The Lost Empire of Leathertogs, Part 2

Building the First Leather Motorcycle Jackets

The exact founding date of Leathertogs remains uncertain, though some evidence supports an establishment year of 1919, based on an extant company catalogue bearing the original logo and trademark. A conflicting source is a 1928 newspaper advertisement celebrating Leathertogs’ “five-year anniversary”, suggesting 1923 as the year of formation, but they had been advertising in magazines a year before that, so perhaps the anniversary was only at the Malden location. The earliest known Leathertogs advertisements appeared in various issues of American Motorcycle & Bicycle Illustrated in 1922, suggesting the 1919 origin date is the accurate one.

Clearly, the available documentation makes it difficult to determine the exact foundation date for the Leathertogs business.  Because Leathertogs advertisements and garments can appear with either the Malden or Everett addresses, it is possible that two locations existed and served different purposes: perhaps one had retail manufacturing (associated with Beck and others) and the other for the custom manufacturing of the Leathertogs brand. Municipal boundaries may have also been in transition, affecting how the company’s location was recorded.

Henry Shaw was himself a motorcycle rider and enthusiast, who attended locally held events and designed products suited for real-world riding conditions, such as hill climbing, flat-track racing, and long-distance touring. He understood the benefit of a snug fit to repel the weather, and improve comfort during rides.  In its early years, Leathertogs produced a variety of items: woolen garments, leather helmets, horsehide coats, breeches, and wind cuffs, all primarily marketed to motorcyclists.  Over the next few years, Shaw developed new designs to better suit riders, that proved to be in parallel with developments in aviation clothing design.   Eventually his designs would be seen as iconic, and laid the foundation of the iconic ‘biker’ jacket.

Motorbikes vs Aeroplanes: Evolution of Design [Paul d’Orléans]

The true origins of protective leather clothing are deeply rooted – hundreds of thousands of years deep.  Stacked, stiffened, and shaped leather was among the first types of armor protecting the body in battle for many cultures around the world.  Even further back, animal skins were found to provide insulation and wind protection even among our precursor species, and leather or fur clothing still clings to Ice Age corpsicles and bog men pre-dating modern history.  So, leather for wind / abrasion protection and warmth was nothing new when motors came along.

In Part 1 we briefly discussed the influence of aviation gear on motorcyclists, but it’s perhaps more accurate to say they evolved together, that the common needs of each activity influenced the other.  For example, sporting helmets as used by racing motorcyclists on banked oval tracks from the 1890s onwards were found to be beneficial for pilots as well, and for the same reasons – keeping the head both warm and protected from blows.

Motorcyclists were ahead of the curve in developing protective gear because motorcycles had been around longer than aircraft (the first production motorcycle was the Hildebrand & Wolfmüller of 1885), and when production airplanes finally appeared around 1910, motorcycles were simply faster. For example, in the 1910 the fastest plane in the world was a Blériot XI monoplane, piloted by Alfred Leblanc to 68.2 mph (110 km/h).  But at board track races that same year, riders like Joe Wolters regularly reached 90mph, and by 1911 would reach 100mph.  Accidents at these speeds quickly exposed the need for rider protection, but it was European racers who appear to have donned leather first.

Racing riders adapted the leather jerkin – with a military history dating back at least to the 1500s – by the time of the first Isle of Man TT in 1907, as shown above.  Much like other design disciplines (think architecture and product design especially), this new motorcycle racing outfit was stripped of decorative elements and was entirely functional, and in the process became an iconic design.

These adapted jerkins were double-breasted for maximum wind protection and warmth, had no collar, and were usually paired with leather jodhpurs and initially, leather brogues with leather puttees that covered the ankles and calves.  Leather brogues with puttees went out of fashion by the 1920s, but this ensemble set the pattern for racing motorcycle gear through the 1950s, when the one-piece racing suit gained popularity. Street riders had less urgent needs, and their gear tended towards practicality mixed with style, and companies like Dunhill, Barbour, and Harley-Davidson’s Motorclothes sold a mix of wool and leather riding gear.

By contrast, photos of aeronauts in the 1910s tend to feature jaunty men and women wearing boater hats and cotton or wool jackets, primarily because flying was a fair-weather activity, as well as being slow (40-60mph) and low altitude.  The first production airplanes had no cockpit at all, with pilots and passengers hung about the framework of the plane itself, exposed to everything, so if the weather was poor, they preferred not to fly.  And if they did, early flying manuals instructed pilots to stuff newspapers under their coats or sweaters to provide insulation and cut the wind, but that didn’t help much if it rained.

As speeds and altitudes rose, feedback from pilots spurred manufacturers like Dunhills to develop warm, wind-proof gear from leather and fur: coats were typically double-breasted, and buttoned (zips were yet to appear) up to collars that could be turned up to protect the back of the neck.  Thick and fur-lined helmets and mask-style goggles, at times with leather face masks, protected the head and face.  Coat cuffs used buckles to tighten down to keep the wind out, and long gauntlet gloves fit over the cuffs.  Even during WW1, with the rapid rise of aircraft technology, no air corps had a standardized uniform for pilots: they were free to shop for themselves among a rising tide of leather goods suppliers aimed at their needs.  By the middle of WW1, the Sidcot suit – a literal development of the boilersuit – led to one-piece leather flying suits lined with fur as the ultimate in protection and warmth.  Specialized one-piece leather racing suits would not appear until the late 1940s.

One clear thread of influence between motorcycle and aviation clothing is the leather ‘bomber’ jacket, a style that remains popular to this day.  The popular understanding of the bomber jacket’s origin is from its first regulation as military gear in 1927, with the legendary A-1 design.

But the A-1 was clearly based on an existing style already in use by motorcyclists, as Leathertogs had been producing its own ‘bomber’ style since at least 1925.  This shows how motorcycle outfitters initially influenced the styles of aviation gear, and not just the other way around, as is generally assumed.  It might be most accurate to say that the development of motoring technology (autos, aircraft, motorcycles) spurred the development of protective leather clothing for every activity, until each required even more specialized clothing by the 1930s, as the requirements for each activity diverged.

Leathertogs: Innovation and Quality

Leathertogs’ earliest known factories and showrooms were located at 282-A Broadway in Everett, Massachusetts (1922) and at 38 Commercial Street in Malden, Massachusetts (circa 1927), which later moved to 115 Centre Street (circa 1929). By the mid-to-late 1930s, operations had relocated permanently to Everett, Massachusetts, at 11 Spaulding Street—a location confirmed by numerous surviving company labels and print advertisements bearing the “Leathertogs” name and the location mark “Everett, Mass.”

Leathertogs distinguished itself as an innovator in the field of sporting clothing, and was among the first to advertise leather clothing for motorcyclists: at least by 1922. Shaw was also among the first leather manufacturers to utilize zippers instead of just buttons or snaps.  Zippers were an innovation in the 1920s, and still costly at the time, at times doubling the price of a garmet.  While the ‘slide fastener’ was first patented back in 1891, the all-metal zipper was developed in 1913 by Gideon Sundback.  It was BF Goodrich that coined the term ‘zipper’ in 1923, when they used Sundback’s patent as quick closures for a line rubber boots.

The first fully separable zipper was invented in 1927 by Gideon Sundback: previously a zip-front jacket needed to be a pullover.  Schott claims to be the first manufacturer to use a zipper on a jacket in 1925, but the zipper would not be invented for another two years: perhaps they meant a pullover.  Sundback’s applied for his patent in 1927, and added several improvements in the following years, which is likely why it took until 1930 for the first ads to appear hailing the zip-front as a new feature. Shaw was among the first to innovate with zippers on in his designs, quickly favoring them over traditional buttons to ensure a tight seal against the elements. Talon zippers, sourced from Pennsylvania, were predominantly used, and were known for their quality and reliability. Some surviving garments also feature zippers from Kwik and other manufacturers.

Shaw’s approach was uniquely comprehensive. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he didn’t just make ‘off-the-rack’ items, he offered customizable garments tailored to a rider’s specific measurements and needs, down to the placement of pockets or inclusion of specialty features. This was a rare offering in leatherwear at the time, and it distinguished Leathertogs as a company focused not only on performance but also on individual expression and rider experience.

Thus Shaw’s designs mixed function with fashion: the jackets and breeches he developed were stylish, durable, and weather-resistant, embodying the spirit of the motorcyclist. His designs were informed by real-world feedback: Henry himself attended local motorcycle events, listened to riders who visited his shop, read motorcycle newspapers, and even named some of his jacket designs after famous riding and racing events across the U.S. (e.g., The Isle of Man/Tourist Trophy, The Muroc Special, The Daytona, The Grand Prix, and The Langhorne Racing Shirt).

Leathertogs reached its peak from the mid-1930s through the 1940s. The rise in motorcycle popularity during this period contributed directly to demand, and Leathertogs became a trusted name among serious riders.   The company was known for offering customized fits and modifications, which added to its prestige. By 1938, Leathertogs offered eleven jacket models and three styles of breeches, though only a few of these survive today in contemporary collections. Each piece emphasized durability, thoughtful design, and premium materials. Painted-on artwork was also available at an additional cost if desired, such as club logos, member names, or World War II squadron insignia.

By 1937, Henry’s son, Elwin Shaw, had joined the business as sales manager, taking on some of the company’s responsibilities. Leathertogs likely operated with a small, tight-knit team, as an independent workshop taking on bespoke clothing orders. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the company placed seasonal job listings in The Boston Globe for cutters, further suggesting a modest but active workshop as demand increased.

Design Details