Deadstock Gooseberry Lay & Co. No. 9 | Cinch-back, single-line selvedge, and zero info online. Any historians in here?
recently took a gamble and scored these online. They are a pair of Gooseberry Lay & Co. No. 9, and they arrived basically untouched—super rigid, New Old Stock condition.
They had a bit of a vintage storage smell, so I just gave them a gentle cold water and vinegar soak with a quick machine spin to freshen them up. The soak water came out pretty nasty, but the indigo held up perfectly and the fabric is still incredibly hairy and dense.
A few standout details:
Full 1920s hardware (cinch-back and suspender buttons).
Massive 43-inch outseam (huge win for my height to get a heavy double-cuff).
Fabric feels like a solid 14oz+ with a really nice, uneven vintage texture.
One really interesting construction detail: The selvedge finish uses a single-line stitch as opposed to the normal double-line stitch you usually see.
My main reason for posting: I need some history on these!
I read somewhere that Gooseberry Lay & Co. was actually a small Swedish brand making high-end American workwear repros, but they are completely defunct now and info is almost impossible to find online.
Does anyone here have experience with this brand?
Where were they sourcing their denim from?
What exact years were these in production?
Any idea what the original retail price was on a pair like this?
I’m stoked to finally get some wear on them, but I'd love to know the actual history behind the denim. Any info from the archivists here would be hugely appreciated!