The Chris Craft Shop Coat. I Need Help.
The Chris Craft Shop Coat
First off, I do need all sorts of help. But I am reaching out in this one specific case. As you may already know, I purchased this Shop Coat at lake Dora from a fellow WoodyBoater. The story is it was a from a former factory worker at Chris Craft. But it is also possible that it may have been from a Marina or other places. These coats were available with what ever logo you wanted.
The material used in the Chain stitching is an older softer material than available today.
I did some quick research and more importantly called my son Ham at LOWTIMERS who is an expert on this kinda stuff. Like when did you learn all that stuff. Yes the parents are always the last to know. Anyway I digress from my fatherly pride.
The coat is dated from the late 40’s to early 50’s based on the material used. A herring bone pattern
Herring bone material and chain stich
GEO Master
Catalog from that time period. No zippers, but the same research for sure.
Further more the tag on it is a company that made these in that time period. They are in Indiana and many of these companies existed in local areas. So Michigan is not all that bit of a stretch, or maybe the boat co he worked for was in the Chicago, or Indiana area. See name? This is a clue? Anyone heard,,,,herd.. of this company?
Riveted in place
The Buttons. They are special buttons used right after the way to save on materials. These are a def time stamp
The logo
And the most obvious tell is the logo. This is the logo I call the Right After The War Logo. Not the pre war or post war logo we are all used to seeing.1948-1952 
So what do I need help with? Any photos of workers in these coats? Any info on the Giel Boat Co? My plan is to frame it BTW.
Love the pocket on pocket design
She is now part of a collection of fun stuff to wear. The one on the left is a reproduction I wear and dont care if its ruined. But the others are real.
And here is a story on the logos that I referenced in the story. HERE
If that coat could talk.
IMHO first step would be to determine if the wear and tear, staining etc on logo is consistent with that in the coveralls.
Maybe DNA testing on those red colored stains. Bilge paint, bottom paint, boot stripe paint or… blood? A CSI episode? (cue the “dun-dun”).
If you’re testing stains I would think twice before testing that brown stain on the backside, just sayin’.
Great Uncle Morty used to wear that shop coat every day, including his last day of work. Seems he has a little drinking problem and combined with the paint fumes was making many mistakes, costing the company too much money repainting boats. I was a wee lad and loved listening to his stories and remember him telling me he got fired because he painted a Cobra red. I didn’t believe him because everyone knows all Cobras are gold, but there’s the undeniable proof right there on his shop coat.
You should wear that to Algonac in June!
There are some other big differences in the logos from the previous article that I noticed first. Namely the base of the letter ‘i’ being open or more compact. Another is the letter ‘s’ being opened or closed at the bottom. Unfortunately, some of the attachments of photos in the comments are not showing up for me in the 2019 tirade.
For some reason this is pretty interesting to me due to my ADD getting so many rat holes to pursue!
Giel doesn’t make sense
Probably an acronym for something for space
Great Lakes blah blah or something
Mike K
I was thinking it may be the owner of the jacket and he put Boat Co on the end to be funny. Coincidentally, Geil translated to ‘hot or horny’ in German.
Giel is a family name and according to Ancestry.com there were a few family members in Detroit and Flint by that name.
Ligonier is not far from where I live. It is in Amish country, not much for industry there. I have not ever heard or seen the company name before.
It sure is cool though!
Glad you like it, i think it went to the right caretaker. Best Chris-Craft piece i ever had. All the years i had it never noticed that double pocket.
Thomas you are the best. And its being well loved. maybe too much. Like stalking love.. Smothering..