H.D. Lee JELT DENIM OVERALLS & Lee RIDERS JEANS Promotional Denim Stand Up Figures

Miniature Lee promotional die-cut cardboard stand up figures. These figures stand approx. 8" tall and likely date to the 1950's. All three feature Lee Jelt Denim Overalls and Lee Riders Jeans made of actual denim fabric. Part of the VintageWorkwear.com collection.

Those who follow this blog likely know that we are fans of many vintage UNION MADE labels and these pieces fit into that category. All 3 cardboard stand-ups along with their denim overalls and jeans were printed by shops belonging to either the Allied Printing Trades Council Union or Amalgamated Lithographers of America Union and proudly feature the UNION LABEL, sometimes referred to as a "bug" label or stamp and seen in the photos below.

New Old Stock 1930's Lee Union Made Sanforized Shrunk Housemark Label Overalls

2 killer lots of 1930's era Lee "Housemark" Label Union Made Sanforized Shrunk Overalls courtesy of casims1

Lot of 5 features rare original pocket flashers, tags and even more rare paper bag packaging

 Lot of 4 features rarely seen full color pocket flashers and original tags

1940's era Lee Overalls Union Made advertizing sign courtesy of indian-head

Lee JELT DENIM Overalls flasher courtesy of the most excellent blog Union-Made.

Much respect to this great looking and informative resource, a must visit location for those who appreciate vintage graphic design and work wear history

Buddy Lee

Early Buddy Lee ready for work as seen at the new Rising Sun & Co. location in Eagle Rock. His gear includes house mark label denim work cap and denim jeans with copper crotch rivet. Among the spools of thread and Hercules Powder box panel Jeans of the Old West: A History by Michael Harris can be seen hiding behind Buddy, keeping him good company and providing him with the appropriate evening read.  

 

1950's GIFTS THAT LAST print ad featuring Buddy Lee Dolls. Copy accurately states "These dolls reflect the joys of Christmas 365 days a year".

Lee Jelt Denim Union Made Dungarees Lot 050-6041

1970's era New Old Stock Lee Jelt Denim Union Made •SANFOR SET• 
Dungarees, Lot 050-6041 Made in USA. 
Sold via The San Fernando Valley Mercantile Co.

Pocket flasher along with size and lot tag sewn into lower pocket seam

Backside of pocket flasher seen inside of back pocket, also United Garment Workers of America AFL-CIO union label. I particularly like the opening portion of the description that reads "Designed for a tough day's work, day after day. Pure brawn to meet the stress and strain of the most rugged jobs."

Back pocket with Lee R MR, MADE IN USA printed label.  Details include subtle two tone yellow stitching, triple stitched back yoke & leg seams and pocket corner & hammer loop bar-tack reinforcements

These dungarees share many of the same design details as the highly desirable 1940's-1960's era red and black label Lot 191Z Jelt Denim dungarees including angled front pockets, front rt side coin pocket, rt side pliers pocket & hammer loop, half lined back pockets, subtle two tone yellow stitching and Lee stamped copper dome rivet reinforced front pockets

Lee embossed snap closure

Talon 42 brass zipper

Bar-tack reinforced crotch and fly along with more two tone stitching, this time in yellow & black

Close up of the upper front pocket Lee stamped copper dome rivet, yellow stitching and belt loop bar-tack

"Experts", Hucksters, Snake Oil Salesmen and the Misinformed… 1950s Era BIG SMITH Engineer Cap, Not 1940s Lee

1950s era BIG SMITH cap misrepresented as 1940s Lee via Galetime Vintage

1950s era deadstock BIG SMITH Hickory Stripe Engineer Cap from the vintage workwear.com archive

Seems that more and more so called experts are coming outta the woodwork these days, claiming to know way more than they actually do and having no problem sharing this misinformation along with falsehoods and outright lies with the unsuspecting consumer.

Case in point is this vintage work cap that a customer recently asked us to help confirm make and era produced.

Cap was sold as a 1940’s Lee while in actuality it is a 1950s BIG SMITH brand.

The way we confirm this fact is side by side comparison to a dead stock 1950s BIG SMITH cap from the vintage workwear archive along with the informative guide to vintage workwear labels that can be found on the Japanese website Red Cloud Co.Ltd.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to both share a passion and educate on the details and merits of vintage workwear. I’m always open for honest exchange of information and encourage everyone with an interest in these wonderful items to do their homework and share the knowledge with like minded enthusiasts.

Here is an example of one such unscrupulous seller and some direct quotes featuring their so called “knowledge and expertise”.  

Customer - This cap is not a 40s Lee but rather a 50s Big Smith. I would be happy to send you a photo of the label from a 50's Big Smith cap from a knowledgeable collector for your reference.

I'm a bit surprised at this mistake since you mention you looked at Red Cloud’s Japanese site in addition to your mention of your upcoming book on dating vintage menswear. Please make note for future reference.    

Galetime Vintage - I know for certain that this is a Lee cap because the label was legible to me and others before it accidentally got put in the laundry with bleach. I didn't even consider Big Smith because I already knew what it was and only referenced Red Cloud so that a buyer could check for themselves. So, no, not a mistake, just a difference between fact and opinion.

Just a difference between fact and opinion, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Galetime Vintage - I just wanted you to know that (as per your suggestion) I did double check the label on Red Cloud; Lee shows a single red box around the logo and Big Smith shows a double red box around the logo. The cap I sold has a single red box. Just the slightest of difference, but major in recognizing and dating.

In response to the sellers claim that “Lee shows a single red box around the logo and Big Smith shows a double red box around the logo. The cap I sold has a single red box. Just the slightest of difference, but major in recognizing and dating”, put on your glasses and you will see the dual red box surrounding the logo. 

Label from misrepresented cap clearly shows same design details as 1950s BIG SMITH cap. Dual red border can be seen in both upper and lower right corners

1950s BIG SMITH cap machine loomed label

I love the fact that this seller is so arrogant that they can’t even admit their mistake, or is it because they intentionally misrepresented the item with hopes of a much bigger payday? I find it funny that most of the gold lettered BIG SMITH bow-tie was lost due to “bleach” while bits of the gold loomed BIG SMITH bow-tie remain along with the red loomed UNION MADE and SANFORIZED text. I’m no CSI expert but it looks to me more like an intentional doctoring job done with a black Sharpie.

The icing on the cake is their insistence that “the label was legible to me and others before it accidentally got put in the laundry with bleach”.

Besides the fact that under close inspection the label clearly says BIG SMITH in its traditional bow-tie design and is longer in length that the three letter spelling of Lee, needless to say, any experienced vintage dealer or so-called expert would never put vintage denim into the wash with bleach, even by accident.

Let’s not even get into their upcoming book “Coming in December - my new book "A Dandy Guide to Dating Vintage Menswear - WWI into the 60s". I’m not sure if I should laugh or scream.

I’m so tired of these hucksters and scam artists claiming to be experts and passing misinformation and outright lies to the buying public. Another classic case of Caveat Emptor or “Let the buyer beware”

Bottom line is if you want a book about dating vintage written by someone who is about as far away from the term expert as the color black is to white, GALETIME VINTAGE has got you covered.

Lee UNION MADE SANFORIZED PAINTERS WHITES

Vintage deadstock 1960's era Lee SANFORIZED white herringbone twill cotton work cap, Lot 180-5910. Union Made in the U.S.A.  Rarely seen "balloon top" style, from the vintage workwear collection.

Lee Union Made lot & size tag and United Hatters Caps & Millinery Workers Union label

Vintage deadstock 1950's era Lee SANFORIZED natural canvas drill painters overalls, Lot B54SB. Union Made in the U.S.A. Sold via The San Fernando Valley Mercantile Co.

Lee "long L" buttons

Lee UNION MADE SANFORIZED size & lot tag

United Garment Workers of America DUCK GOODS Union Label

1920's N.B. Products BOSS OF THE ROAD Ghost Sign Uncovered in San Francisco

Ghost sign for BOSS OF THE ROAD Union Made OVERALLS & WORKSHIRTS recently exposed on 3rd Street in San Francisco's Bayview District during demolition for an expanded neighborhood library. "The sign dates from before 1921, based on San Francisco Assessor's records for the demolished building," reports photographer David Gallagher.

"Here's a 1928 shot of the street from the Jesse Brown Cook Collection at UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library." This billboard would be underneath the "Ed's Shop" sign on the right.

Note the N.B. PRODUCTS flag located on the left, above the bull dog. Original owners Neustadter Brothers would sell the brand to Eloesser-Heynemann who in turn sold the brand to Lee.

Big thanks to Shane for reaching out with a heads up on this wonderful ghost sign, photographer David Gallagher for capturing it in all its full color glory, and sfist.com for running the story in their arts & entertainment section.

1950's era Lee Union Made Engineer & Workman's Cap Made in U.S.A.

Vintage deadstock Lee Union Made Sanforized Fade Proof Grey Cotton Twill Engineers & Workman's Cap, Made in U.S.A. Part of The San Fernando Valley Mercantile Co. collection and archive.

1950's era Lee UNION MADE Engineer & Workman's Cap. Details include machine loomed label and side ventilation holes with metal grommets 

 UNION MADE SANFORIZED FADE PROOF MADE IN U.S.A. label with ® no MR 

United Hatters Cap & Millinery Workers Union UNION MADE label. 
Seen on the right side is the Allied Printing Trades Council Union logo

Genuine Lee Washable Cap Non-Shrinking Visor size label.
Special thanks to RL for this contribution to the archive 
  

H. D. Lee Timeline Video

Lee Timeline video from Street Etiquette on Vimeo. Thanks to imogene & wille.

Free & Easy #10 October 2010

It was privilege to grace page 078 in the October 2010 issue #10 of the seminal Japanese fashion and culture magazine Free & Easy.  As part of the Blue Worker feature, I was in good company along with local custom boot craftsman Julian Imrie. More on Julian in the post to follow. 
   

Photo outake courtesy of Akilla Kojima

Photo outake courtesy of Akilla Kojima

I thought I would provide a few details on what I was wearing, the process & such.

I was contacted by F&E and asked if I had carpenter jeans, coverall jacket & overalls to be used for the next issue which would focus on Denim. I replied that I did and that carpenter jeans were part of my daily wardrobe. They then asked for engineer jackets of which I told them I had many. Finally, I was asked for overalls with real wear & character, which I just happened to have though not currently part of my weekly rotation. I have owned this particular pair of Lee Jelt denim overalls for about 6 years. I used to wear them on the job once or twice a week before either they shrank or I grew, so now they only get broken out once or twice a year while painting. I would have preferred to wear some carpenter jeans and a great jacket but hopefully another chance will present itself in the future. Not wanting to miss this golden opportunity, I gladly squeezed into the overalls and headed off to work.

I was working on some drip irrigation in Burbank, California the morning the photos were taken. I remember it being about 11:00 AM and the temp already hitting 98 degrees, oh man, that pool was looking good.

After the shoot I changed into my carpenter jeans, handed the overalls and a few of my tools off to Akilla to take and photograph under better conditions and finished up my work on the drip system.

This is what I was wearing.

Ghost tag (stitching that held the original flasher)

Lee long L snap & original  brass laundry tag 

1950’s Lee Jelt denim 91-SB overalls

1950’s Washington Dee Cee convert cloth salt & pepper work shirt

Backside label

Loomed inside tag, note Made in the USA.

1996 RRL Made in USA salt & pepper work cap. This salt & pepper work cap is the first piece of Double RL that I purchased back around 1996 and to this day is still a favorite. I was the beginning of my love for the iconic label and all things salt & pepper fabric related.

1950’s era OshKosh promotional bandanna. I have become a big time fan of bandannas these past few years for both wiping my brow & for soaking in cold water for instant cool down on hot days. This Osh Kosh version was picked up a few years ago as deadstock and had recently been added to the rotation.

All Valley Handyman Service tee shirt. The All Valley Handyman Service tees are American Apparel hand screened here in Southern California and feature the backside inspirational quote by Carhartt clothing founder Hamilton Carhartt, with who I share the same basic concept of how to run my business. 

Big thanks to Jonathan & crew of Fresh Pressed for all their great work.

Red Wing Iron Ranger 8112 boots. These have been my daily work boot for the past year give or take and are holding up great. The smooth cork sole is ideal for not trapping dirt or rocks like a lug sole and wears much better than the crepe soles. I also like these boots for their wide toe box that provides plenty of room. Some of my Irish Setter type Moc-Toe boots are a bit cramped & claustrophobic.

 THORLOs are the best socks I have ever worn. They make a huge difference when standing on your feet for a good part of the day. A great example of value for your dollar & quality that lasts, not to mention still proudly made in the U.S.A. They also have the nicest customer service ever and free shipping with purchase of 3 pair or more. I even seem to recall them having a yearly sale. Support their good work! 

I have worn Persol sunglasses for over 10 years, so last year when the time came to get prescription glasses these Persols with transition lenses were my first choice.

I recently converted this pair of new old stock Persol sunglasses to prescription lenses so now I’m covered both inside & out.

 Leather tool bag. My alternative to the conventional tool belt to hold the basics.

Big thanks to Zip Stevenson for the hook up, Akilla Kojima for the nice photos & the folks at Free & Easy for the great magazine.