Good Wear Leather Coat Company: Sale Original Ralph Edwards G-1 MIL-J-7823 Flight Jacket

Original Ralph Edwards G-1 MIL-J-7823 Flight Jacket
Price: $1,199.00 (used condition) — note shipping costs below
Fit: this jacket has comfortable fit in the correct size
Leather: chrome-tanned seal brown goatskin
Lining: brown rayon in very solid condition
Mouton: beautiful honey brown in great condition
Knits: dark brown wool with some darning of holes
Thread: dark brown nylon in superb condition
Zipper: Aluminum No.5 Conmar zipper
Size: 48

We have this very large and very rare all-original Ralph Edwards G-1 in an extremely rare size 48. This was a small 1959 contract, the first made by Cape Girardeau Leather Coat Co. (Cagleco) after they changed their name to Ralph Edwards. This small contract still retains almost all details of the Cagleco pattern, though some small variances can be seen. The collar tab has a more pointed end, and the zipper base leather has two vertical lines of stitching, but otherwise, this is exactly what a Cagleco pattern would have.

Any original in size 48 is rare, but size 48 jackets made after WWII are extremely rare. In 30 years of flight jacket interest, we've only seen three of them, the other two being L.W. Foster G-1s (one which we had). This Edwards is bigger than those two Foster jackets, too. The total chest circumference with the pleats in the back laid flat is 52".

The condition of the jacket is wonderful. It has very flexible and healthy goatskin, which has a small amount of wear evidence to the surface, but the meat of the hides is excellent. The brown finish displays a beautiful dark brown, with occasional variation in shade from panel to panel. The lining is in great condition, with just a few tiny surface snags in the back panel (very tiny). The knits had a few holes which we darned closed but they should remain on the jacket. The mouton is in superb condition, and the Conmar zipper works great with no issues.

This jacket never had any patches or name tags sewn to it, and no names were written in it. This is almost how it would look when issued to someone in 1959, when this contract was made. It has only a faint pleasant odor of the tanning method.

The jacket would ideally fit someone in the range of 5'11" to 6'3", with a chest of 46" to 48", and a weight of about 190-220 pounds. John, in the photos, is 6'1", 178 pounds, and has a 42" chest.