Men's patterns can be hard to date, but I'd guess this one is from the early 20's. The term jumper is unusual. My Women's Institute booklet Miscellaneous Garments, with a copyright date of 1917, uses the term jumper in its discussion of making garments for men and boys. It seems to be a regional term for what we call a barn or chore coat. The term shows up in the Winter 1929 catalog from Charles Williams Stores (based in New York City):
The Chicago-based Montgomery Ward catalog for the same time features the same garment but consistently calls it a jacket, never a jumper.
The version with the banded bottom makes this a relative of the working blouse. With a size 30 chest, this jumper would probably have been made for an older boy.
Here is a card of buttons that dates to roughly the same period or a little later. These buttons have been dyed a shade of blue that will match chambray and denim very well. Twelve buttons is more than you generally need for a single shirt, so you'll have some spares on hand. Remember that this is long before electric washing machines with spin dry cycles; buttons sometimes cracked going through the ringer.
Here is a card of buttons that dates to roughly the same period or a little later. These buttons have been dyed a shade of blue that will match chambray and denim very well. Twelve buttons is more than you generally need for a single shirt, so you'll have some spares on hand. Remember that this is long before electric washing machines with spin dry cycles; buttons sometimes cracked going through the ringer.
This unprinted pattern appears to have been used.
Originally posted on 8/3/2008; re-posted on 3/14/2010 with updated content and new graphics. Reposted on 11/30/2017 with scan of envelope back.
4 comments:
If it helps, Excella produced patterns between 1922-1936. I found a few old Excella patterns myself the other day---how cool!
That makes sense; if they started off by running their pattern numbers in sequence then 1111 would be fairly early.
Good heavens, those catalog men have tiny heads!
The scale of human proportions used in catalog illustrations seem to have their own rules.
I sort of saw these guys as having normal heads but weirdly chunky bodies.
I suppose there is only so much space on the catalog page, and it's the clothing they're trying to sell, so that's what gets the attention. Or. The illustrator was the owner's art school drop-out nephew.
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