1874 pattern mess kit items

[The Fuse]

Hi all...Merry Christmas,

 

I found these items at an estate sale in an old box. I did some research and based on all I've found the military mess stuff was made sometime in the 1880's - 1890's. I have two questions for the group.

 

#1. I know folding cups were often carried by soldiers. The folding cup I got has no markings and is aluminum. Not sure if this folding cup is of the same period. Were aluminum folding cups available during the late 1800's?

 

#2. The US marking on the tin cup is smaller than I've seen on any other. The letters are 1/8" wide and a bit less than 1/4" high. Stamp appears uneven....like it was hand stamped. What do you folks think?

 

Thanks Stuart

[Kration]

Hi all...Merry Christmas,

 

I found these items at an estate sale in an old box. I did some research and based on all I've found the military mess stuff was made sometime in the 1880's - 1890's. I have two questions for the group.

 

#1. I know folding cups were often carried by soldiers. The folding cup I got has no markings and is aluminum. Not sure if this folding cup is of the same period. Were aluminum folding cups available during the late 1800's?

 

#2. The US marking on the tin cup is smaller than I've seen on any other. The letters are 1/8" wide and a bit less than 1/4" high. Stamp appears uneven....like it was hand stamped. What do you folks think?

 

Thanks Stuart

 

Stuart,

I've seen lots of those small cups that collapse into itself.. tough to really pin down the dates but I have seen several that were in pre WW1 groupings.

The U.S. marked tin cup looks to be CW or early post CW and seems to have been unit stamped with the US.. Looks like a nice cup

The real jewel in this grouping though is the SPOON.. Very nice M-1874 spoon (It's probably U.S. marked) They have been tough to find in the past... several have been offered over the last few months via Ebay

 

I'm enclosing a link showing some M-1874 mess gear and related cup types from a posting I made some months ago.

Kration

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...=126810&hl=

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...=126810&hl=

[The Fuse]

Stuart,

I've seen lots of those small cups that collapse into itself.. tough to really pin down the dates but I have seen several that were in pre WW1 groupings.

The U.S. marked tin cup looks to be CW or early post CW and seems to have been unit stamped with the US.. Looks like a nice cup

The real jewel in this grouping though is the SPOON.. Very nice M-1874 spoon (It's probably U.S. marked) They have been tough to find in the past... several have been offered over the last few months via Ebay

 

I'm enclosing a link showing some M-1874 mess gear and related cup types from a posting I made some months ago.

Kration

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...=126810&hl=

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...=126810&hl=

Hey Kration,

The spoon is marked US. Your insight on the cup, being a possible pre 1874 piece, is interesting. I assumed that all this mess kit stuff was M-1874 because it came together and it wasn't part of a collection.

 

Thanks, Stuart