Tracking Down a "Lost" A-2 Factory

        Article and Pictures by Evan Wright

I have a fascination (my wife would say obsession) with the A-2 flight jacket. That, of course, is the instantly recognizable leather pilot jacket from the World War Two era. When my old A-2 made by Neil Cooper (now out of business) started to wear out, I started comparison shopping for a replacement. Many companies make A-2 jackets, but there are only a handful of companies that actually make authentic facsimiles of the original. In reading web pages about A-2 jacket manufacturers I learned that there were about 20 companies that made them during WWII and each company had a slightly different style. Some expensive reproduction makers even go so far as to reproduce the styles of the individual manufacturers. One frequently reproduced pattern is that of J. A. Dubow, which according to the inside label was located in Chicago.

Out of curiosity, I decided to see if I could find the actual factory. In searching online, I found an article saying that J. A. Dubow had been a sporting goods manufacturer that had gone out of business when companies moved manufacturing overseas between 1950 and 1970. Not a promising start. Then, I did a search on EBay for J. A. Dubow. Someone was selling a vintage J. A. Dubow poster, and at the bottom the address was listed. It was on N. Milwaukee just South East of the intersection with Western avenue on the North side of the street. Off I went, digital camera in hand, to check it out.

Here’s what the old J. A. Dubow factory looks like today. As you can see, it’s been turned into condos. The water tower is gone, but the frame is still there sporting cell phone antennae. No doubt the residents of the building are oblivious to fact that they live where a classic piece of Americana was produced.

The old J. A. Dubow Factory at Western and Milwaukee
 

I eventually ended up with an A-2 jacket from a small company (one man in fact) called U. S. Authentic and have been very happy with it.

For anyone who's really interested, here's a link to a great article anyone in the market for a jacket should read:
http://www.porthalcyon.com/features/200502/a2.shtml

For a comparison of the various manufacturers, the following site was also very helpful:
http://www.acmedepot.com/a2jacket/index.shtml