Grais Leather a Chicago Landmark
Rubin Grais, an immigrant Jew from Russia came to the United States to start a new life. His skills as a shoe maker created a foundation from which sprung forth Grais Leathers, one of the iconic leather jacket manufacturers of the 1940s and 1950s. Mr. Grais transformed his skills in shoes and vests into a wartime contract maker. Grais produced every type of jacket, this beauty was a classic horsehide from the forties. Sportswear with Grace!!! I will post more of the history of Grais through the coming months.
Hi there David, love your blog. Like you i love the old jackets from the 30's thru the 50's. It must have have been an amazing time..if only i could jump into a tardis, go back and pickup a few Grais and Windwards. I wanted to ask about a particular jacket style. I'm trying to find one. But no luck. Aero leather call it the "Windward', a 4 cove pocket that was a civilian jacket from the 50's. I love them. Tough question, but would you know where i can find one? I'm not rich so i cant pay 500 bucks or whatever. my email is leatherpress@gmail.com, my name is Marty and i live in Sydney
ReplyDeleteI was writing a story about my grandfather's jacket. I looked up the name in the label and found your site. Grandpa's jacket is still in good shape and I wear it frequently. I have the story, with picture, at http://imperfectreason.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI am trying to identify the type of leather used in these old jackets. It was stiff, hard and thick and wore in slowly but I don't know more than that. I want to buy a new one or have it made. I think one like that
ReplyDeleteworn by Gene Hackman in "Bonnie and Clyde" is what I want. Can you help? Wayne
Im glad I found this site!!!,my name is Lenny originally from Cleveland where I started buying and selling vintage clothes,I have always been drawn toward old leathers and now living in Nevada I buy leather almost exclusively...from East West to Bates..Windward...Grais....Brooks of Detroit..I love these jackets and hope to see more people interested in this culture here in the states..I get a lil emotional everytime a Japanese dealer gets one of these treasures from me but hey it's business and the Japanese dealers really appreciate the craft that we just throw away.
ReplyDeleteNice idea to blog about these manufacturers. This one still needs some basic work though: Did Grais remain in original hands until it closed? WHen did it close?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Jeeze everyone is a critic. I am not here to write books for free. Regardless, I spoke with some of the grand nephews and the company folded under the pressure of cheap foreign stuff. Like many they tried to offshore their productions which turned into a slow wind down. A couple of the family members tried to revive the business,
ReplyDeletebut by then it was too late. I would by inaccurate if I quoted dates so I will refrain at this juncture.
At 73, I just googled Rubin Grace Leather Jackets,
ReplyDeletefor some reason... maybe because I mispronounced every other word in my vocabulary...that is how I remember them. It was the late 1940's, Albany Park, and it cost about $38. bucks.
I think I only lasted a couple of years, before loosing or giving it away. It seemed many kids wore them... A very Chicago thing at Von Stueben H.S.
I graduated elementary school in 1954, Jerry, and my Grais leather jacket was the graduation present I begged for so that I'd be "in style" for entering Roosevelt High School. In those years if you didn't have a Grais jacket you weren't anybody! I wore that jacket all through high school and would still have it had my mother not thrown it away after I got married. I eloped with someone she didn't approve of (wrong religion) and she was pi**ed, so she punished me. All my original Elvis records, vintage records from WWII that I collected, and my comic book collection that was started when I was 5 went the way of the jacket!
Deletei am curious how was Grais a Chicago thing...did you guys all buy them in high school? Do you have a photo of you in your jacket?
ReplyDeleteMy great uncle was Rubin Grais. He was married to my grandmother's youngest sister. His biggest contract was Chicago PD. I have very fond memories of going to the factory and getting a jacket, every year.
DeleteMy great uncle was Rubin Grais. He was married to my grandmother's youngest sister. His biggest contract was Chicago PD. I have very fond memories of going to the factory and getting a jacket, every year.
DeleteI had a Grais brown horse hide leather aviator style jacket bought at Jack's Men's Store on Cermak Rd. in Cicero, IL. in 1955 when I was attending Lincoln Junior High in Berwyn, IL.
ReplyDeleteI passed it on to a cousin in Waukegan. I think he passed ot on to two of his younger brothers.
its amazing how these jackets live on...that is why I designed the jackets in the vintage vein of leather jackets!
ReplyDeleteRubin was my great uncle. My great grandfather Itzak was a cobbler in Odessa and Rubin and and then later my grandfather Nate went into jacket/coat making. Rubin did a lot of all black leather and brown leather creations. Many would be considered motor cycle jackets. He worked from a large factory. My grandfather did lettermen jackets from a small shop either behind his home or inside his home.
ReplyDeleteRubin was my great uncle. He came to the US with my great grandfather Itzak who was a cobbler in Odessa. First Rubin and then my grandfather Nate went into jacket/coat making. Rubin did the spectacular all leather coats. My grandfather did letterman jackets.
ReplyDeleteEric, Rubin was also my great uncle. Are you a Grais or a Cohn?
DeleteMy father had a Grais aviator style jacket when my mother met him in 1951. I wore it in high school and then added patches to it that were from a friend who was a Navy pilot. I am now 44 years old and I wore the jacket out running errands last weekend. People stopped me in every store to ask where I got my jacket and tell me how awesome it is.
ReplyDelete