Jump to content

Star and Indian Head Insignia of the 2nd Infantry Division, AEF


world war I nerd
 Share

Recommended Posts

world war I nerd

Photo No. 131: Presumed to have originated in Germany, “Chief Rigid Feathers” seems to be the most common variety of hand painted Indian head. Hand painted Indian heads appear frequently on the service coats of officers and HQ personnel. Because of this, and because more skill was involved, they were likely at the higher end of the handmade 2nd Division SSI cost spectrum.

post-5143-0-84075300-1415476977.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 132: Three more examples of Chief Rigid Feathers, all of which, in my opinion have been carefully rendered by the same artist or craftsperson.

post-5143-0-09997600-1415477024.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 133: Close ups of the above hand painted Chief Rigid Feathers Indian heads. The Indian head and war bonnet has likely been represented using oil paint. Each of these SSI appear to have been painted by the same artist, as the materials, design, colors, details, and construction methods have all been rendered in a similar fashion. But being hand done, no two will ever be exactly alike.

post-5143-0-77385800-1415477076.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 134: These two hand painted Indian heads both look similar to Chief Rigid Feathers. However the war bonnet on the left hand image appears to have been borrowed from “Chief Hairy Feathers”. The Indian head on the right, mimics the painting style of the artist who created Chief Rigid Feathers, but the technique is not the same. I suspect that this Indian head was painted in Germany by a competitor or by a different shop or vendor.

post-5143-0-06030300-1415477131.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 135: Indian heads of the “Chief Hairy Feathers” style are also thought to have been fabricated in Germany. The most obvious differences between this style of Indian head and the examples shown above are:

  • Less rigid and more flowing feathers
  • Rounded feather tips
  • Different headband design
  • Paint or ink has been thinned making it look as if it was applied in a wash like watercolor paint.

post-5143-0-94696200-1415477174.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 137: Variations of the Chief Hairy Feathers style of hand painted Indian head, all three of which look to have been painted by a different artist.

post-5143-0-29336700-1415477278.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 138: Each of these examples of Chief Hairy Feathers matches the style of at least one shown in the above photo. The HQ Company, 17th Field Artillery Regiment on a black background resembles the right hand Indian head from above. The Indian head on the red, 1st Battalion, 2nd Engineer Regiment SSI resembles that of the left hand Indian head from above.

post-5143-0-87047000-1415477335.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 139: This “Chief Shaggy Hair” style of Indian head looks to be made by an artist copying the style of, or paying homage to Chief Hairy Feathers. His or her style seems to be slightly simplified, and the headband of the war bonnet features an entirely new design.

post-5143-0-05330300-1415477382.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 140: “Chief Washy Feathers” was so dubbed because the paint or ink has been considerably thinned into a “wash” before being applied. The overall style is similar to that of Chief Rigid Feathers, except the technique is much less precise, giving the Indian head a slightly cartoony appearance. And once again the war bonnets design is different. It’s entirely possible that these Indian heads were created in haste by the same artist who produced all of the Chief Rigid Feather Indian heads. Hence the lack of detail and a more rushed look to how the paint was applied.

post-5143-0-73143400-1415477435.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 143: The facial features of “Chief Jagged Headband” and the manner in which they have been painted are strikingly similar to those of the Chief Rigid Feathers type. In fact, they may have even been painted by the same artist, perhaps after he or she altered the design style. Note that the war bonnet’s headband is completely different and that the feathers have a more relaxed appearance. Also of interest is that the painted Indian head on the red 23rd Infantry Regiment insignia has been cut out and sewn onto the white star instead of being painted onto it.

post-5143-0-25874400-1415477592.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 144: Both of these Indian heads have been painted onto silk or cotton satin stars, which are now deteriorating.

post-5143-0-73189100-1415477644.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 145: The design of “Chief Impressionist Feathers” is again similar to that of Chief Rigid Feathers and Chief Jagged Headband. Again it’s possible that these were painted by the same hand, but in the impressionist style made famous in the 19th century by the likes of Renoir, Monet and Cezanne. Perhaps the wearer/owner was a fan of this artistic style and made such a request to the artist?

post-5143-0-12496100-1415477698.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 147: This hand painted Indian head truly looks to have been created from ink in the style of the popular illustrator of the time, J.C. Leyendecker who painted numerous patriotic posters during the war and many cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post magazine.

post-5143-0-61846600-1415477793.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 148: This collection of hand painted Indian heads, which are said to have originated in Germany were brought back as souvenirs by an AEF veteran.

post-5143-0-52805700-1415477844.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWI Nerd---fascinating work as usual---

 

I was curious about this guidon--it spells Coblenz with a K....

 

Koblenz with a K did not become common usage until the mid to late 1920s (at least 3 years after the last of the Doughboys departed in Jan-Feb 1923) when the Germans changed the official spelling of several cities to make them more Germanic---Mayence became Mainz, Cologne became Koln, Treves became Trier, Aix-la-Chappelle became Aachen and Coblenz became Koblenz...most Doughboys spelled their Headquarters City as Coblenz, Coblence or Coblentz...

 

So could this guidon be a later model made in the states by a 17th FA artilleryman?

 

or was the original seamstress who made it an underground fan of the "K" spelling and put it on there 7 years before it became official

 

and if she did, would a Doughboy be willing to pay for Coblenz with a K instead of a C..?

 

All good questions--I know first hand how difficult it can be dealing with a seamstress in a different language--my attempt to get a Buffalo Bills jacket made in Seoul in 1987 is still legendary and probably still provides a round of laughter among the tailors in Itewon...

 

well done,

Al

 

 

Photo No. 21: This guidon was carried by the 3rd Battalion of the 17th Field Artillery Regiment while it carried out its occupation duties in Germany.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 150: Three more WW I era hand painted Indian heads. The two 17th Field Artillery Regiment insignia were painted in the same style on leather. It’s possible that the 9th Infantry Regiment insignia was also a product of the same vendor, but there is no way to know for sure.

post-5143-0-22478400-1415477949.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Regulation,

Machine Embroidered

Star & Indian Heads

Probably the most common type of WW I era 2nd Division star and Indian head SSI were machine embroidered to a standard design in Germany by an unknown manufacturer. This style of star and Indian head is considered to be the “issued” or regulation insignia as they were procured and issued by the Quartermaster Corps.

 

Photo No. 151: This Doughboy from the 9th Infantry Regiment wears a regulation, as in prescribed by or conforming to a regulation, star and Indian head. He is also wearing a WWI Victory Medal with four battle stars.

 

Photo courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

post-5143-0-92522900-1415478006.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 153: One star and Indian head image was machine embroidered every four or so inches onto a roll of khaki/olive drab woolen fabric which was fed into the machinery that did the embroidering. Each roll contained approximately 100 star and Indian heads. On the left is a regulation style star and Indian head that was never trimmed from its backing cloth. At the center is a pair of untrimmed insignia on what remains of its moth eaten wool backing material. On the left are four 77th Infantry Division insignia, which are also thought to have been machine embroidered in Germany, that have yet to be cut from the background fabric.

post-5143-0-43321300-1415478102.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Once cut from the roll each soldier was issued two star and Indian heads. For the most part it was left up to the individual soldiers to cut the stars from the woolen fabric on which they were embroidered, then sew each insignia onto the proper color and shape of background cloth, and then stitch the background cloth with insignia onto the left sleeve of the woolen service coat and overcoat.* Each organization in the 2nd Division was responsible for procuring fabric in the appropriate color for their regiment, battalion, company or train.

 

*SSI was not authorized to be worn on the olive drab flannel shirt.

 

Photo No. 154: Regulation style star and Indian heads sewn onto red, wool felt background cloth all of which represent the 1st Battalion.

post-5143-0-07554800-1415478164.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

If background cloth in the proper color was not available, the individual soldiers would have to find it themselves amongst the local population. This might account for the vast array of different background fabrics encountered on 2nd Division SSI. While doing so they likely bartered to have the star and Indian heads sewn on with any woman or man that happened to be handy with a needle and thread.

 

Photo No. 155: Regulation style star and Indian heads sewn onto yellow, wool felt background cloth, all of which represent the 2nd Battalion.

post-5143-0-60254100-1415478223.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 156: Initially a golden yellow color was selected to represent the 2nd Battalion of each regiment. However this was later changed to a lemon yellow color because the dark or orange shades of yellow were being confused for the red of the 1st Battalion which sometimes faded to a dark orange color after laundering. Note that different amounts of the olive drab backing fabric have been left as a border surrounding the embroidered stars.

post-5143-0-21324200-1415478265.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

world war I nerd

Photo No. 157: Three regulation star and Indian heads in situ on background cloths representing the 6th Marine Regiment, 9th Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd HQ Troop.

 

Left hand photo courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

post-5143-0-83850800-1415478310.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...