My first Civil War jacket

[Billw12280]

Hello everybody,

I just received my first official Civil War era jacket. It is a Cavalry Shell jacket from Rafael Eledge at Shiloh Relics and I couldn't be happier. The coat is missing the interior lining and some of the yellow trim has been replaced but overall it is a very cool piece. I hope this will be the first of many uniform pieces I purchase. I cannot praise Rafael and Shiloh Relics enough, they are great to deal with. Let me know what you think!

 

[James N.]

It looks good to me - I never owned one of these, but I have had three different artillery shell jackets. (Not at the same time!)

 

[Billw12280]

It looks good to me - I never owned one of these, but I have had three different artillery shell jackets. (Not at the same time!)

Thanks James N. I have a feeling this will become an addiction. I already have a line on my second uniform item, also a Cavalry Shell Jacket but it has it's interior lining.

 

[Package4]

Raphe is great people and will never steer you wrong, these are nice affordable jackets, due to the amount of surplus, post war. I think Dave Taylor told me a story that you could buy a bundle of these from Bannerman's for $500 and there would be bugler jackets in there, of course this was in the 50s & 60s. The 1927 Bannerman's catalog has them for sale @ $2.50 ea or $1.25 to GAR Halls.

 

[James N.]

As I remember, one of mine had its lining chopped out too; it MAY have been the same one I got from a dealer that had gotten it from a reenactor who actually WORE it during the Centennial! (And also burst out the shoulder seams; fortunately, a friend of mine was great at restoring things like that!) During the 1950's before interest generated by the Centennial drove prices for these up, cavalry and artillery jackets were still surplus items that could be picked up for maybe as little as $10 - $20. During the filming of Glory in 1989 another friend of mine who was working in Wardrobe found several ORIGINAL of these, plus probably a dozen Indian Wars five-button sack coats that had been brought for the filming from a costume company in California.

 

[Billw12280]

Raphe is great people and will never steer you wrong, these are nice affordable jackets, due to the amount of surplus, post war. I think Dave Taylor told me a story that you could buy a bundle of these from Bannerman's for $500 and there would be bugler jackets in there, of course this was in the 50s & 60s. The 1927 Bannerman's catalog has them for sale @ $2.50 ea or $1.25 to GAR Halls.

It would have been great to be a collector when Bannermans was around selling surplus. I have always been amazed by the stories of what could be bought at such low prices. I trust everything Rafael sells to be authentic and am glad to have purchased my first item from him. Even with the replaced piping and missing interior lining this is the gem of my collection.

 

[Package4]

You are correct, Shiloh is heads up one of the best, Raphe had promised me a Maryland buckle he was cataloguing, from a huge collection, but a gentleman came in and bought 20 Confederate buckles at once and part of the deal was the Maryland buckle. He apologized profusely and found me another, which is not easy to do anymore.

 

[Billw12280]

As I remember, one of mine had its lining chopped out too; it MAY have been the same one I got from a dealer that had gotten it from a reenactor who actually WORE it during the Centennial! (And also burst out the shoulder seams; fortunately, a friend of mine was great at restoring things like that!) During the 1950's before interest generated by the Centennial drove prices for these up, cavalry and artillery jackets were still surplus items that could be picked up for maybe as little as $10 - $20. During the filming of Glory in 1989 another friend of mine who was working in Wardrobe found several ORIGINAL of these, plus probably a dozen Indian Wars five-button sack coats that had been brought for the filming from a costume company in California.

This one does have a wardrobe company stamp in the sleeve. If only these items could talk, I'd love to know the history of where it's been. I paid considerably more than $10-$20 for it but I think I got a bargain at $1600 since I have been seeing them going for $2800 and up. The higher priced ones do have the lining and are all original but still a great deal IMHO.

 

[Billw12280]

You are correct, Shiloh is heads up one of the best, Raphe had promised me a Maryland buckle he was cataloguing, from a huge collection, but a gentleman came in and bought 20 Confederate buckles at once and part of the deal was the Maryland buckle. He apologized profusely and found me another, which is not easy to do anymore.

That's awesome, I've heard nothing but great things about Rafael and Dave. Rafael was at the Mansfield Ohio Civil War show and I wanted to talk with him but he was always really busy when I walked by. Dave Taylor was there as well but I couldn't catch up with him either. I did speak to his son who was really nice and very knowledgeable.

 

[James N.]

This one does have a wardrobe company stamp in the sleeve. If only these items could talk, I'd love to know the history of where it's been. I paid considerably more than $10-$20 for it but I think I got a bargain at $1600 since I have been seeing them going for $2800 and up. The higher priced ones do have the lining and are all original but still a great deal IMHO.

Ugh! I think I only got $300 for my last one I sold - but that was around 1986 or '87 so it probably wasn't too bad then.

 

[Billw12280]

Ugh! I think I only got $300 for my last one I sold - but that was around 1986 or '87 so it probably wasn't too bad then.

If you ever get another one you want to sell for $300 let me know, I'm your buyer.

 

[James N.]

If you ever get another one you want to sell for $300 let me know, I'm your buyer.

Heck, the very first one I bought for $150 or thereabouts from a Dallas shop called Militaria back in the 1970's, and the reenactor owned one for $75 at a gun show. The last one, well we won't talk about that one... (Let's just say the $300 was all profit!)

 

[Billw12280]

Heck, the very first one I bought for $150 or thereabouts from a Dallas shop called Militaria back in the 1970's, and the reenactor owned one for $75 at a gun show. The last one, well we won't talk about that one... (Let's just say the $300 was all profit!)

That's really impressive! I was just searching through a 1995 price guide that really demonstrates the increase in prices over the last 2 decades. I think it's possible we will see another large increase in the coming years. Whoever bought that Brig. GEN. Frock coat for $450 got a heck of a bargain, based on today's values.

 

[captaindrew]

Congrats, nice looking jacket

 

[Billw12280]

Thanks @captaindrew!

 

[UCVRelics]

Very Nice addition Thanks for sharing.

 

[Billw12280]

What are your thoughts on displaying uniforms? I was going to put it on a mannequin but I don't want to damage it. I've also seen them professionally framed behind special UV filtering glass. Right now I have it stored flat in a garment bag out of direct sunlight and excessive heat or cold temperatures.

 

[Billw12280]

Very Nice addition Thanks for sharing.

Thanks @ucvrelics.com! Sharing is one of my favorite parts of collecting. I especially love sharing it with my kids, they don't always show interest now but eventually they will appreciate me sharing our history with them. I sometimes change our WiFi password to a historic person, date, or event and they have to figure it out based on hints I give them. They really hate it but I enjoy it because they are learning!

 

[Package4]

That's awesome, I've heard nothing but great things about Rafael and Dave. Rafael was at the Mansfield Ohio Civil War show and I wanted to talk with him but he was always really busy when I walked by. Dave Taylor was there as well but I couldn't catch up with him either. I did speak to his son who was really nice and very knowledgeable.

You couldn't catch up to Dave's Scooter? He must have removed the governor.

 

[Package4]

This one does have a wardrobe company stamp in the sleeve. If only these items could talk, I'd love to know the history of where it's been. I paid considerably more than $10-$20 for it but I think I got a bargain at $1600 since I have been seeing them going for $2800 and up. The higher priced ones do have the lining and are all original but still a great deal IMHO.

That's a very fair price, need to make sure that all of the jackets you look at have the inspector's stamp in the sleeve. Bannerman commissioned to have both cav and arty jackets made to fill demand, in the early 1900s.