Please Note: All Material on this page, and in all my "History of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com.
In the image above we witness winter camping in the fine olden style! To me, this real-life scene mimics the old-timey feel of the JanSport catalogs from the late 70's and early 80's. In the scene, we are in the Ozark Mountains, it's 15 degrees, and we're having FUN. There are are least three pieces of Eddie Bauer down gear in this picture. One piece is the skimpy down vest on the left; I'll let readers have fun identifying the rest. Image contributed by Erv S., who is seen standing on the left of the group.
And
then there is Filson, selling rugged outdoor clothing since before
the automobile, "...In 1897, Filson opened C.C. Filson's
Pioneer Alaska Clothing and Blanket Manufacturers, specializing
in goods to outfit the stampeders to the Klondike Gold Rush. "
(quoted from Filson.com)
After the Gold Rush days, supplying the Northwest's booming logging
business became a major emphasis of the company. In the Ozarks
camping scene above, you can bet there's probably a piece or two
of Filson clothing somewhere on the campers or in their wall tent!
Below is an image that I captured by photographing a fairly recent Filson catalog. The text states that the image of the sailing ship and the sourdoughs ascending an Alaskan pass are taken from the company's 1937 catalog. To place this date in context in The History of Gear, this was one year before REI Coop was formed in Seattle!
Please Note: All Material above, and in all my "History
of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material
is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce
B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com. .. Editors: Please contact me if you have interest
in publishing....Others: if you were involved
with one of the old-line, vintage gear companies and have a story
to tell in these pages, please contact me soon.
