Recent content by bjoy

John Travolta on set of Welcome Back Kotter.

Perhaps the 4905 number stamped on the lining gives us May, 1949, as a manufacture date? I am wondering though why the label has no trademark on the Hercules name and no mention of Sears as the owner of that trademark. Stamping the size information on the lining and using glue to fix the...

There are a bunch of old Sears and Spiegel catalogs here: http://www.wishbookweb.com/ This is an example of a 1930's label that I found:

Jacket "C" in this 1942 catalog has one of these tiny pockets (though zippered). According to the description the zippered pockets are one for maps and the other for change. Note the zippered pocket on jacket "E" is for cigarettes. And on jacket "B" the zippered pocket is a humidor for...

The label on this jacket is interesting because (between the words "Sports Apparel") it has the initials "HLB" with "Corp" written inside the lower loop of the "B". Of course, H.L.B. Corp was a major maker of mostly aviation apparel before and during WW2 as well as civilian clothing...

You might check out Roger's site for jackets like yours to compare. For instance http://moorecustom.com/jackets/G1_7823C_Edwards_46-b.htm

I asked about this company on the VLJ forum when I saw that A-2, and the ever helpful David/deeb7 contributed the following link. It does seem to indicate they were an actual manufacturer of reproductions...

I have wondered about Flying Equipment Co too. A few months ago I saw an A-2 on eBay with exactly the same label (including contract number) that appears in their G-1. The early 50's (maybe 1953 based on their fantasy contract number) seems pretty early for someone to be making...

I have been looking for a button source too. I did find two sellers on eBay who sell "older" military buttons which either were reported as being brown or looked that way in the photos. The buttons were an exact match except for color. They did look brown from a distance but they turned out...