The Legendary DURABLE (Wild One) Jacket

[handymike]

I've actually blocked them from my IG...too much great stuff, and I'm a weak man.

 

[tmitchell59]

Looking for jackets on Japanese sites, I've bumped into this BerBerJin's post. What a beauty.

I have one from this generation, they all have outstanding leather.

If you ever have a chance to buy one of these by it. These are among the finest leather jackets I've ever handled. This one was made well before Johnny.

Here's a question: what label was in the Wild One jacket? Think about it.. Every thing was available in LA, easy reach. Where and Why? I have a theory on why.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Every thing was available in LA, easy reach. Where and Why? I have a theory on why.

LA seems to be the center of the action eh? I'd like to hear your thoughts on that one please.

 

[jeo]

Here's a question: what label was in the Wild One jacket?

Won't give a definitive answer but let's break down the movie jacket.

The movie jacket had the Talon paperclip and not the Conmar or the Crown that both have completely different shapes.

The movie jacket had the scalloped Talon zips for the sleeves.

The movie jacket had the rectangular buckle with the mitered edges and I think all Durables had that buckle.

The movie jacket had the pointed epaulets as opposed to the blunt/straight edge and with the star in the middle as opposed to the outer edge.

I've heard people say that the movie jacket had silver zips but I'm not sure if that can be confirmed from the black and white photos.

Besides the question of silver or brass hardware, this jacket below and the one that @58panheadfan posted a couple pages ago from the Lightning magazine is the closest to the movie jacket that I've ever seen and both have the black front quarter horsehide label with no Durable label.

 

[jeo]

Forgot to mention of course the movie jacket has O-ring pulls and back design with the belt attached to the back/kidney panel as opposed to later ones like mine which has the belt attached to the front panel.

 

[Nacho]

I found this from one of my Lightning magazines. It hits similar points that you made in your previous post, @jeo , except for the epaulets.

Now, the problem is that it’s in Japanese. So if a Japanese member can translate for us, maybe we can unveil something here that we might not know.

 

[jeo]

I also noticed a difference in the back design between some of the supposed same models.

Here are @Mysteryo and @RockSolid ’s jackets from earlier in this thread, both of which have the black FQHH label and no Durable label.

Notice how the back panel connects to the kidney panel. The back panel is on top of the kidney panel.

Here’s the movie jacket and the one I posted above.

On these jackets the kidney panel is on top of the back panel.

Interesting difference.

 

[Mysteryo]

Best match I found so far (not my jacket)

 

[jeo]

Best match I found so far (not my jacket)

View attachment 536491 View attachment 536492 View attachment 536493 View attachment 536494

This one has the short and stubby Crown main zip.

 

[jeo]

Scored this guy couple weeks ago on EBay for a great price. Steerhide label but no Durable label. Had to move on it quickly as it was a matter of time before someone identified it as a Durable. I’ve seen 3 jackets exactly like this one before. Very lucky to have come across it and in my size too. The stars were removed so I replaced them. Steerhide on this guy is amazing and it’s very comfortable to wear. Here are the pics.

 

[jeo]

More pieces to the puzzle…

Very few people have the vintage leather jacket knowledge that David Himel has plus he’s Canadian. I’m friendly with him so I reached out and asked his thoughts on the history of the Durable brand. He graciously entertained my queries. Here's what he had to say.

- The Canadian Durable were operating in Canada as far back as the ‘30s.

- The American Durable wasn't seen in the US until the late 40’s.

- He believes they were separate but related. He speculates that cousins (or relatives) migrated south to open in the states.

I'm not 100% sure if they operated at the same time.

Here’s the interesting part. Durable of Canada was at the very least in part private label and not manufacturers. He told me that he has jackets with the below pony label with the actual manufacturer name on it.

Earlier in this thread I posted (US) Durable MC jackets with other manufacturer names in them and as such speculated they were private label. Among them Knopf but in particular "Genuine American Leather Sportswear" by American Sportswear Co. Note the black FQHH label.

We've seen plenty of Durable MC jackets with just that label and no Durable label in them with OP's jacket as well as the ones pictured in the Lightning magazines among many others.

I did some digging and found another Genuine American jacket with the same black FQHH label.

I'm now convinced of two things.

1) That's their FQHH label and all the Durables we see with only that label (no Durable label) were made by them.

2) Durable in US was also at least in part private label. That's why we see Durable jackets with other makers names as well as just leather tags with no Durable labels.

So were Durable CA and Durable US related, the same company or always separate? Who knows, the mystery remains. The fact that both were at least in part private label makes the connection pretty strong.

If they were one in the same and private label that would explain why we wouldn't see any Canadian hardware on those 50's MC jackets as we would if they were made in Canada.

Now the question becomes who made the other models?

 

[jeo]

And on a completely separate note, I can’t believe I never picked up on this but here’s the Durable pictured in the Tanaka century of leather design book. First generation jacket. I’ve never seen this back design. If someone has a picture of another one please post.

 

[Aloysius]

And on a completely separate note, I can’t believe I never picked up on this but here’s the Durable pictured in the Tanaka century of leather design book. First generation jacket. I’ve never seen this back design. If someone has a picture of another one please post.

View attachment 537954 View attachment 537955

Great collar shape too.

 

[jeo]

Great collar shape too.

Not the trademark Durable collar shape. And now that I'm looking at it again, it has snaps on that belt as well as a unique liner. Never seen that before either.

 

[Aloysius]

Not the trademark Durable collar shape. And now that I'm looking at it again, it has snaps on that belt as well as a unique liner. Never seen that before either.

Yep, both a very different collar shape and a belt with both snaps and buckle, when it's usually either or.

Also I can't tell if the buckle is blacked out (not unheard of in those days) or if it's just the lighting, but either way that makes it hard to tell if it's mitred or squared.

The hammered collar buttons are stunning.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I too think Durable was a "wholesale" and not the manufacturer. I did some research into the Canadian department stores mentioned Henry Morgan and the other one name mentioned is from Ottawa. Forgot the name. Have it on my laptop. Will post when I find out more. But basically Morgan was a department store in old Canada (dates back before 1900s), bought out by the Bay another old Canadian company and then like everything Bay touches, it closed down. The other name traced back to a wholesaler/manufacturer/military contract supplier for tents in the first War, had a famous fire in the Ottawa building because of the flammable material used to treat the tent canvas. Anyways, nothing on the actual Durable manufacturer so it was sort of a dead end. Ugh...

 

[jeo]

Yep, both a very different collar shape and a belt with both snaps and buckle, when it's usually either or.

Also I can't tell if the buckle is blacked out (not unheard of in those days) or if it's just the lighting, but either way that makes it hard to tell if it's mitred or squared.

The hammered collar buttons are stunning.

Buckle is squared and not brass.

Other older ones I posted earlier in this thread have the hammered buttons. But none with buttons on the belt.

You've seen old Durables with buttons? If so, would be great if you could post. Thank you.

 

[tmitchell59]

More pieces to the puzzle…

Very few people have the vintage leather jacket knowledge that David Himel has plus he’s Canadian. I’m friendly with him so I reached out and asked his thoughts on the history of the Durable brand. He graciously entertained my queries. Here's what he had to say.

- The Canadian Durable were operating in Canada as far back as the ‘30s.

- The American Durable wasn't seen in the US until the late 40’s.

- He believes they were separate but related. He speculates that cousins (or relatives) migrated south to open in the states.

I'm not 100% sure if they operated at the same time.

Here’s the interesting part. Durable of Canada was at the very least in part private label and not manufacturers. He told me that he has jackets with the below pony label with the actual manufacturer name on it.

View attachment 537906


Earlier in this thread I posted (US) Durable MC jackets with other manufacturer names in them and as such speculated they were private label. Among them Knopf but in particular "Genuine American Leather Sportswear" by American Sportswear Co. Note the black FQHH label.

View attachment 537913


We've seen plenty of Durable MC jackets with just that label and no Durable label in them with OP's jacket as well as the ones pictured in the Lightning magazines among many others.

I did some digging and found another Genuine American jacket with the same black FQHH label.

View attachment 537910


I'm now convinced of two things.

1) That's their FQHH label and all the Durables we see with only that label (no Durable label) were made by them.

2) Durable in US was also at least in part private label. That's why we see Durable jackets with other makers names as well as just leather tags with no Durable labels.

So were Durable CA and Durable US related, the same company or always separate? Who knows, the mystery remains. The fact that both were at least in part private label makes the connection pretty strong.

If they were one in the same and private label that would explain why we wouldn't see any Canadian hardware on those 50's MC jackets as we would if they were made in Canada.

Now the question becomes who made the other models?

I'm confused. Who made this?

 

[Marc mndt]

Buckle is squared and not brass.

Might be this one. A generic slider buckle used by many makers in the 40s and 50s.

 

[Aloysius]

You've seen old Durables with buttons? If so, would be great if you could post. Thank you.

Ah no, I meant I'm used to seeing jackets in either buckle or snap variants, not usually both on one belt.