I know it's not hunting season yet,but my buddy Arnaud of FFC ,has been obsessed lately by early 1900's hunting jackets and is actively trying to fulfill is dream as we speak.One might help him on that matter that's also why i'm posting about that subject today .So for your enjoyment and his i hope,i've decided to pull another goody from the vault :an early 1900's Duxbak hunting jacket, the brand that started it all in 1904......
Back at the end of the 1800's the Bird, Jones & Kenyon company were manufacturers of overalls at their plant in Utica, N. Y. They were selling to jobbers and were successful at it.
About that time the Adirondacks were becoming a great popular summer resort, particularly for campers, hunters and fishermen. As Utica was the
gateway to the mountains and lakes, Bird, Jones & Kenyon saw much of the visiting sportsmen, recognized their need of special clothing and started to supply it.
Back then it was common to wear ones old clothes while camping. The idea of special clothes for outdoor activities simply didn't exist.Sometimes one might have had their tailors create outfits for them, but these were generally expensive and more fancy than practical.... Camps and summer homes were rapidly increasing in number in the region and Bird, Jones & Kenyon saw a new breed of customer to cater to and started to manufacture a line of strong waterproof, well-made outfits specially designed for camping by men who knew what was needed in the mountains.
To their surprise,these garments caught on quickly among the Adirondack visitors that they decided to advertise them. Consequently they were given a trade-mark name, and started to advertise it in national magazines read by people into outdoor sports...
The name chosen for the trade-mark was :"Duxbak," . The idea is that these garments were made of fabric of which water would run as off a duck's back. Hence in 1904 arose the Utica-Duxbak Corporation......
Their first collection consisted of only a few articles such as :coats, hats, leggings, riding pants and skirts of a specially woven heavy army duck, dark olive drab in color and waterproofed. Later the line was expanded and included garments specially designed for particular purposes. For instance, the shooting jacket had a pivot sleeve, safety pockets for shells, and inside knitted wristlets to keep out the cold.i wish i had this one in my collection for sure ....
Later a complete line made of a lighter fabric was offered to men, women and children under the trade-marked name of "Kamp-it," and this was further extended later by another line, the "Utica." Duxbak has also spread into other fields, an instance of which is the Duxbak Engineer's Wear, a special outfit with a coat of many pockets, handy and unusual features meeting the needs of engineers, surveyors and contractors in the field...another "want" here
Duxbak and Kamp-it have been advertised in the outdoor publications from the beginning.
Roosevelt's own Duxbaks are in the Smithsonian Museum's collection......
UticaDuxbak had one policy regarding the price of their garments : "Same for all" was their deal. Whether you were a big dealer,a little one or a single buyer the price had to be the same.
Also to preserve their "independence",no exclusivity was ever given to big agencies and in small towns where there couldn't be business enough for more than one man, the Duxbak salesman did not sell to more than one dealer.
In its advertising Utica-Duxbak always strongly suggested :
"DRESS RIGHT FOR OUTDOORS"
