Best book on leather jacket history?

[Bunyip]

G'day guys, I'm trying to better my knowledge on the history of leather jacket design...specifically, motorcycle jackets are my thing. I've seen a few titles by Rin Tanaka that look very interesting. Is there a " gospel" of mc jackets that I should get? It's my first time buying a book on the subject, and it will be online, so I can't flip through it prior to purchase. Thanks any advice. Cheers.

 

[rocketeer]

Hi, I have always had a few books on jackets, I usually read them then sell on as usually It's years before I read them again, here are a few, not necessary about jackets but biking as well.
Rin Tanaka. Motorcycle Jackets, a Century of Leather Design(Still got this,Vol 1)
The Black Leather Jacket: Mick Farren. Printed in the 1980s, a look at motorcycle jackets and youth cults that wore them from 1960s rockers to the punks of the 70s.
Cafe Racers and the Coffee Bar cult: A look at Rockers and bikes, mainly 1960s to early 1970s
Rockers: Johnny Stuart, a personal look at Rockers of the 1960s(Available from the Ace Cafe)
Most of these have lots of era pics in black and white, the Rin Tanaka books are mostly colour pics of jackets in modern collections with a little bit of history in the text.
Also available are a few books covering the modern old bike scene though these are more aimed at todays rockers etc.
There are also a few from Japan that cover bike jackets, though these are really for the Japanese collector market as most text is in Japanese.
Try the Ace Cafe website, they also have a few books available, probably more than I have listed.

For military jackets there are a lot, running from the Avirex catalogue style book, Cowboys in the Sky, the Mguire books on A2s and flight apparel. None really cover biking jackets unless they were used in air combat situations.
Hope some of that helps, John

 

[Sloan1874]

Nice one, John. Just picked up the Mick Farren book for £1.42 on Amazon! Should be an interesting read.

 

[simonc]

Here Bunyip: http://www.vintagemotorcyclejackets.com/prices.htm this is a good place to start.

 

[rocketeer]

Nice one, John. Just picked up the Mick Farren book for £1.42 on Amazon! Should be an interesting read.

Bargain

 

[Sloan1874]

Actually, here's a couple of youtube links to the doc that Farren made of his book:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VpJkzB6lZU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYDJNpQ5A_o

(just noticed that there are nine separate parts, but I won't add those)

 

[Bunyip]

Great info guys! Thanks...will keep you posted on findings...

 

[ProteinNerd]

Bit of a thread necro.

I've just finished Rin Tanaka Motorcycle Jackets A century of Leather Design which was great and gave me a better appreciation for the evolving styles etc.

I was wondering if his other book Motorcycle Jackets: Ultimate Biker's Fashion offered much more info or is it a bit of a rehash?

 

[ProteinNerd]

So I managed to pick up his other book Motorcycle Jackets: Ultimate Bikers Fashions.

IMO there is no need to own both books, save your money they are VERY similar.

I personally prefer the layout of the first one : A Century of Leather Design as it follows the popular designs of each decade but if you simply cant find it anywhere, the other is a close substitute.

 

[Monitor]

I was curious about that too. Thanks for the info, PN! I always wanted to take a look at that book. I wish he didn't had to include the prices, we wouldn't have those stupid eBay prices then...