I just purchased this Hudson's Bay blanket coat that the seller listed as 1970s however I think it might be earlier, possibly 1920s. It's unlined and the label on the inside corresponds to the 1920s Hudson's Bay label. I've found a photo and an illustration of women in similar styles of coats. The one thing that theirs have that this one doesn't is a hood, but I believe it might have been removed and lost at some point as you can see buttons under the collar. I only have the seller's images to go on right now. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
What a stunning coat!! Some of the styles of these coats changed little over the years and the labels went through subtle changes. Unfortunately, there seems to be some conflicting info on this. Your label has the horizontal word bar across the top when the label in the illustration you show does not. Here is an advertisement from 1939 where the label is like yours. The "Red River" coat was available in silver, scarlet, pine green, and multi-stripe. I see subtle color placement differences between your coat and both coats in the illustrations. The coats in the illustrations have the black extend to the very end of the wrist area on the sleeve when yours has some red at the wrist. Also, the coats in the illustrations have the black on the body starting at the top of the pocket line, when on your coat the black starts lower than the pocket line. (I have no idea if this is significant, just wanted to point it out.) A 1928 ad showing a label without the horizontal word bar across the top: (Photos courtesy of hcbheritage.ca.)
Hi Donna and thank you for this extra info! They don't have an exact dating guide for the labels so your keen eye on the ads really clarified it. So, I'm guessing this is early 1930s? I don't know if this is the "Red River" model exactly as there are 4 rows of buttons and it's single breasted, so maybe it's slightly earlier than 1939? There were several different labels they used. I love that it's still in style!
Great find, Joji. There is actually a book out on these labels. I do have it I just can't locate it at the moment. Code: http://www.pointblankets.com/pages/pb006a.htm
Update: the coat got here today and there are a few interesting things that I found. For one thing, it was originally double breasted as one of the extra buttons was left on while the others either fell off or were removed. These are fairly standard black coat buttons so they shouldn't be too hard to replace. Also, inside is this label with info about the coat. I can't make out a date, there is an 8 in what I believe is the order section but I can't make out the figure before that. The size reads "Scarlet Ladies" and then something I can't make out, probably the style of coat. Also on the first line it reads "21.13.6" or maybe they are the letters HBC, it's again hard to make out. Can any of you read it??
