1930s-1940s aviator jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/401045335421

This vintage jacket was made in the late 1930s-early 1940s.  It is made from brown capeskin leather in the aviator style so popular in that time period.  It has an offset zipper, broad lapels and collar, handwarmer pockets, a zipped breast pocket and zipped map pocket.  It has a half-belt back. The main zipper is an early Crown, with a square topped stopbox and teeth very similar to a Talon (pre-chevron teeth, pre-two way teeth). The back is painted with  nose art close to a Disney/Roald Dahl gremlin, with horned flight helmet and parachute harness, but with a pointy mosquito or bird nose. The lining is missing.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18-3/4″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff):24-1/2″
Length (base of collar to hem): 24″

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1928-1932 Spalding Aviation Clothing leather flight suit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272051885112

This vintage leather flight suit was made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. Aviation Clothing, between 1928 and 1932. It has a mouton collar, an offset closure, belted waist, large map pocket with sharply scalloped pocket flap, thigh pockets and a full silk pile lining. It is a size 42, and is their model 402. The suit has seven Hookless Fastener Co. Talon zippers, with the double marked sliders that indicate a date of manufacture between 1928, when the name Talon was introduced, and 1932, when Hookless dropped their company name from the product in favor of simply “Talon”. The zips are on the sleeves, legs, the chest and on two pass through pockets so the aviator could access his pants pockets.  The fly opening is accomplished by a snap on the zipper tape.  The large collar has a hook closure at the neck and a three button throat latch under the collar, to really secure it during open cockpit flight. While not his suit, Charles Lindbergh was a prominent endorser of Spalding’s flight suits of this era.

Tagged size: 42
Chest (pit to pit): 23″ (doubled = 46″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Inseam: 28″
Length (base of collar to bottom of belt): 22″
Length (top of collar to bottom of leg): 61-1/2″
The flight suit has the original boots, also made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. Aviation Clothing. These are moccasin style, with a lace up front and Hookless Talon zipper back.  They are fully sheepskin lined for warmth, with a double layer moccasin sole and tongues front and back.  They are a large size, measuring 12-3/4″ front to back, and 4-5/8″ side to side and comfortably fitting my size 12 foot.  Inside are sheepskin slippers, which appear to be of slightly later manufacture, either added for extra warmth, or more likely to down-size the boots for a second owner.
Lastly, there are two flight helmets, one original to the suit and also made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. Aviation Clothing and another unlabeled one.  The Spalding cap is a size 7-3/8 model 1900 and has Spalding baseball branded snaps for the goggle retainers.  The second cap is unmarked, with a snap closure and ear grommets.
Note: gloves are not part of the suit, and were for photographs only, they are not included.

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1930s Albert Richard Grizzly jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281655706660

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This vintage jacket was made in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Fried Ostermann between 1936 and 1938 under the Albert Richard Sportswear label. The jacket is made of front quarter horsehide leather, with mouton panels and collar. Originally sold as a “Laskinlamb jacket”, this style has come to be known by collectors as the Grizzly. These were popular in the mid to late 1930. The jacket has Albert Richard’s patented Tu-Length cuffs, which have buttons on either side, allowing them to be worn down for a longer sleeve or turned up and buttoned for a shorter sleeve length. The jacket has a Talon main zipper with a grommet style stopbox. The slider is of the deco sunburst design with oval slider-to-puller connection, which was only produced in the mid 1930s and which was replaced by a simpler design around 1938. The pull is a rectangular holed, plain backed version, also typical of mid 1930s production. The jacket is lined with plaid wool, with leather pit guards and ventilation grommets. The sleeves have knit storm cuffs to keep out the wind. The collar has a buttoned chinstrap throat latch to cinch it up tight in bad weather.

Chest (pit to pit): 20″ (doubled = 40″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff, turned down): 26″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff, turned up): 24″
Length (Base of collar to hem): 21-1/2″

A history of Albert Richard which 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.

1940s Civilian Air Associates B-2 leather flight jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281645136149
This vintage jacket was made in Kansas City, Missouri, as a civilian version of the US army B-2 Flight jacket, issued in the early 1930s, and replaced by the B-3 in 1934. The army version was made of horsehide, with a single breast pocket, attached belt zippered cuffs on the inside of the wrist, and a full alpaca lining and mouton collar. This jacket was produced with a civilian label and a few alterations to the pattern. This jacket is made from capeskin, and with handwarmer pockets instead the large breast patch pocket that was universally removed from the army production version. This jacket has an off-center Talon main zipper, with bell-shaped slider and unmarked diagonal-stripe sunburst stopbox. The sleeves have zipper cuffs, with early pattern United Carr snaps and bell shaped talon zippers. The jacket has heavy wear, and the label has been partially worn away. The remaining text reads “aviation” and “Kansas City Mo”. There is a remnant of what looks to be a wing logo. The size tag is of the black and yellow design used on military jackets, and the pocket linings are the distinctive shade of twill used in the linings of A-2 jackets. These details point to this jacket having been made as part of a specialized civilian aviator’s line by a manufacturer which held a military jacket contract.

Chest (pit to pit): 21-1/2″ (doubled = 43″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 16″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 22″

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1930 dated US Army Tunic

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281585059436
This vintage army jacket was made in September of 1930 (inspected Sept. 17). It is made of olive drab wool, with fishmouth lapels and a four button front. It has the fitted silhouette and seams of a WWII tunic. It has royal blue panels inside, which appear to be original, but which I have not seen on other tunics of this era. This one was at some point, probably in the later 1930s, de-militarized for civilian usage by removing the epaulettes, the sam browne belt hooks, the two breast pockets and by adding different buttons. Then as now, army surplus was popular as inexpensive and high-quality outdoor wear and workwear.

Tagged size: 36
Chest (pit to pit): 19″ (doubled = 38″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24-3/4″
Length (base of collar to hem): 28″

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1941 army shawl collar mackinaw coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281561414095
This vintage US Army mackinaw was made in 1941. It is double breasted, with a shawl collar, epaulettes and a buttoned belt. There is a tailor’s tag reading Basson Tailors – Established 1910 – New York City – Formerly West Point, NY, but also a contract tag which identifies the maker as the South Jersey Clothing Company.

Tagged size: 38
Chest (pit to pit): 21″
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 31-1/2″

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1930s leather police motorcycle jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271715598736
This vintage leather jacket was made in the late 1930 for a police motorcycle force. It is made of heavy black leather in an early motorcycle style. The jacket has a double-breasted, zip front cut, with snap belt buckles for a heavy garrison belt. It has lace-up sides, button cuffs with internal knit cuffs and zippered handwarmer/cargo pockets. The jacket is lined with wool and has an inside zip pocket. The main zipper is a later replacement, probably from the 1960s or 1970s. It appears that at that time a nylon liner was added overtop the original 1930s wool lining, but all that remains are a few shreds by the shoulder. The jacket has been heavily worn, implying a life after its original police usage. There are snaps for a mouton collar, as well as snaps on the belt loops. Some of these are 1920s United States Fastener snaps, others are United Carr made in the 1930s after United States Fastener and Carr merged. There are even RF Co snaps thrown into the mix. The pockets have late 1930s bell-shaped Talon zippers, while the interior pocket has an extremely rare version of the chain zipper with a Talon marked ring.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24″
Length (base of collar to hem): 22-1/4″

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1930s German Stresemann jacket single breasted peak lapel

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271713082718
This vintage jacket was made in Germany in the early 1930s. It has highly positioned, sharply pointed peak lapels, tailored with the lapel sewn to the collar. It has moderately roped shoulders, steeply back-slanted shoulder seams, and widely spaced silk covered buttons, making the lounge jacket cut more formal. The jacket is fully lined with striped sleeve linings.

Chest (pit to pit): 20″ (doubled = 40″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 26-1/4″
Length (base of collar to hem): 29″

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WWI US Navy Peacoat repro

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271423315528
This peacoat was made by Ralph Lauren and is a reproduction of the model worn in WWI. It has a ten button front, with both handwarmer and flapped cargo pockets. There is a short vent in the rear. The pockets are lined in corduroy. Buttons are reproductions of the 13 star buttons used on WWI coats, with the addition of the RL. The coat is fully lined, with two interior pockets.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″
Shoulder to shoulder: 19″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 26″
Length: 32″

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1941 Jacob Siegel Co. Army Mackinaw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281268073559
This vintage Officer’s Short Overcoat / Shawl Collar Mackinaw was made in 1941 by the Jacob Siegel Company under contract for the US Army. This style coat was a direct descendant of the shawl collar workwear mackinaws of the 1910s-1930s, and from the m-1926 mackinaw worn by the Army and the Civilian Conservation Corps before the war. It is a double breasted style, with a broad shawl collar, epaulettes, and a belted waist. The coat is fully lined with an interior breast pocket. There are stitch marks on the sleeves from a six pointed star patch and a round patch.

Chest (pit to pit): 21″ (doubled = 42″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 17-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 25″
Length (base of collar to hem): 32″

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