A.E. Co or American Emblem Co of Utica, NY: examples and patterns

[John Cooper]

John,

 

 

From the photos it appears the caduceus has the remains of gold on it. What does in look like to you? In my opinion this is a conversion to the FS wing... are there any markings on the reverse of the caduceus?

 

As you can see from the wing I posted the typical center device is of a different design. I posted a silver version as it appears that is what your is.

 

 

 

BTW Nice wing!

 

Cheers

John

[100th Bomb Group]

Yes you are right there appears to be some gold and some small writing on the right side of the caduceus on the back. It looks like it might be 1/20th and another word underneath that. Any ideas? And does this indicate that it is somehow not a good wing or faked in some respect? Thanks for the info.

 

John

[John Cooper]

How is the caduceus attached? Does it appears to have been there a long time or more recent? Additionally what was the source i.e. ebay or...? Was the seller a militaria dealer or just someone with a wing?

 

My gut feeling is this is a period conversion of a wing... but without having it in habd it is hard to say for sure.

 

Cheers

John

[rustywings]

A matched set of AECO (American Emblem Co., Utica, New York) hallmarked full size badges representing WWII era Senior Service Pilot, Service Pilot, Glider Pilot and Liaison Pilot.

[rustywings]

Each rating had its own die to stamp the front of the wing. But it appears the same die for the back was used for all of the ratings...

 

[rustywings]

Closer view of the raised AECO triangular hallmark...

 

[268th C.A.]

I guess it proves what type of clutches came on these wings.....interesting

[rustywings]

I guess it proves what type of clutches came on these wings.....interesting

 

To be fair, not all of these badges were purchased complete with top-hat style clutches. I added them to a couple of the wings for uniformity...

 

[CliffP]

I'm very partial to that fine looking Senior Service Pilot badge - It's extra nice and not the easiest of the four to locate.

 

Cliff

[Patchcollector]

Outstanding set of Wings.Thanks for sharing!

[rustywings]

Thank you Cliff and Patch. The Senior Service Pilot badge did indeed take the longest time to locate...

[V42]

Nice looking wings. Doesn't mean anything about the clutch's as they could have been any one of the different types being used.

[BBG]

Hello all,

 

This is a silver plated brass wing. It's back marked A.E. Co. UTICA N.Y. I'm thinking this is from the late 1930s to 1941. It's heavy!

[BBG]

Here's the back.

[rustywings]

Hello RBG and welcome to the Forum. Thank you for illustrating your early AECO made Pilot wing. Your example is a much tougher hallmark to find than these more common mid-war examples...

 

[BBG]

Thanks Russ, it's great to be here!

 

Why were they making brass wings at this time, was it the cost?

 

Bob

[mtnman]

Bob, you knocked it out of the park just like Russ said, with that rare hallmark! Thank you so much for sharing! I think that is the first time I have seen that particular hallmark. I can't get a really good view of it and would love to see a close up of the hallmark but nevertheless, what an outstanding find. The pin assembly itself is unique and one that stands out, and the silverplated brass is a rarity with the AE Utica company as well. Well done Bob.

[BBG]

Bob, you knocked it out of the park just like Russ said, with that rare hallmark! Thank you so much for sharing! I think that is the first time I have seen that particular hallmark. I can't get a really good view of it and would love to see a close up of the hallmark but nevertheless, what an outstanding find. The pin assembly itself is unique and one that stands out, and the silverplated brass is a rarity with the AE Utica company as well. Well done Bob.

 

Hi mtnman,

 

Here are some more photos of the back. I don't have a macro lens and can't get any closer.

 

When I bought this wing online I assumed it was just a common sterling pilot wing. The photo of it was really bad. When it arrived in the mail I though it was a reproduction. I had seen British made US brass wings, but not one of these. It has the appearance of silver plated brass silverware, in a bad need of a cleaning. I couldn't find another example here, but it is listed in "Silver Wings Pinks and Greens" on page 78 and one is listed on the Flying Tiger Antiques online store along with some other varieties.

 

Who else has US made silver plated brass wings from this period?

[BBG]

Here's a top down shot.

[pfrost]

You don't often see this version of the AECo hallmark, but when you do, you frequently see them with a vertical stamped "STERLING" mark. I never much thought about it being a "rare" version, but I guess it probably is at that.

 

I don't know how early AECo was active in making wings, but they do have balloon and airship badges that make me think that they were making wings in the 30's (or at least during the run up to WWII). Although IIRC someone once told me that they probably were most active during the WWII time period and didn't last long after the war ended. They may have been making buttons and such pre-WWII, but I can't recall that I have seen much that would date them earlier than the mid-1930s. Although I could be wrong.

 

Also, you do see brass platted items that do date from WWII.

[mtnman]

Patrick is correct regarding my perception of the Maker's Mark when he speaks of the vertical "STERLING" which

typically accompanies the AE Co Utica N Y Mark on the rear of the shield. When I looked at these silverplated brass wings,

I immediately perceived the difference between this hallmark and the standard sterling version hallmark. A far less common

wing indeed. Great find....

[BBG]

Thanks for all the kind comments and knowledge shared here.

 

And thanks Patrick for all the help over the years.

 

Bob

[pfrost]

You are welcome Bob,

 

I went into my wing pile and found my AECo wing with the non-triangle hallmark. Mine is just like yours. While I am not totally convinced it is of the 1919 vintage, I do feel pretty certain that it is probably late 30's early 40's. These wings are a bit heavier than the triangle marked wings. I also note that my Liaison and Service pilot wings have the triangle hallmark (and I don't recall seeing any of those wings using the other hallmark), which suggests to me that this triangle hallmark may have been used starting in 1942 or so when these new ratings were authorized.

 

I am actually glad this thread came up because prior to reading this, I hadn't really thought about AECo wings in some time. Ironically, when I first started collecting AECo were highly sought after, but their appeal seems to have diminished somewhat recently.

Patrick

[BBG]

Hello everyone,

 

Thought I'd share this recent purchase. It looks like the sterling marked has been stamped into the back. I can't find another A.E. Co. wing marked like this one.

[BBG]

Here's the back. The back pin will only open about 1/4" from the catch.