1940s Front Quarter horsehide jacket

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281349331760
This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1940s. The style, with knit waistband and cuffs, and slash handwarmer pockets was popular after the war. It is made of full grain front quarter horsehide, with a mouton collar. The jacket is lined in alpaca and corduroy, with quilted sleeve linings. The zipper is a later replacement from a no-name maker, with non-matching stitching. The cuffs and knit waistband also appear to be replacements. The jacket has a one piece back with a straight shoulder yoke. The horsehide has wonderful grain accented by decades of use. I have seen this particular design of yellow and black horsehide label, and this style of lining on earlier button front barnstormer models, but not on a post-war bomber jacket style like this. The leather has wear and loss of finish, but is still solid and supple.

Chest (pit to pit): 24″ (doubled = 48″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24-1/2″
Length (base of collar to end of cuff): 23″

Vintage 1950s Buco J-82 D-pocket leather jacket

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281345326835
This vintage leather jacket was made by the Joseph Buegeleisen Company of Detroit Michigan, in the mid-late 1950s. The J-82 model was introduced by Buco c. 1955, and going by the style of Talon zippers on this example, it dates from this 1950s time frame. Although this jacket was cut down into a vest by its original biker owner, the detailing of the J-82 model is highly distinctive and makes it immediately recognizable. The jacket is made of heavy steerhide leather, with a D-pocket (also known as a pistol pocket or a map pocket). Whereas many other D-pocket models had a patch cigarette pocket overtop the map pocket, the J-82 had a cleaner design, leaving that pocket uncluttered. There is a zipper breast pocket, somewhat of a holdover from aviator jacket styles of the 1940s, and a zippered slash handwarmer style pocket. The jacket has an attached belt, with a blacked out metal buckle and a metal tipped belt end to make threading it through easier. The belt loops and all pockets are reinforced and embellished with nickel plated rectangular high-dome studwork. The lapels snap down and there are additional snaps that a mouton collar could have originally been attached to. The jacket has a bi-swing back. The main zipper is a no.5 Talon of 1950s design, and all pocket zippers are bell-shaped Talons.
Wear this jacket over a denim jacket or like Lee Marvin in The Wild One over a striped shirt.

Chest (pit to pit): 19″
Length (base of collar to hem): 23″
Waist: 17″

Original Perry A-2 horsehide flight jacket

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271501781667
This vintage leather flight jacket was made by the Perry Sportswear company of Newburgh, New York. It is made of horsehide leather. The jacket has a pinlock Conmar zipper, United Carr ball-style snaps and grommets under the arms. The pockets have square reinforcement stitching, rounded corners, and shallowly scalloped pocket flaps. The arm has some period artwork on it for the 5th Air Corps. Unlike most, which were painted, this one is branded onto the leather.

Chest (pit to pit): 41″
Shoulder to shoulder: 17-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 20-1/2″ (missing knit cuffs, so will be longer once replaced)
Length (base of collar to end of waistband): 23-1/2″

Lakeland Shawl Collar sweater

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281344004202
This vintage sweater was made in the 1970s by Lakeland. The design is heavily influenced by the shawl collar sweaters of the 1920s and 1930s. It has a broad shawl collar, a four button front and four leather pockets, the design and placement of which are reminiscent of shawl collared mackinaw coats of the same period. The sweater is fully lined and has an interior pocket, in keeping with the original intention of these as an article of outerwear rather than something to be layered, as was the case with v necked cardigans.

Tagged size: 40
Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 27″

Monarch horsehide barnstormer leather jacket

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271493775559
This vintage jacket was made by Monarch Mfg. of Milwaukee WI in the late 1930s or early 1940s. It is a belted, double breasted style. This has since come to be known among collectors as a barnstormer style, named after the aviators of the 1920s who wore similar styles. The jacket is made of russet horsehide, with a 3×6 double breasted front. There are handwarmer pockets (known originally as “muff” pockets), as well as flapped cargo pockets. These have deeply scalloped pocket flaps. The jacket is lined with blanket wool in the body, with quilted shoulders and sleeves. The U shaped seam between the two lining materials is a detail I have only seen on other Monarch jackets. The label is of a style used in the 1930s through about the end of WWII. The leather has some really incredible grain, highlighted by decades of usage. The treatment of the seams is unusual. Whereas most jackets, leather or otherwise, will have a seam at the edge of the jacket, or on the edge of the lapels, this one minimizes them by folding the leather around to form the front and back panel.

The Monarch Manufacturing Company was founded in 1892 by Paul Asch. In 1917, they relocated to a new factory, located at 246 East Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI. They built at least four more factories in Milwaukee, employing over a thousand workers by 1922. Throughout the life of the company, they specialized in leather, sheepskin and fabric outerwear for men and boys. They produced A-2 contracts during WWII.

Chest (pit to pit): 23″
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 26-1/2″
Length (collar seam to hem): 30″

Resistol Stagecoach cowboy hat

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281336734700
This cowboy hat was made by Resistol as part of their old-west styled “Stagecoach” line. It was probably manufactured in the 1980s, and is made of high quality fur felt. It has a great 1920s style, with a wide, curled brim, and a tall crown. The hat has a buckled leather band, appropriate for the 1920s style.

Size: 7-1/4
Brim Width: 6-1/2″
Crown Height: 4″

Chambers western belt

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271482230004
This vintage belt was made in the 1950s by the Chambers belt company of Phoenix, Arizona. It was sold in Banff Canada. The leather is tooled with a zig-zag western pattern, and the buckle has a bucking bronco on a background of cattle brands. The belt is marked a size 38.
Smallest hole: 35″
Largest hole: 39-1/2″

1930s studded, jeweled western belt

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271467971976
This vintage leather western belt was made in the 1930s. It is made of a natural colored leather with a geometric (squares over octagons) tooled pattern. It has a double prong garrison style buckle. As was popular with western belts of the period, it is embellished with jewels and studs. It is faintly marked “Genuine Full Grain Cowhide Bridle” on the back. This is a rare example of one of the earlier designs of this style.

Sizing (remember to take measurement over pants)
Length to first set of holes: 30-1/2″
Length to last set of holes: 33-1/2″
Belt Width: 1-3/4″

1940s studded, jeweled western belt

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271467982492
This vintage leather western belt was made in the 1940s. It is made of brown leather with a floral tooled pattern. It has a double prong garrison style buckle. As was popular with western belts of the period, it is embellished with jewels and studs. It is marked “Yellowstone Park” on the back. Was it sold there as a souvenir of the west, or was that a brand name? Whatever the case, it didn’t go far, spending the rest of its life up to this point in Montana.

Sizing (remember to take measurement over pants)
Length to first set of holes: 32″
Length to last set of holes: 34-1/2″
Belt Width: 1-3/8″

1960s Sears D-Pocket motorcycle jacket

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Spencer Stewart

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281318786990
This vintage D-Pocket leather motorcycle jacket was sold by Sears in the late 1960s-early 1970s. Sears introduced their D-Pocket motorcycle jacket model in the late 1940s. A simplified version, made of Steerhide instead of the Horsehide of the original came along in 1953. The model continued to be produced into the early 1970s with few changes. Although all sold by Sears, these were sold under a variety of Sears house brand labels, including Allstate, Sears Outerwear, Sears Fieldmaster, Oakbrook Sportswear and several versions of The Leather Shop label. The label, the hardware, and subtleties of the design help pin down the date of manufacture.

The jacket is made from black steerhide, with a D-Pocket (originally known as a map pocket and also known as a pistol pocket). The pocket on these 1960s models continue to the side seam. There is a smaller flapped cigarette pocket, and a zipper handwarmer/ slash cargo pocket on the other side. The jacket has a red nylon lining, Serval zippers, epaulettes, and a zipper at the collar for a detachable mouton collar. In a tradition dating back to the days of cowboys, and passed down through generations of bikers, the back of the jacket and the epaulettes have been embellished with stud work, in three sizes of studs.

Tagged size: 42
Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (base of collar to hem): 23-1/2″

1949

1958

1968

1972

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