L.W. Foster

[cgreen]

Hi Everyone,

Hope you're well. I'm rather new to the flight jacket discussions so forgive this question, but where can I get information on the L.W. Foster company? I've googled it with no results so I'm turning to the collective wisdom of the forum.

Are goatskin Foster 7823 G-1s readily available, and are they repros now or are people sourcing originals? If they are repros is there anyone making a good one that I can look at? I like the mouton collars and the fact that the 7823 is apparently a bit more slim cut than other Foster G-1s.

Any information is greatly appreciated, thank you. Enjoy the day.

Chris

 

[Southoftheborder]

You could search here and quite a lot of information would turn up. Originals are often seen and they are one of the more common G1s.

 

[Brettafett]

What size are you Chris?

John over at Goodwear has a 40 f/s (he has originals up for reasonable prices from time to time)

Good Wear Leather Coat Company — Original L.W. Foster 7823 G-1

www.goodwearleather.com

Theres a great deal of info here... Worth the time to read through

“A Better Fighting Garment…” 2.0 - A Revised Guide to the U.S. Navy's Intermediate Leather Flight Jackets

This iteration of the guide has been cancelled. Research of U.S. Navy Intermediate Flying Jackets should be made under “A Better Fighting Garment 3.0”. PREFACE In December 2021 Jan, Wei and I posted a thread entitled “A Better Fighting Garment…” - A Beginner’s Guide to the US Navy’s WWII-era...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

Ive seen some on Ebay...

Im not as well versed in USN jackets as some other gents here, but here's a start.

All, if not most G-1s up to and including the D series (early 70s - black labels), were goatskin (cow in some cases?) with genuine mouton fur collars. Thereafter, cow and faux dynel (dark brown/ black) fur was introduced (white labels). Still good jackets, but not as 'revered' as the earlier black labels.

7823? There are many manufacturers... Each with their own slightly varying patterns, slight variations in styling and detailing. So it depends...
Foster, being only one manufacturer.
Patterns/ details also changed slightly over the years from the 50s though to the later series, zippers for example.
The earlier G-1s (55J14) in many cases, tended to have wider shoulders and narrower waists... Patterns seem to have 'evened' out with subsequent 7823 and later series jackets.

Originals are available from time to time, generally Ebay or some other vintage sale sites.
Originals tend to be hit & miss, you have check the details and condition carefully (some contracts tend to have more leather issues than others).
Also depends on what you are after exactly, size, condition, to wear or collect, what you're prepared to spend... etc

Bare in mind, refurbishing (cleaning).... Sourcing and replacing correct/ near correct parts (knits, mouton, zipper) can be time consuming and expensive, especially having them installed correctly...

Repros? Well, for a Foster specifically... you'd look at Goodwear, or Dave Sheeley perhaps @Maverickson (I think Dave also has an original and the patterns to repro one).
Eastman, but dont recall what contract theirs is based on. Maybe the Japanese makers, not sure if any make a Foster specifically... but Im not a fan for a number reasons.
Apparently Headwind is planning on adding a Foster to their catalogue at some point (US based, but jackets made in Pakistan).

Really, decent original G-1s can still be found, and are often posted here. Just ask questions, post links and get the guys here to comment.
Might save you some grief. With patience and persistence, you could find a really good original for a hell of a lot less than a decent repro.
Even if it means replacing the knits.

Example. I lucked on a Ralph Edwards B series in mint condition a while back. Unluckily it was a touch short on me.
It was clean and perfect, and cost me 1/3 of a top tier repro.

 

[cgreen]

You could search here and quite a lot of information would turn up. Originals are often seen and they are one of the more common G1s.

Thank you Southoftheborder, I've seen the one John has at Goodyear, which is what prompted the question. I'm not sure if his is one he manufactured or if it's a repro from someone else, or if it's an original. I've emailed him to inquire but thought to start the process here as well.

 

[blackrat2]

Original

 

[cgreen]

Thanks Blackrat2, I appreciate that. Out of curiosity, how can you be sure? This is my first time dealing with Goodwear so while I'm familiar-ish with some of the offerings, I don't know exactly how they work. Again, have an email into John and hoping to connect soon. Thanks again.

 

[blackrat2]

It’s listed as Vintage and just look at the details of the leather etc

 

[blackrat2]

If it’s your size then you won’t go wrong with JC, well packaged and his stuff arrives quickly

 

[cgreen]

Thank you very much - I actually didn't know what the "Vintage" stood for in the description and didn't want to assume it was original.

 

[Erwin]

Cgreen go for it, and you will not regret purchasing this 7823. 7823's made by Foster are great jackets, honestly, I recommend these to any USN jacket enthusiasts, do not think about any reproduction.....

 

[cgreen]

Thank you Erwin, much appreciated!

 

[blackrat2]

No problem at all
Usually he lists as vintage or original, if you look at the leather on this and other originals he has sold it’s just some how different to newer leather..see the thread about old vs new leather that’s running