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ID'ed specimen in my "Blood Chits" collection.


BlueBookGuy
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BlueBookGuy

A couple more Chits.

This is an all-leather specimen, of course local-made by artisans possibly somewhere in India:

post-151851-0-42099900-1394904927.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

This not a Chit actually, rather a super-sized CBI patch made of leather, and intended to be sewn on a garment's back (most usually the A-2 flight jacket).

Extra-finely cut and sewn together, showing very tiny stitching and a great eye for sun and star's proportions.

 

Almost new in this instance:

post-151851-0-21986500-1394905199.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

A curiosity about this patch,

rather oddly, the striped part of the CBI shield has a full-red field on wich white stripes have been added.

More usually for a leather-made Chit whatever the type, background is preferred to be white and the red stripes will be sewn on.

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BlueBookGuy

Here, a (much smaller) CBI patch being part of a multi-piece Blood Chit.

White is the backing color, red is applied on:

 

post-151851-0-35789000-1394926265.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

Areas of relative cleaner white leather, immediately along the stitched piece's rims are a good indication the sewn-on shields, flags etc. are contemporary to the main Chit's body.

 

Note how both inside and outside the shield, the soiled zone stops before the latter's thickness - contact with other surfaces ('chute back pad, seat backrest, inside pockets of a garment, touching sweat and dust, touching dozens hands, etc.) cannot be the same exactly against edges of a sewn-on piece as is in more "open" areas.

Should the pieces have been subsequently added by any collector, they would be sewn to a evenly soiled field - thus, having their edges not surrounded by that narrow less soiled zone.

 

Franco.

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BlueBookGuy

It must be noted: certain particular effects typical of many decades of time and/or some usage of Blood Chit, are top difficult to reproduce even by the most skilled fakers. Following is a small list of details from original specimens in my collection.

 

Here one of two silk, embroidered Chits - the one so-called "quilted" in common parlance among collectors (actually not so, despite a visual resemblance as for the Chinese flag).

The whole flag is 100% hand-embroidered with silk threads on a white field, by now yellowished in most of area. Wear, rubbing, dryness, soiling, maybe sweat, all concur in making some effects almost impossible to duplicate.

A piece of flag:

 

post-151851-0-13470500-1395171470.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

Same Chit as above, a portion of text and flag.

The field of text (once truly a nice white) has somehow yellowished, and here and there small zones are of loose (or even missing) silk threads:

 

post-151851-0-59795700-1395171657.jpg

 

 

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BlueBookGuy

Here, the true Chinese-made Blood Chit, in official form by the Kuomintang government.

Please note the partially faded s/n, the stitching all around the rims (silk front and cotton backing), the aged silk and printed text in a way too much difficult to be reproduced:

 

(continues..)

 

post-151851-0-20737300-1395172042.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

Again the same Chit as above - here is detailed the "May Gu-o" characters in hand-added purple ink, at bottom of 2nd column from right-side of text.

"May Gu-o" could stand for "American":

 

(continues,,)

post-151851-0-34040000-1395172226.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

Needless to say, a not-faded "May Gu-o" in nice purple ink would be for me a top finding (and presumably, the whole Chit would be so :love: :love: :love: ).

More than a dream if thinking to do so here within Italy - at least, for me until now.

 

(continues..)

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BlueBookGuy

Again the same Chit (s/n #67867), detail of the printed flag of Nationalist China.

Rather seldom was the blue portion exactly aligned to the red one - at least on one side, often even on both sides. Small printing issues and "errors" (if we're willing to call them this way) are fascinating for me. When added to a slight worn (but not worn out) look and a aged patina of soiling from use and the past decades, this combines in making a 100% worthy Blood Chit in my opinion.

 

(continues,,) thanks for watching, Franco.

 

post-151851-0-70315900-1395172757.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

One more note,

colors themselves were not waterproofed in the pattern Chits illustrated above - this is the Chinese-made, two-layers Chit.

Differing in this respect from the US-made, rayon Chits (single layer) the Chinese-made ones featured red, blue and black inks wich often stained and "bled" if fabric became damp - the black of text especially so.

 

In some Chits wich were kept always folded and pressed, blak characters of text often show up as more or less evidently transferred to the other half of layer - of course, in a "mirrored" way.

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BlueBookGuy

By contrast, the US-made Chits (pretty much replicating the Chinese-made pattern) like the following one, were made of a single layer of rayon fabric on wich colors and text themselves were perhaps more stable and durable.

This the 1st variation of the US-made Chit, very faithful to the Chinese-made one:

 

post-151851-0-02819600-1395231017.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

Here a very enlarged detail of the s/n and a portion of the "chop" - noteworthy the type of new, rayon-based fabric (please note the whole item is almost in new conditions):

 

post-151851-0-34429300-1395231204.jpg

 

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BlueBookGuy

By contrast, more or less the same small area in the true Chinese-made Blood Chit of about springtime 1943.

The much seldom found s/n printed in vertical (instead of horizontal) position is a great feature for a collector - in this instance partially faded as are some other characters as well, in the whole text.

This early enough Blood Chit, must have seen some action when sewn to a flight garment who knows where and aboard of wich airplane:

 

post-151851-0-52140300-1395231513.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

Needless to say, it would be 1,000% too much optimistic to think about the no. 1 finding for a Blood Chit collector: this is, the very early variant of the Chinese-made and -issued Chit but, having the "Chop" seal centered in mid of the text, instead of toward the left-side border.

 

This particular pattern originated from the (currently hyper-rare) original Chits issued in very late 1941 - early 1942, to the P-40 pilots of A.V.G. the "Flying Tigers", and (through an unknown quantity of pieces) kept that unique feature of the centered "chop".

Despite not having any truly reliable sources about this particular detail, it is believed the early post-AVG pattern could have been still issued to some US airmen within the newly constituted C.A.T.F. subsequently evolved into the 14th Air Force based in China.

 

Franco.

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BlueBookGuy

Eventually, a direct comparison between my two Chinese-made Chits of the "classic" pattern with two layers (silk/cotton)m sewn together.

At right the one from about springtime 1943 (and a rare vertically-printed s/n), at left one from late wartime (anyway, perhaps not before late summer 1944).

Main differences:

 

* Different shaped "rays" of Chinese sun, and different size of sun itself in respect to the blue field;

* Different third character down the first column from right-side of text.

 

will post an enlarged detail of the latter noteworthy difference. (continues..)

 

post-151851-0-24275500-1395319021.jpg

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littlebuddy

This, rather an ID "tool" than a true Blood Chit.

US Flag, as removed from a flight jacket. Conditions more than excellent. Very finely made using thin leather.

 

attachicon.gif005.JPG

 

Could I see a photo of the reverse of this one please ? as I have a very similar one myself

 

LB

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BlueBookGuy

No problem Littlebuddy, this the reverse of US leather flag (color is actually a more whitish than it looks here, I preferred not to use flash for stitchings' benefit):

 

post-151851-0-75140500-1395340413.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

As said previously, this the enlarged detail from direct comparison of those different text characters. Both Chits are the "classic" pattern made and issued by govt. of Nationalist China, thus two layers sewn together.

At left the early subvariant, in this case a specimen perhaps from springtime 1943. At right, a late wartime subvariant (not before late summer 1944):

 

post-151851-0-10184600-1395341819.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

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