patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Share #1 Posted March 19, 2014 Hello all, I just got what appears to be a Marine Corps Band dress red tunic off of one of my picker friends, and I was wondering your opinion on it, because I know nothing about this kind of stuff. Do you guys think it's real? If so, what would you think it would be worth? It's the kind pictured in the 1937 regs (though dated 1930), and based on how rare I would think it would be, I would assume it'd be a fake. One of my contacts at the Marine Corps museum told me that they did "take a break" from wearing the red tunics in 1929, but that there could be supplementary orders, and after seeing the stamp (which he said "was 100% of the correct type") he said again that there could have been an amendment of some sort. However, he also said that he is not an expert on these uniforms,and he doesn't know for sure, as they are "only collected peripherally" at the museum. Along with your opinions, I was also looking to find out what I'd need to make a complete uniform. Would musicians just have worn standard enlisted trousers and cover? The stripe looks different on the trousers in the illustration for the regulations, but is that the only difference? One more thing, does anyone know where I can get some buttons and the shoulder patches for this? I'm not sure if I need the shoulder patches, but in the 1937 regs, it says "Musician, Marine Band" for one of the shoulder patches shown on the uniform, so I would assume that'd mean all of them had them. Any help would be much appreciated. Sorry for making this so wordy, and for the not so quality photos. -Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtlh2010 Posted March 19, 2014 Share #2 Posted March 19, 2014 I'd say it looks pretty close to this, a WW2 coat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtlh2010 Posted March 19, 2014 Share #3 Posted March 19, 2014 As for chevrons, check this post... http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/203181-marine-insignia-from-sos/ Finding authentic WW2 era band chevrons is tough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtlh2010 Posted March 19, 2014 Share #4 Posted March 19, 2014 Here's a close-up.... typical gold braid tape on scarlet felt..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted March 19, 2014 Share #5 Posted March 19, 2014 Markings look good...appears to be unfinished, doesn't seem it ever had buttons on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted March 19, 2014 Thanks for the color photo, and the link to that post! In the photo, the EGA on his cover (my tunic doesn't have collar grommets, so I won't focus on those)looks silver to me... it's supposed to be that way, right? I can't find original period chevrons anywhere so I think I'll just leave them off for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted March 19, 2014 Markings look good...appears to be unfinished, doesn't seem it ever had buttons on it If you look very carefully, you can see where the thread has been disturbed, and to me, it looks like there were buttons at one time, especially on the cuffs. My Iphone can't capture the disturbance on the actual tunic part, but to me, it looks like there were some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted March 19, 2014 And as you can see on the cuffs, someone put some extra threads in at one time, should those be removed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted March 19, 2014 Share #9 Posted March 19, 2014 Ah...I can see them now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted March 19, 2014 Share #10 Posted March 19, 2014 Unless there were period musician chevrons? Why put any on? EGAs would be typical M20s, Restoring the buttons is no big deal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted March 19, 2014 Unless there were period musician chevrons? Why put any on? EGAs would be typical M20s, Restoring the buttons is no big deal... Yeah, i'm just gonna leave chevrons off, as finding originals will be too hard. If anyone knows where I can get a set of buttons, that'd be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted March 19, 2014 Share #12 Posted March 19, 2014 Post a want ad here.... Keep an eye on ebay as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #13 Posted March 19, 2014 Post a want ad here.... Keep an eye on ebay as well. Okay, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted March 19, 2014 Share #14 Posted March 19, 2014 Drooped wing M26's would work for the collars, as well...or the Meyers variants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted March 19, 2014 Share #15 Posted March 19, 2014 Drooped wing M26's would work for the collars, as well...or the Meyers variants ... And the clipped wing, KISS recommendation.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted March 19, 2014 Share #16 Posted March 19, 2014 ... And the clipped wing, KISS recommendation.... Ops, forgot the English emblems.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted March 19, 2014 Share #17 Posted March 19, 2014 I wonder if the band was more concerned with uniformity than most at the era, since they were a lot more publicly displayed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #18 Posted March 19, 2014 I wonder if the band was more concerned with uniformity than most at the era, since they were a lot more publicly displayed That makes sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #19 Posted March 19, 2014 Ops, forgot the English emblems.... You guys keep talking about collar EGA's, but in the 1937 regs there were none shown... This makes me wonder if those might be something else on his collar, especially since he has a much more ornate uniform than the one I have. Also, he does have EGAs on his boards, right. Seems a little too much to have them on the collars and the boards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted March 19, 2014 Share #20 Posted March 19, 2014 the image above appears to have collar emblems Are there embroidered-edged holes on the collars of your coat? Could just be musician lyre devices. Not the biggest band guy, so not quite sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #21 Posted March 19, 2014 the image above appears to have collar emblems Are there embroidered-edged holes on the collars of your coat? Could just be musician lyre devices. Not the biggest band guy, so not quite sure Exactly what I was thinking. Not it does not have holes at all. Could it be a section leader or just a drummer thing? Maybe...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #22 Posted March 19, 2014 And thats's why he'd be wearing lyre devices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted March 19, 2014 Share #23 Posted March 19, 2014 I just know the lyre was worn periodically...sometimes alongside EGA's, sometimes on the boards, etc...not sure of when different arrangements were worn, I don't think we have any band gurus on the forum...at least not who let it be known Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_usmc Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share #24 Posted March 19, 2014 Okay thank you. The main thing I posted it on here for was for opinions on authenticity, and it seems to be a yes. If anybody sees this in the future and can help further, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks for all the help everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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