hunting and Fishing jacket

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271306401483
This vintage jacket was made in the 1940s under the WeatherBak label. This style was designed for hunters and fisherman, with space for every possible need. The canvas is advertised as “snag-pruf”, and the picture on the label of a hunter in the rain, along with the brand name reinforces the idea of water resistance which goes along whit this kind of tight, high quality canvas. Although canvas will get wet in the rain, the fibers swell with moisture, making a tight fabric even tighter, not allowing the water to actually pass through. I took some canvas gear on a canoe trip in Nova Scotia a year and a half ago. It rained the entire trip and my vintage canvas duffle was soaked, but everything inside remained dry.

The jacket has a short cut. There are pleated breast pockets, and wraparound double hip pockets. One has a divider with separate flaps, one has a single flap. There is a fly rod loop, a waist drawstring, pockets on each sleeve, and a roomy rear game pocket. There are two interior pockets. Room to fit everything you own! The underarms have open bottoms, an alternative to gussets for greater range of motion.

Chest (pit to pit): 23″
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23″
Length: 21-1/2″

For a modern leather interpretation of this style, check out: http://fcancan.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-had-dream-part2.html

East West Musical Instruments style leather jacket

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271306455788
This vintage leather jacket was made in the late 1960s – 1970s time frame, and is one of the coolest from that era I’ve seen in a long time. The western pictorial theme, with a desert landcape and a bird (or is that a “Gilded Palace of Sin” era Sneaky Pete pterodactyl?) put me in mind of Nudie’s rodeo tailors. The western yoking and brass studs on the front further that western theme. This style of jacket was pioneered by California’s “East West Musical Instruments” although this jacket isn’t nearly as complex as most of their output. There’s no, or evidence that there was one, so who actually made the jacket is a bit of a mystery. There is a standard style for the era “Medium” size tag. My guess would be it was made by a small custom leather shop. The jacket is leather, sewn rough-out. It has a snap front.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″ (doubled = 42″)
Waist: 18″ (doubled = 36″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length: 22″

Mid-Western Sport Togs deerskin jacket

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271306482905
This vintage jacket was made by Mid-Western Sport Togs, of Berlin, Wisconsin, probably in the early 1960s. It is a western style, with a fringed hem, sleeves and yoke. The jacket is made of deerskin. At some point, the original buttons were changed out for the current metal eagle buttons.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″
Shoulder to shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 22″
Length (not including fringe): 25″

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″

1930s cossack ski jacket

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

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″

1950s Penney’s workwear suit

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271280900728
This vintage suit was made c. 1958 by Penney’s. It is made of wool whipcord in a workwear / western style. The jacket is a fairly standard workwear cossack style, with a zipper front, action back, cargo and handwarmer pockets, a zip breast pocket, and button adjusters on the cuffs and waist. Zippers are both brass Talons of the type used in the 1950s. The jacket is unlined. While the jacket is in good shape, the pants of the suit are more heavily worn and faded. They have the Penney’s tag as well. The waistband has a rubber “chain” to keep the wearer’s shirt tucked in, however the rubber is now crumbling. The fly has a brass Talon zip. The pants are cuffed.

Jacket
Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length: 23″
Waistband: 20″ (doubled = 40″)

Pants
Waist (side to side): 17-1/2″ (doubled = 35″)
Outseam: 40″
Inseam: 29″
Rise: 11″
Cuff: 10″ (doubled = 20″)
Cuff Depth: 1-3/4″

1920s DuxBak hunting vest

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281160337309
This vintage hunting vest was made in the 1920s. The DuxBak line was started in 1906 by Bird, Jones and Kenyon, and had a factory located at 1 Blandina St., Utica, NY. Prior to the 1920s, Duxbak used the slogan “Duxbak Sportsman’s Clothing” in their advertisements and on their tags. During the 1920s, they switched to ” Duxbak Rain Proof Sportsman’s Clothing”. By the 1930s, they had changed their label to include a graphic of a hunter, and to emphasize “Utica”.

This shell vest design changed very little from when it was introduced in the early 1900s until this one was produced. As it was a garment of pure function, it was not beholden to the whims of fashion. A good design was a good design, and they stuck with it. It has loops for 28 shotgun shells, a high buttoning neckline to protect the wearer from the elements, and a buckle back to adjust for a comfortable fit. The buckle used on the back bears the patent number “819180”, which shows that this buckle design dates from 1906. The vest has a six button front, and all the buttons bear the DuxBak name.

Tagged Size:
Chest (pit to pit): 18-3/4″ (doubled = 37.5″)
Length (neck to hem down back):18″

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″

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Tag Archives: jacket

J.O. Ballard Malone mackinaw

ClothCraft gray flannel sportcoat

Hunting and Fishing jacket

East West Musical Instruments style leather jacket

Mid-Western Sport Togs deerskin jacket

Waxed Cotton A-1 jacket

1930s cossack ski jacket

1950s Penney’s workwear suit

1920s DuxBak hunting vest

Sears Topline leather jacket