New member and new horsehide

[s_crumb]

Hi all. I'm "officially" a new member, though I have been a regular here for several years. I've been transient for longer than I care to remember and that means no permanent email address. Looks like I'll be staying put for the foreseeable future so I have an acceptable address. Anyway, I wanted to share my newest purchase with you.

It's a Hercules horsehide jacket that the seller estimates to be from the 30's or 40's. I'm not sure. Maybe someone here would have a better estimate. It's very worn and creased. It seems to have been stored flat for untold numbers of years and they are slowly working themselves out. The "old" smell is going away too. It's more distressed than many people may like, but to me it's perfect. It had some damage when I bought it. The lining needed to be repaired in spots and some seams in the leather were bad. I had a local tailor fix it all for a whopping 5 dollars.

 

[aswatland]

Welcome to the forum. Your jacket is most likely made from front quarter horse hide. It most likely dates from the '40s through to the late '50s, when these half belt jackets were extremely popular. It probably could do with some leather conditioner, such as Pecards. Nice jacket BTW.

 

[imported_Flaming_Groovy]

Hi all. I'm "officially" a new member, though I have been a regular here for several years. I've been transient for longer than I care to remember and that means no permanent email address. Looks like I'll be staying put for the foreseeable future so I have an acceptable address. Anyway, I wanted to share my newest purchase with you.

It's a Hercules horsehide jacket that the seller estimates to be from the 30's or 40's. I'm not sure. Maybe someone here would have a better estimate. It's very worn and creased. It seems to have been stored flat for untold numbers of years and they are slowly working themselves out. The "old" smell is going away too. It's more distressed than many people may like, but to me it's perfect. It had some damage when I bought it. The lining needed to be repaired in spots and some seams in the leather were bad. I had a local tailor fix it all for a whopping 5 dollars.

It's a nice looking halfbelt (with zipper i guess)...How about the leather ..is it thik HH..??
The left pocket is in a good condition too.....perfect...!!

Ruben

 

[s_crumb]

Aswatland, thanks for the advice. I'll be ordering some Pecards very soon.

Flaming, This is the first horsehide i've ever had. It seems fairly thin. There is only a satin type lining, so I assume it's meant to be a lightweight jacket. The leather is thin but very rigid.

I forgot to mention the size of the jacket, 46. We all know how hard it is to find larger vintage sizes. I was thrilled when I saw this pop up in my size. Of course I probably spent more than I should have.

 

[Peacoat]

Aswatland is right about the Pecard's. It should bring that jacket back to life. I also agree with him on the probable dates, although you will never know for sure. I would love to have an old Hercules for bike riding.

A nice find.

 

[fedoralover]

Welcome to the lounge. I saw that jacket on ebay and was following it. Believe it or not I have the exact same jacket. I bought it this summer in Seattle whichg interestingly enough is where yours is from. Mine was in fantastic shape but very dry. I didn't have Pecards, but I put lexol on it and it really made it look good. Here's the pics of mine. The label reads "Hercules," genuine horsehide, Sears and Roebuck Clothing Co.

fedoralover

 

[s_crumb]

Fedoralover - That jacket looks great. I'm going to have to put some type of conditioner on it if I can find some locally. Very dry is an understatement for this one...crispy would be a better term. My tag reads the same. The tag was falling off so I had the alterations shop sew it back on. Unfortunately it was very faded and they can't read English. So they sewed it in upside down. I noticed it when I got home and couldn't bring myself to point out how they messed up. They did such a good job fixing the seams of the jacket and liner, and throw in the fact that the repairs cost me 5 dollars, it doesn't seem like a big deal.

 

[fedoralover]

I hope it works out for you. This is one of my favorite jackets to wear. The seller in the antique store I found mine in, said that a man in his 90s had just brought it in that morning and said that he wore it when he was young. I was lucky to walk in the same day and buy it. Let us know how yours turns out. Please post some pics of you wearing it after you get it conditioned.

fedoralover