Natal Leather

[Guppy]

I just came across this interesting bit of information on the Taylor Stitch website:



Since we know that Walter Dyer used the same exact patterns in some of their jackets as Natal/Natel, it is possible that all three were just relabeled Golden Bear jackets, made in a super heavy leather.

Since Golden Bear is still in operation, it should be possible to confirm this hypothesis, which if it is true would finally shed some light on the Natal brand!

Update, I received a response from Golden Bear:

Thank you for your email

I’m afraid I will not able to send you much information about the history of the jackets we produced in the past

The person that is quoted in the Taylor Stitch article, Schirley, has long since retired and her family that used to own the company have retired or have passed away

No one that is currently working here knows all the rich details of the history of the garments that were produced and no records were kept

I do know that we did make jackets for Walter Dyer many years ago

That information came directly from the owner of the company when Taylor Stitch met with her

I do not think we have made jackets for Natal/Natel leather

Our company was established in 1922 and we have been producing leather jackets here in San Francisco since then, and we continue to do so

The jacket that we currently produce for Taylor Stitch is a modified version of the jacket we produced for Walter Dyer

The original tannery that produced the original leather is no longer in business, but the current tannery we use is producing a leather that meets the specifications that Taylor Stitch has requested

I’m sorry that I am not able to provide more information than this

On another note…

In my many years of working here, I came across a beautiful book that was put out by Lightning Archives called “Leather Jacket/All about vintage leather jacket 1930’s – 1970’s”

I thought you would be interested in this if you can find it

I remember it had some amazing pictures of vintage leather jackets that were produced for over 4 decades

So, not much fruit borne by this inquiry. It sounds like the history has been lost, and that Golden Bear passed from being a family-owned operation to a corporate entity, and during that transition whatever history might have been with the family wasn't preserved. Sad.

 

[dannyk]

Update, I received a response from Golden Bear:


So, not much fruit borne by this inquiry. It sounds like the history has been lost, and that Golden Bear passed from being a family-owned operation to a corporate entity, and during that transition whatever history might have been with the family wasn't preserved. Sad.

Sad how often this happens. Just look at Schott with the passing of Gail. I know a lot of Whites/Nicks history was also lost when Whites was bought out as well. Luckily we have places like TFL and members dedicated to collecting history. For example not the same company but people like @tmitchell59 and his vast knowledge.

 

[tmitchell59]

So, not much fruit borne by this inquiry. It sounds like the history has been lost, and that Golden Bear passed from being a family-owned operation to a corporate entity, and during that transition whatever history might have been with the family wasn't preserved. Sad.

I agree, Sad. Thanks for checking on this history. I've communicated with Ralphs-Pugh where family still own the business, and they know little about their leather jackets. I will follow up as I have new information they don't seem to know.

Luckily we have places like TFL and members dedicated to collecting history. For example not the same company but people like @tmitchell59 and his vast knowledge.

I know we have information about several makers on here. Rich Sher and Lawrence leathers. I have a new source for information that I will be using.

I found this reference to Ralphs-Pugh from 1935. It indicates they were making Leather products before they produced rubber products. I think this is opposite of what the company understands.

 

[dannyk]

I agree, Sad. Thanks for checking on this history. I've communicated with Ralphs-Pugh where family still own the business, and they know little about their leather jackets. I will follow up as I have new information they don't seem to know.



I know we have information about several makers on here. Rich Sher and Lawrence leathers. I have a new source for information that I will be using.

I found this reference to Ralphs-Pugh from 1935. It indicates they were making Leather products before they produced rubber products. I think this is opposite of what the company understands.

View attachment 286542

Lawrence/Rich Sher also make some insanely underrated jackets. Especially their cross-zips I’ve seen. I thought there was a user here who actually owned both a Lawrence and a Rich-Sher. If I remember the Rich-Sher was very highly recommended by them. Was it you possibly @Gamma68 ?

 

[tmitchell59]

Lawrence/Rich Sher also make some insanely underrated jackets. Especially their cross-zips I’ve seen. I thought there was a user here who actually owned both a Lawrence and a Rich-Sher. If I remember the Rich-Sher was very highly recommended by them. Was it you possibly @Gamma68 ?

yes

 

[Bad Guitarist]

Guppy I've seen Walter Dyer and met the past owner of Natal Leathers (didn't catch his name), and seen them both in the same place at the same time, so there's no Clark Kent/Superman situation going on here.
Back in the day they would both be in Laconia harking their wares at the flee market set up in the Drive-In.
I own a Walter Dyer, I also have a Natal I bought recently to replace another Natal I had for 27 years but outgrew.
I also have one of their rebrands that no one here seems to have caught on to yet, as well as a pair of Natal chaps.
Dyer and Natal sold some of the same designs, the Dyer leather, while heavy, doesn't resemble the Natal hide to me at all. The Natal is much softer and has a very different grain.
I would give WD the credit for a slightly better looking workmanship than my first Natal, the later one, and the re-brand seem to have stepped it up a bit in that department.
And the name they were being re-branded as....?
Sorry, I'll reveal that after I can find a band collar cafe style unit.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

My earlier Brando style.

 

[Guppy]

Guppy I've seen Walter Dyer and met the past owner of Natal Leathers (didn't catch his name), and seen them both in the same place at the same time, so there's no Clark Kent/Superman situation going on here.
Back in the day they would both be in Laconia harking their wares at the flee market set up in the Drive-In.
I own a Walter Dyer, I also have a Natal I bought recently to replace another Natal I had for 27 years but outgrew.
I also have one of their rebrands that no one here seems to have caught on to yet, as well as a pair of Natal chaps.
Dyer and Natal sold some of the same designs, the Dyer leather, while heavy, doesn't resemble the Natal hide to me at all. The Natal is much softer and has a very different grain.
I would give WD the credit for a slightly better looking workmanship than my first Natal, the later one, and the re-brand seem to have stepped it up a bit in that department.
And the name they were being re-branded as....?
Sorry, I'll reveal that after I can find a band collar cafe style unit.

Thanks very much for sharing this information. I'm curious about the third re-brand name, and who was actually making these jackets.

My experience with the WD and Natal/Natel jackets I've personally handled has been that they're both of about equal craftsmanship, and the Walter Dyer jackets have had just slightly thinner, yet still quite thick, leather. I prefer Natal slightly for this reason, but I'm willing to believe that the differences are not indicative of brand differences so much as individual jackets having some variability from one example of the next. It's also quite possible that different batches, or different eras of manufacturing could explain the differences I see between the jackets I've handled, or between yours and mine.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

You could be right, it may be the case of the jackets being from different eras, but the difference in leather of the two jackets to me is huge. In fact if I was told they were from two different species I would tend to believe it.
The Natal is a soft subtle naked leather, while the WD is thinner and obviously has a top coat on it, it also uses a different liner.
The re-brand is the same leather in softness, grain, thickness and cut from the exact same patterns and using all the same hardware, same liner.
But I've only handled the one Dyer, and it was purchased 2nd hand and could be a decade or more older than the Natals and be very different from what you've seen. Although looking at the cuts of the two right now side by side the WD and Natal look to be made from the same patterns, including details like how the inside pockets are done ect. with exception to the lack of side laces on the Dyer.

 

[Monitor]

You could be right, it may be the case of the jackets being from different eras, but the difference in leather of the two jackets to me is huge. In fact if I was told they were from two different species I would tend to believe it.
The Natal is a soft subtle naked leather, while the WD is thinner and obviously has a top coat on it, it also uses a different liner.
The re-brand is the same leather in softness, grain, thickness and cut from the exact same patterns and using all the same hardware, same liner.
But I've only handled the one Dyer, and it was purchased 2nd hand and could be a decade or more older than the Natals and be very different from what you've seen. Although looking at the cuts of the two right now side by side the WD and Natal look to be made from the same patterns, including details like how the inside pockets are done ect. with exception to the lack of side laces on the Dyer.

My first good leather jacket was a Walter Dyer and it was made from literally the same leather as the Natal I bought much later. Of course, I've seen countless Walter Dyer jackets online that looked exactly like what you describe leather used by WD but I have no doubt that at some point, both makers shared the same leather that came from what I'd be willing to bet on, same tannery.

What I'd like to know is that how come Natal / Walter Dyer / Natel and possibly a company named Arizona (is that the re-brand you've mentioned?) shared the very same patterns for their cafe racer & cross zip styles? These jackets are fairly distinct on the market - I mean, at least for us lunatics here who are paying close attention to every stitch but as far as I could tell, the jackets might as well have been made in the same workshop.

Well, either way, can you tell us more about Natal? Where were they located? Are they even still in business somehow? That's all very interesting to me as I'm a really big fan of these makers.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

Guppy I've seen Walter Dyer and met the past owner of Natal Leathers (didn't catch his name), and seen them both in the same place at the same time, so there's no Clark Kent/Superman situation going on here.
Back in the day they would both be in Laconia harking their wares at the flee market set up in the Drive-In.
I own a Walter Dyer, I also have a Natal I bought recently to replace another Natal I had for 27 years but outgrew.
I also have one of their rebrands that no one here seems to have caught on to yet, as well as a pair of Natal chaps.
Dyer and Natal sold some of the same designs, the Dyer leather, while heavy, doesn't resemble the Natal hide to me at all. The Natal is much softer and has a very different grain.
I would give WD the credit for a slightly better looking workmanship than my first Natal, the later one, and the re-brand seem to have stepped it up a bit in that department.
And the name they were being re-branded as....?
Sorry, I'll reveal that after I can find a band collar cafe style unit.

Interesting discussion, im curious to know how you know natal has a re-brand jacket? Is this an educated guess? Or a documented fact? Very interested an intrigued by this new information.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

I own both. Ill do a side by side comparison of the two, and even my Dyer to make my case eventually.
I will say this, the man selling the re-brand, with his name on it, referred to himself as an "investor and businessman", and has zero background in leather or any other clothing production for that matter.

Interesting discussion, im curious to know how you know natal has a re-brand jacket? Is this an educated guess? Or a documented fact? Very interested an intrigued by this new information.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

My first good leather jacket was a Walter Dyer and it was made from literally the same leather as the Natal I bought much later. Of course, I've seen countless Walter Dyer jackets online that looked exactly like what you describe leather used by WD but I have no doubt that at some point, both makers shared the same leather that came from what I'd be willing to bet on, same tannery.

What I'd like to know is that how come Natal / Walter Dyer / Natel and possibly a company named Arizona (is that the re-brand you've mentioned?) shared the very same patterns for their cafe racer & cross zip styles? These jackets are fairly distinct on the market - I mean, at least for us lunatics here who are paying close attention to every stitch but as far as I could tell, the jackets might as well have been made in the same workshop.

Well, either way, can you tell us more about Natal? Where were they located? Are they even still in business somehow? That's all very interesting to me as I'm a really big fan of these makers.

Most clothing manufacturers seem to copy each others style, but as you've said, this is more that that, like they're either stealing each others actual patterns, or they are just all made by the same manufacturer.
As far as the same leather supplier, WD was in Framingham Mass, and Natal out of Peabody, a half hour away, so most likely from the same source.
We even have Vanson here as well.

I bought my chaps off the owner of Natal personally in '91, and when I needed a new jacket there was a guy I knew working in a leather shop that coincidentally sold Natal, and the girl I was dating got it for me as a Christmas present.
I run into him occasionally at motorcycle events, but haven't seen anyone as the plague has shut that all down.
When I see him I hope to get more of the story.
No, Arizona isn't the other brand.
The guy who was putting his name on the jackets was purely a money man and had no background in leather manufacturing.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

Natal on the left, Brand X on the right.
Natal size 42 (for sale soon)
Brand X size 44
Same leather, same weight, same hardware, same liner, same collar, back skirt, even same spacing on the lacing eyelets and same laces. I know the pic isn't great but Stevie Wonder could tell they were the same jacket if he had them in front of him side by side.
I have a Dyer, size 46 I wear over a Carhart for winter riding.
The Dyer, while it also has many of the similarities, is slightly a different style so I can't do a 100% comparison. It has the small right side flapped pocket, no lacing, or belt, and doesn't have a skirted back.
The WD collar and shoulder straps ect are pretty much the same however.
Although the leather is completely different, my experience with Dyer is very limited.
I have owned Two Natal jackets and a pair of chaps that have all had the same leather as this re-brand.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

Mystery solved tfl. Its natal "re-brand" in question? Kerr leather

 

[Monitor]

Awesome, @Bad Guitarist, I really appreciate it as this is the first time we're getting info on that brand. I had the exact same Natal, same size and wish I still did. Would buy yours but I'm in Europe.

Mystery solved tfl. Its natal "re-brand" in question? Kerr leather

Could be. Kerr used suspiciously similar leather as well but out of three, Kerr's was the nicest.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

Yes John is correct, the re-brand is Kerr.
My reasons for believing this, besides the what's obvious from a side by side comparison, are the following.
There is info about Hugh Kerr, founder of Kerr Leathers on the internet. He was a race driver of limited success, most likely financed by his families auto dealerships in Scotland.
Kerr retired from racing and moved to Salem Mass. The next town over from Peabody, the home of Natal Leather.
According to his obituary he then began "investing" and founded Kerr Leathers, although he had no background in leathers or manufacturing. Shortly after Kerr Leathers began importing "American Made" leather jackets to shops in the UK according to online sales press I came across.
Kerr Leathers street address in Peabody is a small block industrial looking building that doesn't appear to have any retail storefront.
Natal Leathers is two miles away in a mixed use commercial building with a small area in front where retail sales could be made, but although there looks to be enough space upstairs that some work could have been done up there, I'm really starting to question if Natal was the actual manufacturer looking at the Google street views of the building.
It would be interested to note that while looking all this up online I came across an old eBay listing that the seller said that the N-A-T-E-L leather jacket had been bought at "a small leather shop in Salem" . So I think it's safe to assume Natal and Natel are one in the same, and an out town tourist could easily think she was still in Salem after crossing into Peabody.

Why the name change? I think it has something to do with the next part of the story.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

In 2009 Sony was releasing the Blue ray edition of the biker classic Easy Rider. To draw attention to this they did it as a celebration of the movie's 40th anniversary, and did a re-opening in theaters, for limited showings, across the country.
Hugh Kerr, a fan of the movie back when it came out, apparently thought this was going to be a big happening, and he wanted to cash in on it. He thought it would be a money maker to produce copies of Peter Fonda's "Captain America" jacket from the movie.
He went so far as to secure exclusive rights from Sony pictures to make 3,000 Official Easy Rider jackets, which I'm sure must have cost him some $$$.
He even made a deal with them to get rights to make Easy Rider anniversary T-shirts and posters ($$$).
He then went and made a deal with Fonda to autograph a certificate of authenticity for each jacket ($$$).
Next he thought it would be a great idea to get these jackets for sale in Harley Davidson dealerships. How he pulled this off IDK because HD is trying to sell their own jackets, but my guess the answer is $$$.
He even stepped that up by giving a free Fonda jacket to raffle off to charity, to every dealership that would carry the coats ($$$) with an included Easy Rider poster, autographed by Peter Fonda himself ($$$).

Well the hole thing turned out to be a giant flop. Nobody went to see the movie again. Nobody bought his jackets, posters and T-shirts.
How many of the 3,000 coats were actually produced IDK, but Kerr Leathers seems to have disappeared as an entity shortly after this.
And Natal not long after that.
Obviously Kerr lost a lot of money on this deal. Assuming Natal was actually supplying the jackets, did Kerr shut his doors owing Natal so much that they had to close down too?
Had Natal invested in this deal also?
Was Natel Leather an attempt to open a "new" business after a bankruptcy under a new name?
I don't know but it looks like it's a possibility.
I used to know someone that dealt with Natal personally. If I see him again I'll try to get an answer.

 

[J Leather Investigater]

Very interesting and now the plot thickens. I hope to learn more, thanks for the info an great story.

 

[Bad Guitarist]

Very interesting and now the plot thickens. I hope to learn more, thanks for the info an great story.

I'm really happy to see so many people interested in these jackets. I've been telling people about then for 27+ years now, I'm glad others appreciate them too.
And I'd like to get the whole story about Natal, Dyer and others to save the history and give credit to the craftsman who deserve it.