Im looking to identify and evaluate this unique vest

[TLW '90]

This just arrived from Ebay and is quite interesting, not unique in a bad way but definitely unique as far as I'm concerned.
It is completely unlabeled though, I checked inside the pockets and didn't even find a size tag.

It has late 50's ( through 90's I guess) talon zippers.

Maybe somebody recognizes these particular buckles ?

I'm not an expert, but I'm thinking the leather may be a very pale natural deerskin.



This may have been a bit of a loosing gamble because the edges of the pockets are quite stiff and dry / cracked, but I'm not sure that the leather is too far gone.

I'm guessing somebody probably did a lot of hunting in this vest or something.
If I can get the musty smell aired out of it ( it's hanging outside in the sun and today is very gusty ) I'll try to do what I can for the cracked areas & for the stains, and make my decision from there.

Do you think this might be a lost cause or even an overall bad purchase, I'm leaning that way but at least I only payed $50.

 

[Canuck Panda]

What does the leather side looks like? Is there darts in the leather?

 

[TLW '90]

Well the good news is that I felt brave enough to put this musty mildew smelling thing on for just a second and it seems like it'll fit quite well if it turns out to be wearable.

There's also no actual signs of mold or mildew that I can see, it just has the smell which the sunlight and heavy wind just may take care of or so I really hope.

 

[TLW '90]

What does the leather side looks like? Is there darts in the leather?

Darts as in this being a woman's vest ?
If that's what you mean no there are no chest darts

 

[Canuck Panda]

Darts as in this being a woman's vest ?
If that's what you mean no there are no chest darts

Not the front, the back, like this,

 

[TLW '90]

Not the front, the back, like this,
View attachment 639256

Oh, no there aren't.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Pretty cool old reversible vest. Looks like deer to me.
It still looks to have a lot of life left in it. I suspect after you cleanup the leather side and deodorize it, it will be a nice soft and warm vest.
B

 

[TLW '90]

Pretty cool old reversible vest. Looks like deer to me.
It still looks to have a lot of life left in it. I suspect after you cleanup the leather side and deodorize it, it will be a nice soft and warm vest.
B

I'm hoping so.
As far as cleaning I believe those burnt looking areas are just some severe darkening of the leather that'll never come off and there are definitely some stains that may never come off at this point but the general dirt and grime should come off okay.

I may try some chamberlains leather milk for the conditioning.
I tried Bik4 before and didn't care for the smell, but if my pup hadn't chewed on the bottle and made a mess with it on the kitchen floor I'd go ahead and use it anyways.

 

[TLW '90]

Is there any harm to conditioning the leather when it still smells a bit , any risk of permanently trapping the odor in or something ?


Normally what I do is leave the piece hanging outside in the sun and wind for an afternoon, then take a leaf blower and run high volumes of air through it to help very rapidly air it out, then repeat as necessary
This has already made a significant difference ( it was pretty strong with this one ) and I should have plenty of time to eliminate most of the smell before receiving the chamberlains leather milk I ordered but I really want to try my best to save this vest.

 

[Canuck Panda]

It's not much to go on by, but a similar deerskin vest like yours has a "... deerskin" tag at the collar. Maybe someone here can recognize it.

 

[TLW '90]

It's not much to go on by, but a similar deerskin vest like yours has a "... deerskin" tag at the collar. Maybe someone here can recognize it.
View attachment 639511

Do you have a picture of the whole vest ?

 

[Canuck Panda]

Do you have a picture of the whole vest ?

here,
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/162...how_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details
It's not reversible like yours and it's got elastic for side adjusters but overall very similar vibes.

 

[tmitchell59]

This is a very cool Vest! I would easily pay $50 for one in my size. No doubt it is deerskin. Early 1950s by the Talon stop box. There were so many big and small deerskin tanners through out the country it is just guess work without the label.

Uber of Minnesota, W.B. Place Hartford Wisconsin, Mid-Western Sport Togs are larger tanners/makers. All Mid-West. Both coast have a variety of makers too.

I would just guess Uber. Lot of their products show up with the Wool plaid lining.

The reversible options is not seen often on jackets or vest. Makes it just that more interesting. I have at least one reversible jacket that also has a buffalo plaid side, the other is not deerskin.

The hammered buckles are a nice addition.

did you determine the size?

 

[tmitchell59]

here,
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/162...how_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details
It's not reversible like yours and it's got elastic for side adjusters but overall very similar vibes.

That is a beauty too!

 

[TLW '90]

here,
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/162...how_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details
It's not reversible like yours and it's got elastic for side adjusters but overall very similar vibes.

Interesting.
This one being reversible is straight leather in the pockets on the deerskin side, but I do see a number of similarities.

 

[TLW '90]

This is a very cool Vest! I would easily pay $50 for one in my size. No doubt it is deerskin. Early 1950s by the Talon stop box. There were so many big and small deerskin tanners through out the country it is just guess work without the label.

Uber of Minnesota, W.B. Place Hartford Wisconsin, Mid-Western Sport Togs are larger tanners/makers. All Mid-West. Both coast have a variety of makers too.

I would just guess Uber. Lot of their products show up with the Wool plaid lining.

The reversible options is not seen often on jackets or vest. Makes it just that more interesting. I have at least one reversible jacket that also has a buffalo plaid side, the other is not deerskin.

The hammered buckles are a nice addition.

did you determine the size?

18.5 PTP so I guess a size 36, even though that's technically a 37.
I thought the buckles were a nice touch too.

Thanks for the leads I'll have to look into those makers and see what comes up, I'd love to find another with the deerskin in better condition.
I think the wool plaid side with deerskin accents is the real show side, but if they had done wool accents on the deerskin side that would make this thing a real 2 for 1.

 

[TLW '90]

Google sucks these days so I'm not turning up very much at all, and nothing remotely close, but of those 3 mentioned brands the only similarities noticed were from Uber.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Very nice reversible vest.

If it fits you and you care for it enough, it may be worth the $50-80 it may cost to have it professionally cleaned through your local dry-cleaning shop. They will send it out, I did this with a wool-body, leather sleeve jacket several years back that was nice but musty of smell too. It came out great, nearly totally gone with the smell and the leather looked a lot healthier too.

A lot of hunting, hiking, outdoor clothes get stored in garages, where it is also damp a lot, hence the moldy smell (and likely some internal mold too.

 

[TLW '90]

Very nice reversible vest.

If it fits you and you care for it enough, it may be worth the $50-80 it may cost to have it professionally cleaned through your local dry-cleaning shop. They will send it out, I did this with a wool-body, leather sleeve jacket several years back that was nice but musty of smell too. It came out great, nearly totally gone with the smell and the leather looked a lot healthier too.

A lot of hunting, hiking, outdoor clothes get stored in garages, where it is also damp a lot, hence the moldy smell (and likely some internal mold too.

This is one of those situations where I won't really know how I feel until I can wear it, so I'm just going to do what I can with it and see what happens.
For the $50 I spent I think I can use it as a learning experience/ experiment.
If I wasn't in a small rural town and didn't have to travel to the city to find a dry cleaners things would be different, someday a jacket or vest will come along that's worth the effort and cost but I'm not sure this one is it.