Lincoln Brigade test jacket size 42

[fishmeok]

This is my first attempt at small sizes. I made the size 42 pattern based on my 46- took a while. I used an o.d. cotton for the lining and a matching zipper with olive tape. M-422A style pockets. Double top stitching and top stitching on the cuffs. Wool knits and some cool buttons that Dubow A2 found for me. Nice reddish-brown hide that creases like crazy when you get it wet. Two-piece back and three-piece arms. I really like this pattern of jacket, what do you guys think?

This will be for sale now- way too small for me. Won't be making any more for another couple of months either, we found a house after a couple months of searching and will be moving in at the end of May.

Across the front 22"
Across the shoulder blades 15.5
Shoulders 19"
Arm top to end of cuffs 24"
Zipper 21.5
Back top to bottom 23.5
Shoulder seam 6.5"

 

[thunderw21]

Wonderful jacket and the leather looks beautiful.

Your ingenuity and craftsmanship are amazing.

 

[fishmeok]

Thanks- this came up in the classifieds, thought I would post it here too:

It's based on this jacket taken from the Spanish Civil War thread over on the VLJ. I modified it a bit with scalloped pockets. The multi-piece back and arms are conjecture, but I tried to stay true to the basic design. It looks like the originals were capeskin or something very similar judgeing by the way the leather drapes. Thanks to Zoomer for starting the thread and finding these pictures.
Cheers
Mark

Sgt. Joseph Taylor, "Lincoln-Washington activist, especially distinguished." April 1938

 

[fraazierjo]

Lincoln Brigade

I wonder how many people out there are aware of the Lincoln Brigade and what they were fighting for in the Spanish Revolution. It was made up of volunteers from the U.S. who believed in the cause of Socialism and went to Spain to defeat the Fascists. (They failed!) Most of them were persecuted as subversives wwhen they returned to the States, but are still an inspiration for those of us here who still work to bring it about in the future. There are inklings of it arising again lately! There's always hope. Really nice leather jacket, incidentally.

 

[Creeping Past]

It's a moot point whether those fighting on behalf of international socialism in Spain would have regarded their efforts as a failure. Given the double-dealing of the Stalin-era foreign policy, would they have said publicly that they'd failed? I doubt it.

And they wouldn't have been quite so anti-fascist during the Hitler-Stalin pact.

But that's another, far less romantic, story.

 

[feltfan]

I wonder how many people out there are aware of the Lincoln Brigade and what they were fighting for in the Spanish Revolution. It was made up of volunteers from the U.S. who believed in the cause of Socialism and went to Spain to defeat the Fascists. (They failed!) Most of them were persecuted as subversives wwhen they returned to the States, but are still an inspiration for those of us here who still work to bring it about in the future. There are inklings of it arising again lately! There's always hope. Really nice leather jacket, incidentally.

There is at least one quite long thread about the
Spanish Civil War/Revolution here on the Lounge
under WWII:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=10234
Let me correct one point-
by no means were all Lincoln Brigade members people who
believed in the cause of socialism. Some were communist,
some anarchist, and some believed in the republican form
of government that was being overthrown in Spain. In short,
they were anti-fascist and had many of the same motivations
other Americans had when WWII got going. Hate to see these
complex motivations simplified to serve a single present-day cause.

But let's take any debate over to the thread in WWII.

That said, great jacket- you're really getting the hang of this, fishmeok.

 

[Creeping Past]

Apologies. It went without saying that this jacket is a new high water mark for you, Fishmeok... and it shouldn't have.

Thanks for posting and keeping us up to date with your progress. These are still my favourite posts on FL.

 

[fishmeok]

Don't mind at all- the history behind jackets is what makes them interesting.
Cheers
Mark

 

[Creeping Past]

I've just noticed this cotton twill version of your jacket on sale now.

If you needed further reassurance that you're having some very good ideas, here it is.

 

[fishmeok]

That's an interesting one- a cross between an M-421 and an A-1. But 275 pounds! Wow, I'm not charging enough for my test jackets....
Cheers
Mark

 

[Doug C]

Wow, that's a really nice design... love the back and all the A-1 style - It would be just right in my mind without the diamonds on the sleeves and if it had mid-brown knits and buttons.

Doug C