Some Turn-of-the-Century Photographic Prints

We managed to save these old 10 by 12 prints from heading to the incinerator. They were snatched out of a pile of old broken toys, cheap armless sunglasses, left-over wrapping paper, discarded Tupperware, and torn boxes.  They weren't taken because of any possible value, they were taken because they were interesting.

We have a friend, Robert, who works a couple of days at the small vintage movie theater next to our favorite bar. He also happens to be a photographer, auction caller, and dealer of small antiques.  Robert specializes  in old photographs and postcards.  We took these into him to see what he had to say. He recognized most of the subjects and photographers. Some are pretty obvious.

Robert explained to us (based on the paper) that these were reprints of turn-of-the-century to 30s photographs. They were actually printed in the 1940s. He valued them at about $25 a piece. We gave them to him for a few movie passes. We always get excited when we find old photos and postcards now... It means a trip to talk to ole Robert and an encyclopedia of knowledge dealt out faster than I can think.

I wish I could give you all the specifics on these, but I'm just not that smart.

Some Cowichan Sweaters: Staple of the Pacific Northwest or "What's up with the Big Lewbowski Dude Sweater?"

 What the hell is a Cowichan Sweater?

Pendleton Cowichan  "Dude" Sweater (borrowed from eBay)

A traditional Cowichan sweater would be made by the Cowichan people of the Salish Nation in British Columbia. They are a heavy sweater knit from natural sheep's wool, undyed and unprocessed so that the natural lanolins are left which helps to shed water. The original designs were derived at the turn of the century from mixing Salish weaving techniques with knitting styles brought over by British settlers. There are entire books written on the subject and I won't even try to attempt any history lessons.

That aside, manufactures, hand-knitters, and resellers (myself included)  have taken a bit of liberty using the term Cowichan to describe their products. Clothing manufacturers such as Pendleton, Filson, Ralph Lauren, Mary Maxim, and Eddie Bauer all have sweaters in their catalogs that they refer to as Cowichans. The "Dude" sweater is actually manufactured by Pendleton and fetches some pretty ridiculous prices in eBay land. Patterns have been made and sold for hand-knitters in all sorts of designs since the 1940s. Some of the 50s hand-knit sweaters are quite sought after and tend to be a little brighter with bold designs.

We often have these sweaters for sale through the vintage section of our eBay store, so be sure to take a look here and see.  Who knows, there might also be something else you're looking for.


 Here's some photo examples of some of the sweaters we've found along the way, some traditional, some handmade from patterns, and most just awesome.

Vintage 50s Cowichan style sweater

Vintage 50s Cowichan style sweater (back)

Early 50s Crown Zipper made by Coats and Clark

Vintage 50s Cowichan sweater

Vintage 50s Cowichan sweater (back)

Vintage 50s Cowichan sweater (with a rayon lining)

Vintage 70s Cowichan Sweater

Vintage 70s Cowichan Sweater (back)

Vintage Pull-over Cowichan Sweater (date unkown)

Vintage Pull-over Cowichan Sweater (back)

Vintage 50s-60s Cowichan Sweater

Vintage 50s-60s Cowichan Sweater (back)

Cowichan type sweater made from commercial pattern

Backside with awesome dogsled design.

Antler buttons on Cowichan Sweater

WW2 US Navy M445a Shearling Flight Jacket

Since I started a winter theme with the last posting, I thought I'd publish some photos of the most wintery of winter jackets ever made.

This M445-A Jacket was very early or pre-WW2. The Navy made some changes after this model was issued, and the army changed it again to make the more common  B-3 jacket.

WW2 US Navy M445a Shearling Flight Jacket

WW2 US Navy M445a Shearling Flight Jacket (back)

WW2 US Navy M445a Shearling Flight Jacket (Early Talon Zipper)

WW2 US Navy M445a Shearling Flight Jacket (collar)

WW2 US Navy M445a Shearling Flight Jacket (nomenclature label)

Vintage 1930s A. G. Spalding & Bros. Varsity Sweater

So... Summer was really busy... Too busy. We haven't posted anything in awhile due to the extreamly sunny and long Portland, OR summer. We made a ton of great picks over the last while and will spend some rainy time loading up photo eye candy.

A good winter start is this 1930s or 40s  A. G. Spalding & Bros. wool varsity sweater. It's seen plenty of wear but still found a home in a fan's collection.

Vintage A. G. Spalding Varsity Sweater

Vintage A. G. Spalding Varsity Letter

Vintage A. G. Spalding Label

Vintage A. G. Spalding Varsity Sweater (Back)

Vintage Champion Products Inc. Hooded Sweatshirt

Vintage Champion Products Inc. Hooded Sweatshirt made for the OSU Rowing Crew

 Available for auction here until 5/6/2012.

We found this vintage sweatshirt that was stenciled for the OSU Rowing crew and couldn't believe how awesome the condition was. To be honest, it has been quite tricky to date because the white talon zipper appears to be from a different era than the sweatshirt itself.  After pondering and examining it for a bit, it appeared that the zipper was installed at a later date.

This sweatshirt is 100% nylon fleece.  The ribbing is in immaculate condition and still very elastic.  If it wasn't an adult extra small, it might have stayed around here for awhile.

Vintage Champion Products Inc Hooded Sweatshirt Back

Oregon State Crew

OSU Rowing Crew Logo on the breast

Champion Products Inc Label

1940s C. C. Filson Mackinaw Cruiser Hunting Jacket

This is a late 40s Filson jacket that was rescued from a trip to the dump.  Even with the few moth bites to it, we picked it up and set it to auction.


This is one of the 16 oz.wool surge jackets that were very popular amongst Pacific Northwest foresters, lumberjacks and firefighters as well as hunters.

 The auction was pretty uneventful, probably because fall/winter clothing sales are low this time of year, but whoever got it found a great gem of an item in a sea of eBay crap.

1940s Filson Mackinaw Cruiser Jacket

1940s Filson Mackinaw Cruiser Jacket Back

!940s Filson Mackinaw Cruiser Jacket inside

1940s Filson "Union Made" Label

WW2 Army A-4 Wool Mechanics Cap from Castle Gate

WW2 Army A-4 Wool Mechanics Cap from Castle Gate

 These rare wool caps were only officially issued to Army Air Corps airplane mechanics.  Since they needed to squeeze into small spaces, the official billed "beanie" cap was deemed a little bit too cumbersome. 

It has been noted that Army paratroopers managed to acquire and use these quite frequently.

WW2 Army A-4 Wool Mechanics Cap from Castle Gate

We put this hat up to auction last week and were surprised that it fetched a whopping $218.84.  It was a really nice, almost unissued looking example.  The money that collectors will spend on items is always baffling.

WW2 Army A-4 Wool Mechanics Cap from Castle Gate (Inside-out)

WW2 Army A-4 Wool Mechanics Cap  Spec Tag