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


BlueBookGuy
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hello Thomas,

 

have seen your post right now. It looks to me to be wartime original - from the photo apparently not the least trace of soil or handling, however this could mean it simply was purchased as a artisan-made souvenir, never carried in any operational environment, and never again moved around once gone home thogether with some veteran. No stitching holes as well so it never went onto any clothing.

The black ink somehow faded without gong to bleed onto the surrounding white leather, nothing weird though. Just my opinion, but it looks good.

Franco.

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hello Thomas,

 

have seen your post right now. It looks to me to be wartime original - from the photo apparently not the least trace of soil or handling, however this could mean it simply was purchased as a artisan-made souvenir, never carried in any operational environment, and never again moved around once gone home thogether with some veteran. No stitching holes as well so it never went onto any clothing.

The black ink somehow faded without gong to bleed onto the surrounding white leather, nothing weird though. Just my opinion, but it looks good.

Franco.

 

Agree. Likely from the Karachi area. The Chinese characters are stamped as that was not the local language. Souvenir chits & other insignia were common in the local bazaars as souvenirs.

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Thanks for the posts as they were most appreciated and glad to hear that you both think this is good. Background on where it came from as well as the fact that it was most likely a souvenir is good to know as well and based on the condition and lack of stitch holes I have to agree that it wasn't use. Thanks again and glad that I replied to this so that you would see it.

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  • 2 months later...

I see others are posting their chits on this excellent thread. Here is mine, removed from a jacket. I wish I knew the history behind it.

 

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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I presume it is theater worn and not a souvenir since it was clearly removed from a jacket or other article of clothing. It is not personalized and bears the standard message. No chop or serial number, however.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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  • 8 months later...
josesharontraders

Wow just saw this. Too bad less time with my head up and down water because of work. Thanks for sharing beautiful collection--it can be felt you really love your curating. Thanks again.

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  • 1 month later...
Gerradtgrant

Looking for opinions on this cbi blood chit. I am thinking it goes with a cbi medal grouping I recently acquired. I know zero about these. Is this an original war time example. Approximate time frame? Thank you for any help. Posted Image

 

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

 

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josesharontraders

This, one of the rarest Blood Chits of the Chinese-made (by the Kuomingtan Govt.) pattern, say, the classic pattern derived from the very first series issued to 1st AVG and subsequently issued to US airmen through 1943-44.

Front layer silk, sewn to a cotton backing. Flag and text are printed.

 

This well used Chit has the rare vertical s/n along the left-side border, instead of the horizontal-printed one. The somehow faded s/n itself is low indeed - 2639 :love: - and could be tracked down to early springtime 1943 in my opinion.

Blood (...mine, of course) and tears to get this. Too much overtime work, and money put aside for this... but must admit I fell in love at first sight.

 

attachicon.gif009.JPG

 

Hi Franco/BBG,

 

Sorry to come in so late. Haven't been active for almost 4 years but my keen spirit for the CNAC-AVG-CATF period sometimes comes back. Over the years some friends have sent over to Southern Spain, bits and pieces to my collection, that's been disorganised of late. Was reviewing your wonderful site & enjoying your collector's passion for the explication of the differences between one bloodchit of the period over another in a parallel series, I wanted to add my opinion that in the run of things, you can also consider blood chits from foreign pilots who flew for CNAC starting in 1933 when technically there was an American takeover, and the mukden incident already turned into a bloody china-japan empire war. So the chits would have been issued to those pilots PLUS separately to the Soviet Volunteer Group who came in late 1937 to the fall of 1939 flying SB2 & SB3 bombers & the saboteur Italians in 1936--who were flying the Savoia-Marchetti planes. I found a very early CNAC blood chit for Capt. James Kirk (I know...sounds so funny...hahahahah) who flew in the early 30s; and I'm still looking in the boxes for the bloodchit from a Soviet Volunteer Group dude, also of the same early pattern for foreign pilots.

 

Anyway for your further research; for here, in this material you are the foremost expert. At the time bloodchit 058 was issued probably sometime in 1936 or '37, Chennault himself had just been recruited by the Chinese Army Air Force and had his own bloodchit flying around reconnoitring in his Curtiss-Wright Hawk type of fighter. Pleased to help your research.

 

Picture of early CNAC bloodchit below:

post-160067-0-41940700-1567277067_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 month later...
josesharontraders

Looking for opinions on this cbi blood chit. I am thinking it goes with a cbi medal grouping I recently acquired. I know zero about these. Is this an original war time example. Approximate time frame? Thank you for any help. 79e5a1a13a60d061f44be1928887ed32.jpg

 

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

DEAR ALL ESTEEMED FELLOW COLLECTORS, THIS IS NOTICE I PAID FOR THIS BLOODCHIT AND THE ATTRIBUTED MEDALS & DID EXTENSIVE RESEARCH FOR the above to benefit this seller named Gerrad T. Grant or by his email aka. ¨Happy Dangerfield¨ last Sept 20, 2019.

 

I then left for travel work from Europe to HKG, and thereabouts. Now I have returned--and with almost 30 emails for him to send to either California or DHL my Spain address at my cost, he has made so many disingenuous excuses--HE HAS FAILED TO DELIVER HIS PROMISES NOR DOES HE CORRESPOND BACK TO ME IF HE WILL EVER SHIP THIS MILITARIA ARTIFACTS FOR WHICH I PAID $1,500.

 

PLEASE BE CAREFUL BUYING THIS FROM HIM AGAIN AS THAT IS AN ACT OF A CRIME UNDER ¨FENCING LAWS¨.

 

Franco, yo pido vuestra disculpa--i ask humbly for your pardon--that I might have messed up the flow of your wonderful, wonderful blog on CBI bloodchit analysis, which you so expertly and lovingly have shared with us.

 

I shall make it up to you in a few days if you go to my site, as I have been corresponding with AVG Flying Tigers' most famous authority, outside the museum Registrar/Curators where AVG & Flying Tigers CBI material are displayed. Good and marvellous discoveries from that ongoing conversation.

 

I just wanted to protect all unwitting buyers from Mr. Gerrad T. Grant/Happy Dangerfield selling things and not delivering. I should never have agreed to pay him by PayPal and used my usual bank wire transfer, no matter how small. He only appeared eager to follow up and then became elusive once ¨Paypal-led¨.

 

 

Un abrazo, Chief Franco.

 

 

jose

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josesharontraders

Thanx for the pics, an interesting Chit indeed.

It's amazing to see through the time how virtually endless the sub-variations were.

Franco,

 

Please look at you final blog. I'm sorry for interposing in your flow of highly educational ways to approach the study of bloodchits.

 

Most sincerely, my bro.

 

Jose

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Thanx Jose, no problems at all - you've 'messed up' nothing, rather a Thank You very much for your post and notice.

To next one about this very interesting topic. Best regards - Franco.

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josesharontraders

Franco, my bro:

 

Reparations. Out of sensitivity to get back the focus on your forum, here are pointers from Author Daniel Ford, the foremost non-museum expert today on the Flying Tigers AVG, and related history of the CATF & 14th Airforce. I promised Mr. Ford to advertise his updated 2017 novel , Flying Tigers--Claire Chennault And His American Volunteers, 1941-1942. (2nd image)

 

Best Updated Research From Interviews of AVG staff in Taiwan, Japan & China Through 2017. His book incorporates more than 30 diaries, personal family memorabilia, museum repository notes & discussion, books and auto-biographies made by various AVG, more than all the Flying Tigers books & museum research--about 12--I had read in the last 3 years away from the USMilitariaForum show-and-tell hobby.

 

So firstly his book FOR EVERYONE BEING SERIOUS ON AVG, CATF, IATF, SVG, CNAC, 14TH AIRFORCE, CBI artefact or history collections to buy, please. Mr. Ford deserves it.

 

 

An Authentic AVG Flying Tigers Bloodchit. I just got back to Europe yesterday from 3 weeks stint in Asia. I also sold a plane to an old friend and good client in Hong Kong. While there twice at end September and just 3 days ago, as it is a freeport, I happily took delivery of this wonderful bloodchit & other items owned by an AVG Flying Tigers pilot (1st image):

 

 

Franco Our BlueBookGuy, Expert on CBI Bloochits. You know, my friend, you sound like an Italian customs guy I get scared of when my guys are to land a plane to deliver to a client. They always check the blue book value and charge all of us high import taxes. hahahhehehehehah...Nevertheless, you have the best CBI bloodchit site. Also, to share and support your wonderful forum here are foremost author Mr. Dan Ford's related discussion about the bloodchit with me that provides all our fellow collectors tools how to fathom bloodchit authenticity, period dating (AVG, CNAC, CATF, 14th Airforce, India Air Task Force or even Soviet Volunteer Group, or overlap?). I must say, I bow to Mr. Ford's research on bloodchits. Will discuss his book's conclusions on the AVG in my forum later. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you, Franco, for allowing on your site, amigo mío. More readers to your forum the greater the liquidity value of authentic bloodchits, yes?

 

 

Jose

 

 

PS. BELOW Notes on bloodchit via back and forth mail with Author Daniel Ford:

 

 

(3 October 2019, 18:50 Hong Kong time) Jose:

A bloodchit within the known 135-400 series, owned by an AVG. I think starting 450 onwards some CATF, 23rd Fighter Groupies had some + the early forerunner pilots from the Assam airfields of British India, part of the early India Air Task Force doing the hump, before they morphed into the AT Command. Please kindly note the CNAC were issued 001 to 130 or so. The Soviet volunteer group (1936-1939) also took in some of the latter series, which I’ll share at a later date:

 

 

 

(3 October 2019, 20:51 Hong Kong time) Author Daniel Ford:

Wow, I love that driver's license! I suppose Ed Janski was heading up the Burma Road to Kunming. I had no idea they were legalistic enough to get licensed!

May I use that on my website in November?



Yes, that's a nice blood chit, congratulations. According to my website, which is based on Last Hope: The Blood Chit Story by Baldwin and McGarry, 0467 belonged to Jasper Harrington, so yours very likely was AVG as well. Below is what the website says. Note the bit about two/three characters above/below the numbers. Yours and Harrington's both have just two characters, meaning they were the early series. However, there's an interesting parenthesis on yours that does not appear on Harrington's, and it was obviously done with a different brush. I'll try to get a translation. (I have a translation of the rest of it.)



Fascinating!

This posting about the AVG blood chits appeared on the newsgroup rec.aviation.military in 2003, signed by the late Richard Peacher:

"I maintain that there were two major printings of AVG chits with some slight material differences possible. AVG chits "always" have the red stamp from the Nationalist goverment's Commission for Aeronautical Affairs centered (or close) on the white field in the middle of the writing, no exceptions. Later chits have them on the left side.

"The earliest AVG chits had only two small Chinese characters above and below the stamped serial number....

"I believe a second printing was done with the addition of 1 more small Chinese character above the number. I believe this printing in anticipation of the SAVG (Second AVG) numbered into the two thousands, most likely since this was to include bombers and crews. Chennault kept or held back the first 200 [blood chits] including #0001 which went on his jacket. I know for a fact that the first 200 were brought back to the states by him. In the early 60's they were donated by his widow to the 14th A.F. Association and sold to raise funds for them at $60.00 each. These are the most common of AVG chits to come across, if you can call any of them common.

"Many AVG members seemed to have also been issued these chits but all were over #200. There must have been a number left over as they were issued also to the early members of The China Air Task Force and beyond, most likely until supplies were exhausted. I have one in the 2000's that is the second printing. All chits I have seen come from AVG members or are still held by them fall into one of these two categories."

[if Mr Peacher was correct, the numbers 0001 to 0400 are duplicated in the second printing, so that some other airman must have worn 0467, though with three characters instead of the two shown on Harrington's patch.]

 

 

 

(4 October 2019 18:48 Hong Kong time) Jose:

Hi Mr. Ford,

Good evening from Hong Kong.
Yes, sure you can use my license. Will send to you the rest of the booklet as soon as I get out of this place in the morning. Was coming to the hotel from work and all the shops started shuttering at 5pm because of the demonstrators. So, gotta get out tomorrow.
Thank you very very much for the deep recall and knowledge of correct blood chit traceback considerations. Will get back into this in the next place, Sir. Goodnight.
Sincerely,
jose

 

 

 

 

(4 October 2019 18:58 Hong Kong time) Author Daniel Ford:

Don't wear a mask!



On 10/4/2019 12:48 PM, Personal Hobby wrote:

all the shops started shuttering at 5pm because of the demonstrators

 

 

(7 October 2019 03:22 Manila time) Jose:

Buenos dias/Good morning.

Thanks for this update down to the rigorous detail on the blood chit research. Your expert translation is quite reassuring for the recent blood chit I have. When I get back to Spain will rummage the vault and boxes for all the blood chits below 500 + a Soviet Volunteer Group blood chit I got some 3 years ago.
Oh by the way here is a link to Mrs. Rossi’s FT Association site and the Congress Bill proposed for the AVG Flying Tigers: https://flyingtigersavg.com/avg-flying-tigers-bill-of-rights/
Last strip from the past, I think the group of Ed Janski was mentioned with notoriety in the CBI Roundup. As the ground crew went across to the Chinese side of the border, one of the AVG had brought along his bride-to-be and part of her fam, just having met the girl in another Burmese town along the way of their retreat to Kunming. They asked the village head in the nearest safe town on the border to marry the lovestruck AVGer & the young lady. Aggressive and exceptional chutzpah of these men, no?
Fyi, Sir.

post-160067-0-85212100-1570981028.jpg

post-160067-0-95054500-1570982285_thumb.jpg

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josesharontraders

Franco,

 

I was on a 1.5 day visit to a Pacific area right after Hong Kong & Flying Tigers AVG Author Daniel Ford sent the translation to the parenthesis from the Chinese brush:

 

 

 

6 October 19:50 Guam time:

 

My gosh, that's a whole encyclopedia! Many thanks.


I heard in the same mail from Difei, who says that the two characters added in what look like parentheses mean -- AMERICAN!

So it now reads This foreign person (American) has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him medical care

 

 

Fyi, my bro.

 

Jose

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josesharontraders

Ok, that's it. Now can have Bloody Mary with Worcester and pass out from jet lag. Hope all goes well with your wonderful forum. Good evening from Southern Spain.

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  • 2 weeks later...
josesharontraders

DEAR ALL ESTEEMED FELLOW COLLECTORS, THIS IS NOTICE I PAID FOR THIS BLOODCHIT AND THE ATTRIBUTED MEDALS & DID EXTENSIVE RESEARCH FOR the above to benefit this seller named Gerrad T. Grant or by his email aka. ¨Happy Dangerfield¨ last Sept 20, 2019.

 

I then left for travel work from Europe to HKG, and thereabouts. Now I have returned--and with almost 30 emails for him to send to either California or DHL my Spain address at my cost, he has made so many disingenuous excuses--HE HAS FAILED TO DELIVER HIS PROMISES NOR DOES HE CORRESPOND BACK TO ME IF HE WILL EVER SHIP THIS MILITARIA ARTIFACTS FOR WHICH I PAID $1,500.

 

PLEASE BE CAREFUL BUYING THIS FROM HIM AGAIN AS THAT IS AN ACT OF A CRIME UNDER ¨FENCING LAWS¨.

 

Franco, yo pido vuestra disculpa--i ask humbly for your pardon--that I might have messed up the flow of your wonderful, wonderful blog on CBI bloodchit analysis, which you so expertly and lovingly have shared with us.

 

I shall make it up to you in a few days if you go to my site, as I have been corresponding with AVG Flying Tigers' most famous authority, outside the museum Registrar/Curators where AVG & Flying Tigers CBI material are displayed. Good and marvellous discoveries from that ongoing conversation.

 

I just wanted to protect all unwitting buyers from Mr. Gerrad T. Grant/Happy Dangerfield selling things and not delivering. I should never have agreed to pay him by PayPal and used my usual bank wire transfer, no matter how small. He only appeared eager to follow up and then became elusive once ¨Paypal-led¨.

 

 

Un abrazo, Chief Franco.

 

 

jose

Dear All fellow US Militaria collectors,

 

Settlement. Gerrad Grant/Happy Dangerfield, the seller of above 2nd Series post AVG, CATF period bloodchit & related medals of ¨over the hump¨ USAAF pilot soldier Katzmann, has finally delivered these collector's effects, paid for a month ago, to my place in Southern Spain--thanks also to the follow up suasion of VintageProductions USMilitariaForum principal Bob Chatt & finally Gerrad's own re-awakened initiative to complete the buy-sell transaction.

 

This Dealer's Abilities. Mr. Gerrad Grant & I have communicated after confirmation of receipt of these excellent artifacts, authenticity of which now more than offsets the long delay. I am removing myself from interposing any objections to fellow USMilitariaForum collector/dealer GerradGrant's pursuit of his business & now happily endorse him for transactions of ably & efficiently delivering his goods within the domestic USA & Canada, but only caution he would use, not USPS, but other couriers like DHL, SEUR, or Fedex if you were to ask him to deliver your ¨buys¨ to another country abroad. Just this latter qualification.

 

Asking me if I'd deal with him after a curing period?: my answer would be a big ¨yes¨ because he is an excellent hound dog in finding quality antique militaria.

 

My last few cents words to my fellow collectors. Thanks for the trouble of reading my inputs & thank you, friend ¨bluebookguy¨ Franco--author of this bloodchit forum--for your tolerance.

 

jose

 

 

 

ps. Franco, jefe/chief, ​I'll make it up to you again when I come out with a precise update of dating period AVG Flying Tigers, CATF, India Air Task Force overlap, CNAC & Soviet VG, blood chits study-for which I am currently charming-haggling consolidated researcher Flying Tigers author Daniel Ford. hahahahaha.

 

 

Un Abrazo/Big Embrace, Chief Franco.

 

jose

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vintageproductions

Thanks have had two very long convoluted messages today from Jose, I guess saying everything is good now.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I tried to convince "them" that I needed to keep my blood chit from Nam, my arguments were not acceptable. The only thing I was able to do was to carry it with me to Ubon as I was flying with the 16th SOS.

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  • 7 months later...

Hi

 

Long time listener, first time caller. What do you think of this particular piece? The stitching and leather on the back.

 

Thanks

20200709_113950.jpg

20200713_023018.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Also a other question about blood chits, i have this one, looks original, silk on top sewn onto cotton back. My only issue with it is under black light the very edge stitching looks to light up.

 

Is it possible that a certain type of thread was used for this and it is still a period piece?

20200722_235039.jpg

20200722_235308.jpg

20200722_235323.jpg

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BlueBookGuy

hello Sam,

just back yesterday on the Forum after almost three months  -   not a Blood Chits expert of course, here just my opinion. Leather specimen looks to me to be original, no wrong details about leather and back stitching as who knows how many artisans out there in China and India were making such 'souvenir'-type things by using (necessarily) different materials and ways of working. Good-looking Chit.

The other one looks wrong to me, at least not from the ones as made by Chinese government through the war (from late 1941 to early 1945) and regularly issued to US aircrews in three-four variant being slightly different between them. Pattern was generally speaking the same, evoluted from the initial batches of Chits when issued first to the AVG in December 1941, in some ways they never changed   -   moreover your having the 'chop' centered in the middle would be not post-late 1942 and should sport some very precise things. In particular,

*   way of making the silk fabric looks to me different from the originals

*   all Chinese characters should be printed in a professional and strictly perfect way, with no ink 'bleeding'   -   even when ink and colours bleed through many years of bad storage (or, emergency use in wartime) they do that in a much different way. Yours seem having been hand-written instead of printed, with a vulnerable kind of ink

*   too much uncertainty as for the characters are written. Excessive variations in size and style, not really printed in my opinion

*   badly executed flag with much wrong 12-rays 'sun'. They were more than perfect in those Chinese-printed Chits, all identical and longer (and more pointed)

*   the 'chop' especially, should be much more elaborated than (apparently) a lot of simple traverse lines. 

 

Yes it could be period-original and made in war theater for some reasons after the official pattern, however it looks too much different from the true Chinese-made and issued Chit.

Anyway my opinion   -    Franco.

 

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BlueBookGuy

just to enhance the shape and proportions of sun's rays on three of my Chits.  Here the 2nd pattern Chit, Chinese-made on silk:

 

706271294_17(2)-Copia.jpg.d0a8d24340ae192de80042b228d4b592.jpg

 

here the 3rd pattern, still Chinese-made on silk:

1066165180_06(2).jpg.6e0021ab7d80584c574f13358a40eaa1.jpg

 

 

and here the US-made, late-war pattern on rayon (not longer silk) .  All the three are extremely well printed and shapes are perfect:

1804344820_23(2).jpg.8b4e2a7d0f3e0d0e028ccf14215766b9.jpg

 

 

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Question: should a chineese made chit shine under black light at all? I know the later US ones are made of rayon and reflect back a lot?

 

Pre 42 center chop chits are ink printed onto silk? Do they ever bleed of chit is folded?

 

Post 42 silk/cotton chits is the ink still printed? Is the muy gow still purple typically?

 

What about the stitching on the sides- serms it should never be a double stitch near the edge, only simple stitching?

 

Thanks 

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