Button Front short Woolrich Jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281204240511
This vintage jacket was made in the early 1940s by the Woolrich Woolen Mills of Woolrich PA. It is a waist length, button-front model, with side belt adjusters and a single breast pocket. The jacket has reverse “D-pockets”, and is unlined. This jacket was also made in a zipper version- see here: https://vintagehaberdashers.com/2013/11/10/zipper-front-woolrich-jacket/

Chest (pit to pit): 25″ (doubled = 50″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 20-1/2″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24-1/2″
Length: 25″

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Zipper Front Woolrich Jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281204250052
This vintage jacket was made in the years immediately following WWII. It is the zipper fronted version of Woolrich’s cossack style. In another listing, I have a slightly earlier button front version of the same style. The zipper is of a transitional style used immediately after WWII, with a Talon branded stopbox and a square sided slider. The jacket has a single patch breast pocket with a cateye button, and handwarmer pockets. The jacket is tagged a size 36, but measures more like a size 40.

Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to shoulder: 18″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 23″
Length: 24-1/2″

J.O. Ballard Malone mackinaw

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″

 

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1930s Woolrich hunting coat

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271277514189

This is a rare early variant of the classic Woolrich hunting coat. Most Woolrich coats you see are from the 1950s or 1960s. Coats of that era have snaps withe the “Woolrich” name on them. They have labels with a slimmed down sheep and a (R) registered trademark symbol in the corner. This one dates from the late 1930s, and has a number of details which differentiate it from the later, more common versions. The pocket snaps on this one are of the style used in the 1930s and before, with a meander pattern encircled by dots. The label is of the style used from the mid-late 1930s, with a blocky sheep, green text and a green border. Woolrich was an early adopter of zippers on their hunting garments. This one has twin double-marked Talon zippers on the game pocket. This is the style used in the late ’30s- early 1940s, with a beveled edge puller with a small hole, the Talon name on the component which attaches the slider to the puller, and the full “Made in U.S.A.” text on the back of the slider. By the 1940s, Woolrich had abandoned the use of zippers on their game pockets, in favor of a simpler and more easily repaired (though less secure) single button. With purely functional workwear and hunting items such as this, they were passed down for generations and worn hard, as there was no regard for changing styles, and a deer is unlikely to call the fashion police. The coat has a fair bit of mothing to the shell, but is in better shape than most I’ve seen from this era. Although there is some, there is also much less wear and staining than usually seen to the liner, the neck and the cuffs, the areas generally most heavily hit.

Tagged size: 42
Chest (pit to pit): 22″ (doubled = 44″)
Shoulder to Shoulder: 17″
Sleeve (shoulder to cuff): 24-1/2″
Length: 30″

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Woolrich Hunting Mackinaw Jacket

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281052513450

There were a lot of companies producing these hunting jackets, but for me, Woolrich is the iconic one.  That giant rounded collar, the button front.  Simple and rugged.  One served me well in the pouring rain of Alaska and against the Canadian maritime wind.  It’s hard to find one in mint condition.  These were not fashion, they were utilitarian pieces, used for decades, until there was nothing left.  Tears and repairs are the norm.  Woodsmoke and rain a way of life.  This one is the short version, less commonly seen than the four pocket version.

This vintage hunting mackinaw was made by the Woolrich Woolen Mills.  It is their short, zip up pattern, which features two breast pockets, two slash handwarmer pockets, and a large rear game pouch.  This one bears patches from Pennsylvania hunting groups.  Chest (pit to pit): 21″Shoulder to Shoulder: 17-1/2″Sleeve (Shoulder to cuff): 23″    Photobucket

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Woolrich striped blanket shawl collar mackinaw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271121697118

This vintage coat was made by woolrich.  It has a double breasted front and a pile shawl collar.  The striped blanket material of the coat is 85% wool, with 15% nylon to prevent shrinkage in the elements.  Chest: 24″Shoulder to Shoulder: 22″Sleeve: 23″    Photobucket

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The Postwar Outdoorsman

Knapp moc toe hunting boots with ripple soles.
American Optical Aviator Sunglasses.
Horsehide A-2 leather jacket
zip front plaid railroad vest

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Hunting Coat Preview

Red and black hunting mackinaws. All kinds of different patterns. Zip fronts, button fronts, caped, two pocket, four pocket, six pocket. A perfect casual vintage winter coat. Coming fall/winter 2012.

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Top Row, from left: Midwest Outerwear, Maine Guide, Soo, Penney’s

Bottom Row, from left: Woolrich, Johnson, Soo, Soo