Vintage early 1950's snapshots

Enjoy these great vintage photos and the great clothes!

1925 Men's Workwear

These pages are out of a 1925 Bella Hess & Co. Clothing catalog. This is the stuff we all dream about finding!

Happy Thanksgiving!

VINTAGE PHOTO-1940's MEN WITH AN ATTITUDE

Just picked up this great old photo of these four guys that says all over it : "I know exactly what I'm doing and don't mess with me".

Don't we wish we had all of the great clothes they are wearing!

1930's A.G. Spalding & Bros. Warm up pullover

Another sweet estate find from this week. A cotton pullover made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. from Lakewood, Colorado.

Fresh estate finds! WWII US Navy denim, 1940's Basketball uniforms

Haven't posted in awhile, so here are some great estate finds this weekend. A nice World War II  US Navy denim work jacket with almost all of the original buttons.

These are some neat 1930's or 40's basketball uniforms.

Awesome Victorian Indian Head Pillow cover

Picked up this great old pillow cover at an auction last week. The graphics on this pillow cover are incredible, not to mention that it is well over 100 years old!

Sweet Buckle Back Thrift Score

Scored this cool pair of 1930's or 40's buckle back carpenter jeans at a thrift shop of all places, go figure!

They were work pants for sure, they have great character and are totally wearable.

Buffalo, Wyoming Longmire Days

We were on our way to Buffalo, Wyoming yesterday and discovered that they were having "Longmire Days", a celebration of the A&E television series set in Wyoming. We love going to the Occidental Hotel when we are in Buffalo, so we made reservations to stay the night. The bar at the Occidental (which is totally original from the old days) was packed with fans of the show and the stars of the show showed up to entertain and sign autographs. It was actually fairly entertaining, but to be honest, I have yet to make it half way through the first episode of the series. Growing up in the West and living here all my life, I thought the show was totally ridiculous! I suppose I could give it another chance, maybe it gets better as the series continues. The author of the book series that the stories are based on lives near Buffalo and he knows the area and people, but I don't think Hollywood really knows!

Anyway, enough of that, the Occidental Hotel is very old west (we stayed in Owen Wister's room that he stayed in while writing The Virginian) and should you ever be in Buffalo, go there.

Very cool vintage Sinclair Oil signage in Wyoming

Came upon this old garage with fantastic original Sinclair Oil advertising sign in Hudson, Wyoming.

On The Vintage Trail In South Dakota With Filson

We are on the hunt for vintage treasure in South Dakota after traveling through Wyoming and the panhandle of Nebraska. I will post our finds as I have time, although nothing spectacular has surfaced yet.

This is shot in front of a small train depot in  Hot Springs, South Dakota. I have by my side 2 Filson bags I have owned for 20+ years and have seen thousands of miles of travel, from Alaska to Florida and all points in between.

Dirt Bike Riding in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado

Spent a beautiful day riding in the mountains with my son. The views are so spectacular that the photos don't even do justice.

Chili Roasting Time with Vintage Pioneer HBT Coveralls!

This is one of my favorite times of the year, fresh green chilies from Hatch, New Mexico! August and September bring harvest time for these wonderful green delights and the smell of roasting chilies is Heaven on earth for a born and bred Southwest fella like me.
I thought it appropriate to show these cool vintage 1940's or 50's Pioneer herring bone twill coveralls with some chilies. The chain stitching on the back is great, but the spelling of chili (chile?) is questionable-was it a mistake or was that how they spelled it back then?
If you can find them, try some fresh roasted Hatch chilies and savor the taste of the great southwest!

Very Cool Estate Find, very vintage Colorado!

We found this vintage post-war painted B-4 flight bag this week at an estate sale. The owner enlisted in the Army in 1946 and served in the 61st AGF (Army Ground Forces) band, where he played the trumpet. He was also born and raised in Colorado and loved the western lifestyle, hence the mounted cowboy on one side. Even though it is not a WWII theater painted bag, it is still very rare and very cool!

Beautiful Vintage Smith & Wesson Score!

Just scored this beautiful mid 1950's Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver. I've been desiring this model for years, and through patience and perseverance, I finally have it! These are highly sought after and hard to find, especially in this condition. The bluing is so deep that you can see your reflection and as a bonus, the grips are the rare "Coke bottle" grips that are easily worth 4-600 dollars!

No great vintage clothes finds lately, but there's nothing like finding a sweet vintage Smith & Wesson to make me a happy camper!

Happy Birthday America!

Celebrating America's 237th birthday, we are displaying an awesome vintage 46 star United States flag. This flag is over 100 years old, made before the entry of Arizona and New Mexico to the Union. It is linen and measures 12' x 6' and is in very good condition for it's age.
It's exciting to imagine where this flag has flown- a Cavalry post, a capital building, a post office or even a ship.

Wildfires in the West

Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the 19 Hotshots that died fighting the fire near Yarnell, Arizona this weekend. Those were brave men that largely go unrecognized for their bravery and dedication to the job of fighting wildfires, may they Rest In Peace.
Here is a shot of the fire near Wolf Creek Pass from our house. Thankfully there have been no fatalities.

Rattlesnakes and vintage

Heading out to drink some outstanding local beer at one of our 5 breweries, I encountered  a local denizen - a rattlesnake. Having grown up in the southwest and aware of the consequences of a negative encounter , I dispatched the viper. Contrary to popular movie lore, it is not that easy to shoot a snake in the head! It took 9 shots at close range from a .45 to render this reptile neutral and a final stomp from my vintage 1950's Acme boots (wearing vintage 1960's Levi's 501's) to finally dispatch this venomous serpent.
By the way, the beer afterwards was outstanding! If you are ever in Durango, Colorado do not miss out on the exceptional beer that is brewed here, you will not be disappointed .
I hope to post some photos of our recent sweet vintage finds this weekend, stay tuned!

Cool estate finds this week

Check out these very nice finds this week!
A sweet 1944 varsity sweater in mint condition. The unusual mustard body with navy blue chenille numbers makes this a sweet find.

Another rare find is an original Grenfell weaving.


It is truly amazing what pops up when you least expect it!

Levi's 507xx estate find

What a great surprise in the closet!

Fantastic Trade Blanket Find!

We just found this wonderful Shuler & Benninghofer trade blanket at an estate sale. Near mint condition in the Apache pattern, this is a bold and beautiful wool blanket!
It's this sort of stuff that thrills us week after week. The surprises are endless!

His and Hers Vintage ACME boots

On The Road In Colorado

Springtime in Colorado is a great time to be out searching for vintage treasures! We hit some estate sales in Denver and continued on for four days searching for stuff. On the way south we passed an old ghost town below Trinidad and had to check it out. The old town of Morley is only stone foundations, but was once an active company coal mining town. The coolest building is St. Aloysius church completed in 1917. It is the only facade still standing.
The old store at Dehli is an artifact on the road from La Junta to Trinidad. Made of adobe and stucco, it probably won't be around in another 100 years. Pretty cool to sit on the old porch though.

Entering the blogosphere!

After reading so many fun blogs and pages from around the world of vintage clothing, I've decided to  start one myself. I've been a fan of many things vintage for most of my life and so has my lovely wife, so why not share some of our finds, as well as thoughts!
We travel the country in search of cool and wonderful items that we then sell or keep and enjoy or even better-wear!
Having been born in the 1950's in the American west and growing up around real Cowboys, I have a particular fondness for clothes that reflect that culture.
I will post photos that will hopefully brighten your day and keep you searching for lost treasure, so please check back!