hmmm... i am probably wrong about the redye. it was the pic of the pocket snap [male side] flat area that looked to have light brown on it. yes indeed, the stitching appears not to be dyed over. the right top shoulder seems to have the beginnings of the dreaded "red rot". i am now of the mind that for the most part, spiewaks were sourced from hides from over seas, likely from india. for years i assumed that they were improperly tanned. i now believe that they were tanned as any other hides were tanned, but not allowed to cure after tanning. that or sent to the us in a wet cargo hold. point being, the hide degradation probably began when the spiewaks were made. of course this would not be detected at first, and real damage would begin by the later 40s-50s...give or take. improper curing-drying would also help to explain why spiewaks shrank disproportionately. i have seen spiewaks that did not appear rotted or shrunken, but they are few and far between.