How in good golly did the prices get so high on these things over the past three years?

Not sure...  It definitely has gone up though.  Hard to find one from an "approved vendor" under $90.  Jarnagin is still about $75 dollars.  When I started about 3 years ago Jarnagin was the got place for the rubber blanket.  Don't know now...

JF

Jarny's is where I got my last one.  A bit pricey, but most authentic.  It's first event was Into the Wilderness and it was baptized with a million little thorn pricks because I horse collered it.

The built-up roofing industry has gone to a different type of membrane fabric. That is the biggest reason, and one of the reasons you can't get it wholesale through the usual mail order Amish suppliers on a regular basis, as was the case just a few years ago.

Until Mike Woshner started making gum blankets recently (available through Joe Hoffman t/a Skilletlicker, Chris Utley t/a Carter & Jasper) , the other sources were Rademacher t/a Artifakes, Chris Daley's kits (yes, it has been a while) and a few individuals who produced one or two here and there on a very limited basis. The Jarny's were one of those default items, and were a heck of a lot better than the fall-apart gum blankets available on Skinner Row. Even the best of the best gum blankets are generally missing a couple of details here and there.