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Pre-WWI 20th Century Portraits


jagjetta
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I thought I would try my hand at creating a thread of Pre-WWI portraits.

 

I will start off with this image identified simply as "Uncle Roll, World War One." Probably taken at least five years prior to the US entry into WWI, Uncle Roll is wearing a cotton tunic with rimless M1902 buttons, fold-over collar, pointed cuffs and large patch pockets.

 

post-949-0-08371500-1446047869.jpg post-949-0-01825700-1446047881.jpg

 

post-949-0-65644200-1446047897.jpg

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Identified as "Howard J. Walter, National Guard, Washington, DC," this Signal Corps NCO is wearing a cap with detachable branch of service band and gilt insignia.

 

post-949-0-59421400-1446049422.jpg post-949-0-58490700-1446049436.jpg

 

post-949-0-16295700-1446049449.jpg

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The two sailors in this 1912-dated RPPC are armed with Civil War-era cutlasses. When this image was made, they were stationed at the Naval Training Station in San Francisco.

 

post-949-0-15204900-1446051479.jpgpost-949-0-50967800-1446051499.jpg

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Probably a member of a State or locally-raised unit, this 15th Infantry soldier posed with a Vetterlli Rifle

 

attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-a.jpg attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-b.jpg

 

attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-c.jpg

 

attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-e.jpg

 

Rifle appears to be a M1871-88 Beaumont-Vitali. Interesting studio prop likely provided by the photographer.

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Soldier of Company A, 8th Cavalry, wearing a Philippine Campaign Medal

 

 

 

Interesting picture. It looks like he is wearing USMC shooting badges. Was the expert rifleman for Army or National Guard too?

 

...Kat

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Interesting picture. It looks like he is wearing USMC shooting badges. Was the expert rifleman for Army or National Guard too?

 

...Kat

 

As I understand, the Army Expert Rifleman Badge was awarded to Army and USMC personnel who qualified.

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Probably a member of a State or locally-raised unit, this 15th Infantry soldier posed with a Vetterlli Rifle

 

attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-a.jpg attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-b.jpg

 

attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-c.jpg

 

attachicon.gif15th-Inf-Vetterlli-Rifle-e.jpg

 

I have seen a few photos of the Polish Falcons in a uniform just like this along with the same model of rifle. The Falcons were a social and para-military organization founded in partitioned Poland in the 1800's to train men to eventually take back their country from German/Russian/Austro-Hungarian occupation. There were many Falcon "nests" in America before WWI and the para-military wing trained men at summer camps much like the Plattsburg training camps. The men dressed in surplus US Army uniforms of this same model and a large lot of these Vetterli rifles were procured for their use. I believe the Polish American Museum in Chicago has an original one of these uniforms on display with the rifle. Most of the photos show the men wearing the old pre-Montana peak campaign hat.

 

After America's entry in WWI the Falcons sent thousands of members trained at the para-military camps into the US Army and thousands of others to the Polish Army in France.

 

Is it possible to zoom in on the buckle and cap badge to see? The buckle should have an eagle holding a barbell in its claws if it is really a Polish Falcon.

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Jersey,

I think you have pegged it...I obtained this photo along with a photo of a soldier in Haller's Blue Army. The inscription on the back of this one is in Polish.

 

The camera or the subject wiggled a bit during exposure. The crossed rifles on his cap appear to be topped by "15".

 

post-949-0-96197000-1446075496.jpg

post-949-0-58621300-1446075504.jpg

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Jersey:

This is the photo that came with the possible "Falcon" image

 

post-949-0-35784500-1446075693.jpg

post-949-0-16911900-1446075737.jpg

 

You know, now that I look at the two images on the screen, I am starting to think it is the same guy!

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Identified as "Howard J. Walter, National Guard, Washington, DC," this Signal Corps NCO is wearing a cap with detachable branch of service band and gilt insignia.

 

 

 

 

Being National Guard probably explains why he doesn't have "US" insignia in front of the crossed flags branch insignia on the collar. Great photos you posted!

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  • 9 months later...

Interesting on the two Army pals, two collar insignia disks on each side. Is that normal for the period?

"Double disk" type was adopted in 1909. Soon replaced by straight standing collar with single disk on each side in 1911.

 

G

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