Ah, the dreaded UGWA label. These are hard to date because, unlike ACWA labels, they remained relatively unchanged throughout their lifetime. The reference book I have states there is no clear cut timeline or copyrights to closely date the labels. However, their guideline says that A.F. of L. was probably added after 1935, with the creation of the CIO. AFL CIO was added to the labels after the two merged in 1955. I'm sure there are exceptions, especially if a company had a stockpile of old labels to use up. Also, it is possible that the non-A.F. of L. labels were still produced and used after 1935.
I first became aware of the "Cravenette" process because it was a major selling point of Mallory hats in the 1930's. If you do a Google search for Mallory hats, you'll find several old advertisements. My search of TESS yielded the same results that Carrie got, but I have a hard time trusting the patent office records on this one. On
eBay right now there is a brochure from the WWII era that uses the exact same logo on your coat. Companies weren't required to add "Reg. U.S. Pat. Office" to their labels until after they filed for registration.
Both you and I found 1930's newspaper articles that mention the Cravenette process. I found some articles from the early 1900's that mention it and even found a trade & industry publication from 1893 that mentioned the "patented Cravenette process." Puzzled by the mixed the results on this, I decided to seek out the opinion of a trusted ex-dealer of menswear. Here is what he said:
"Coats have always been tricky. I once looked into the Cravenette thing, because I kept seeing it on hats and coats and in old ads, and I had no idea what it was. I know the Cravenette company (UK-based) was formed in 1903 by an existing clothing manufacturer and that they had purchased the process from an individual. I also know that the company patented more than one process for water-proofing (I read somewhere the original used paraffin and naphtha). I'm quite certain they were issued a patent (in the US) for an acid-based process in the 40's. As a matter of fact, I just googled it
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2448247.pdf. So they definitely had a 1948 patent. I can't imagine they didn't patent any older processes. So, now I'm curious--just found this interesting article from 1913
http://books.google.com/books?id=nvNYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA394&lpg=PA394&dq=cravenette patent&source=bl&ots=E7qcDU_SBA&sig=C64wn6xbQkeW57iBNh3BVZQw72I&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uDt3UMXlOeWciALMt4D4Dg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=cravenette patent&f=false. It looks like, at least for a time, they were just keeping the original process secret and not patented. It also looks like they had a number of patents from the 1947 to 1972 (the last one being fire-repellent fabric treatment), so my search results don't match your 1942/1956 dates. Anyway, I could see it being 40's."
I'm not a connoisseur of outerwear as I don't usually sell it and most of the coats in my wardrobe are definitively 1950's. A couple of other people thought 1930's, but I don't know if they have an extensive knowledge of outerwear. My initial response was 1930's but it may be newer.
Basically, we're very close to where we started; however, we know more about the Cravenette company. I'm still waiting on some responses and will keep you updated. If I were selling it, I'd say 1940's.
