Chaqueta de vuelo A-2 de la Segunda Guerra Mundial de Poughkeepsie Leather Coat Co., piel de caballo, pin-up «Queen Of Tarts» barnizado, talla 40 de EE. UU.

A horsehide A-2 by Poughkeepsie Leather Coat Co. whose back carries “Queen Of Tarts”, a reclining pin-up framed by playing cards above a row of bomb tallies. Sealed beneath varnish, the painting has kept its color while a fine crack network maps the decades across it, a rare meeting of aviation garment and fine art practice.

The Piece

Produced by Poughkeepsie Leather Coat Co., this A-2 is painted across the back with a large-scale composition titled “Queen Of Tarts”: a reclining blonde pin-up executed at a professional level, layered playing cards carrying the Queen motif, bold serif lettering in red outlined in gold, and a lower register of evenly spaced bomb tally symbols. The paint was sealed with a varnish coating, an extremely rare treatment that preserved the original pigment saturation while producing an extensive crack network across the image, a layered patina akin to an aged fine art surface.

Most painted A-2 jackets deteriorate in one direction, through pigment loss, fading and abrasion. This one was sealed, which turned a temporary expression into a protected artifact, at the cost of cracking and a fractured visual continuity. That tension between preservation and fracture defines the piece. The crack network behaves like dried lacquer, an aged oil painting or a ceramic glaze: time mapped across a protective layer, with the image still alive beneath.

The figure shows confident line control, correct anatomical proportion, layered shading and controlled color blocking. This is not casual barracks work but trained execution, likely by an artistically skilled crew member or a commission within the unit. The title draws on the familiar Queen of Hearts and her tarts, the line Lewis Carroll made famous, and on the card symbolism of the composition, working at once as playful literary reference and as a coded personal or squad-level identity marker. The orderly bomb tally anchors the composition and gives it weight.

The leather supports the painting. Horsehide's tight grain holds pigment, its density prevents excessive distortion, and its aging complements the crack network: the correct substrate for this kind of work. Poughkeepsie is a quiet but serious maker of legitimate WWII production with correct patterning, which means the base jacket is already strong before the artwork is considered. The piece will speak to high-end aviation collectors, specialists in WWII art garments, museums and institutions, and advanced private archives.

Details

• Maker: Poughkeepsie Leather Coat Co.
• Model: A-2 flight jacket (back-painted pin-up variant)
• Origin: United States Army Air Forces
• Era: WWII (early–mid 1940s)
• Material: Horsehide leather, seal brown with slightly red-toned aging; dense grain, historically correct for A-2 contract production
• Hardware: Talon zipper (period replacement, c. 1950s), fully operational
• Construction: Snap-down collar; front patch pockets; original knit waistband; knit cuffs; full lining
• Back Artwork: “Queen Of Tarts”: reclining blonde pin-up; layered playing cards (Queen motif); bold serif lettering, red with gold outline; lower bomb tally row; varnish-coated paint layer
• Size: US 40
• Measurements: Shoulder 44 cm · Chest 50 cm · Sleeve 62 cm (from shoulder) / 48 cm (from underarm) · Length 61 cm

Condition

• A museum-grade artifact with wear-consistent integrity: the horsehide remains flexible, not brittle, with grain intact and structural continuity.
• Localized wear at the collar and sleeve seam stress points, and a minor cut along a sleeve seam; stress is localized rather than systemic.
• Artwork heavily cracked through varnish aging; the varnish is intact across the majority, the crack network is stable and not flaking aggressively, and the pigment remains intact beneath.
• Lining original but damaged, with tears at the neck and underarm zones.
• Knit waistband original and stable with wear; cuffs aged and heavily damaged.
• Label partially detached but present.

Authenticity & Care

WWII A-2 construction, Poughkeepsie manufacture, an authentic aging pattern and consistent varnish preservation support the attribution. The artist and the unit have not been identified. Every piece is examined and documented in Japan before dispatch and is offered with the Japonista authenticity guarantee.

Delivery from Japan

Packed by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Returns follow our published policy.

Collectors also search: poughkeepsie a-2 flight jacket · queen of tarts a-2 jacket · wwii painted a-2 pin-up · horsehide a-2 jacket 40 · ww2 nose art leather jacket · bomb tally painted flight jacket · varnished painted a-2