World War One Weekly Wing (Special Edition) - The Adams Wing pattern

[cwnorma]

World War One

Weekly Wing (Special Edition)

The "Adams" Wing

 

Badge designed by Herbert Adams

 

Description

 

Reserve Military Aviator and Airplane Pilot

 

Over the previous year, we have discussed many examples of World War One era wing badges.  However, no examination of First World War badges would be complete without at least mentioning Herbert Adams' badge that replaced them in February 1919.

 

This particular badge belonged to a young WW1-era Airman who died in a 1920 plane crash.  The young man's post-war service and untimely death places it among early Adams-type badges.  While completely unmarked, examination of the robust findings have led some to suspect the manufacturer might have been F.H. Noble.  Others have speculated it is a Philadelphia Mint or government contract piece.  More research is needed.

 

Construction

 

The badge is extremely heavy and die struck from a very thick silver planchet.

 

Early regulations stipulated aviation badges to be "oxidized silver."   To meet this requirement the badge was electroplated with "black nickel" and buffed to reveal highlights.  The quite durable nickel electroplating remains in the recesses.

 

Markings

 

Unmarked as to content but probably sterling silver.

 

Background

 

During WW1, to field an Army projected to reach up to five million men by 1919, the Army was forced to rely on any manufacturer who could meet production volume requirements.  After the war’s end in 1918, the Army “brass” surveyed the proliferation of non-standardized insignia resulting from the rapid Army expansion and decided to put its foot down.  The Army turned to the United States Commission of Fine Arts for help.  No less than the Vice Chairman of the commission, Herbert Adams, would take on the task.

 

Although the Adams designs had been announced in December 1918 and photographs published by January 1919, some manufacturers chose to ignore the post-war guidance and continued to produce their own unique wing badges.  Editorials in the Air Service Journal and other publications denouncing the changes attest to the general disdain among Airmen for the conservative new badges.  Indeed, many "old-timers" continued to proudly wear their WW1-era badges.

 

  

"FROM OFFICIAL DIE"

 

The situation with respect to wing badges became egregious enough that at some point, the Army decreed wing badges had to be bear the marking “FROM OFFICIAL DIE.”  These “FROM OFFICIAL DIE” badges are among the earliest and most prized of post-WW1 wings.

 

Herbert Adams

 

Who was Herbert Adams?  Adams was an American Artist born in Vermont in 1858.  Despite his father’s protestations, Adams was interested in art from an early age and pursued it as his career.  After a stint teaching art in public school, Adams went to Europe to study sculpture.  He apprenticed in Paris where he was heavily influenced by classical sculpture and returned to the United States in 1890.  Upon his return Adams opened his own studio.  

 

Adams was ultimately a classicist, with his sculpture firmly planted in a Beaux Arts tradition that eschewed more fanciful movements such as Art Nouveau.   Adams, as a member of the National Academy of Design, The Society of American Artists, The National Sculpture Society, and The Architectural League had impeccable bona-fides.  However, Adams was also a leader among groups of what today might be called “East-coast art snobs.”  The kind of esthetes who could be found sitting around New York salons tut-tutting the “sorry state of commercialism and overt sentimentality” in public art.  In 1915, Adams scored an appointment to the United States Commission of Fine Arts and served as its Vice Chairman from 1918-1920.

 

Immediately after WWI, the state of the “arts” in the United States led: 

Quote

…many art groups to reassert their authority, insisting on the importance in 1919, more than ever, on the question of taste and how to elevate it through education and professional guidance.  They saw their role in guiding the country in its selection of war memorials as an opportunity to safeguard the sculptor’s cultural prestige.   Sculptors continued through the 1920s to place the blame for the poor quality of war memorial sculpture squarely on the shoulders of the public rather than on their own unwavering commitment to outmoded ideals (Wingate, 2017).

 

Wingate, Jennifer/Sculpting Doughboys: Memory, Gender and Taste in America’s World War I Memorials/Routledge/2017

Thus, when the Army came knocking after WW1 seeking to standardize insignia, from his perch atop the Commission of Fine Arts, Adams was in a unique position to impress his particular, personal (if drastically classicist) view of artistic taste.  Some WW1 era wing badges had been designed by such luminary firms as Tiffany and Bailey Banks and Biddle, both of which had successfully designed official medals and insignias for the United States government.  Despite this, rather than select from among the best of many varied WW1 designs for standardization, Adams instead designed his own, brand new, neo-classical badge.  Adam’s resulting ultra-conservative, ultra-classical wing badge would be equally at home as a decorative embellishment on a Roman fountain or Greek temple as on an Aviator's chest.

 

To be fair, Herbert Adams’ wing design has indeed stood the test of time.  While perhaps not as beautiful, ornate, or imaginative as many of the Art Nouveau (and a few Beaux Arts/Neo Classical) inspired wings they replaced, the Adams badge’s classically-inspired lines have allowed it to endure, relatively unchanged, to the present day.  While modern collectors lament the passing of the fanciful and unique WW1 badges, looking back through the lens of time, one can easily imagine Adams’ disdain for what he must have considered garish, ornate, and overly commercial designs made to appeal to gaudy sentimentality at the expense of what he considered to be “true” art.

 

As always, I'd love to see your Adams-type badges and hear your thoughts.  Herbert Adams designed badges for; Reserve Military Aviator/Airplane Pilot, Aeronaut, Observer (half wing), and Pilot Observer (full wing).  Adams died in 1945, but his enduring legacy would carry on with his basic design used in every new Army Air Service, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, and United States Air Force wing badge to the present day.  

 

Warmest regards.

 

Chris

[5thwingmarty]

Another excellent post.  I am one of the supporters of the belief that many of the wings in this pattern were made by Noble, but I don't have one of the "From Official Die" marked wing to compare to.  I would presume there would be wings from multiple manufacturers that look exactly the same on the front if they were all made from official Adam's dies, but the backs might tend to have more variance.  I have five wings in this pattern that all have unique backs, three (including a Noble-hallmarked) have the heavy Noble/Hercules pins and catches, one has a heavy tapered pin with a typical come under catch, and one has a very dainty pin and come-under catch.  The one that most closely matches your wing, with the wide, flat rear bottom edge happens to be the one with the dainty pin.  Because of the pin, I have always assumed it was a later strike as it doesn't appear to be a replacement, but comparing to yours, now I am not so sure.  Four of the wings were posted in my Noble thread, but not the thin pin one.  There is a flaw on the face, near the center of the bar between the vertical stripes and the horizontal stripes so maybe this one was an early reject that later had a pin added and was sold as a sweetheart piece.  It is clearly a die-struck wing in hand, not a cast copy and has some heft at 24.4 grams. - Marty

 

[pfrost]

There is a good thread on 1919-1941 wings.  I've always felt that even though the Adam's design was used from 1919 up to (and likely beyond) WWII, it becomes a more academic argument at to WHEN the badge was made.  They probably used the same dies (or very similar dies) for about 30+ years, sold dies, used wholesale suppliers when selling retail, etc.  So outside of an autobiographical wing, it is always hard to know for sure if the wing was made in 1919 or 1939 or 1945.  Much less when it may have been actually sold to an airman. Also, since the age of an item is usually directly related to its rarity, I have always suspect that many "true-made 1919/1920 dated wings" are rare as hens teeth.  If you see more than a few wings of a certain pattern... I suspect that the are more common (relatively speaking) because they were made later in the 1920's and 1930's.  But that is probably just a quibble on my part.

 

On the other hand, there are some unique companies that seemed to only be active in particular time periods, and that helps to ID them to date (more or less).  Also dated catalogs help.

 

Here is an undated photo of a guy wearing his WWI stiff collar uniform with an Adam's wing.  A nice transition from WWI into the post WWI time period. This photo was bought at a flea market with this early Robbin's wing.  Considering that both items came from the same table at the same time, I like to think that they were probably together and this phot shows this exact wing.  But.... one never really knows for sure.

 

My thinking is that in 1919 those companies who had been making WWI style wings (like Robbins, NS Meyers, WC Link etc) were likely the first companies to adopt the Adam's style wings (and even the early WC Link wings seem to have been slightly "off track").  I am not sure how much overlap the "Official dies" wings had with wings made from dies cut using the Adam style hubs that were also sent out.  I believe that other companies, like AECo may have been later to the game (more in the 1930's).  But again, it is hard to k  know for sure.

[pfrost]

This is another wing that I feel is probably 1919/1920 made.  It is a rare beast (and it is very large and heavy).

[pfrost]

Finally, you rarely see the WWI wings being worn into WWII, but it did happen. Here is a photo of a WWII command pilot (dating him to at least 1941) with a converted WWI Robbin's style wing!  He seems to be wearing the WWI victory ribbon and the American Defense Service Medal ribbon (authorized in 1941). I don't remember what his rank was, but best I can recall, he had either oak leaves or colonel eagles. (Probably high enough in rank to wear this badge).  I also suspect that his DUIs are for one of the training commands.

 

[pfrost]

From I previous post, I have argued that the J. A. Meyer's wings of Los Angeles were made in the time period of 1919-1921:

 

"... There were a number of air fields in southern California and San Diego that existed between WWI and WWII, with even more being developed after 1942 when the US entered the war.  Bases like March Field in Riverside CA and Ross Field in Santa Anna CA would have been within driving distance to Los Angeles.  Rockwell Field in San Diego also was "relatively close" to Los Angeles.

 

The University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California also had pre-flight training programs (as well as ROTC programs) during the time period between WWI and WWII.  In fact, USC is located almost within walking distance of downtown LA and the jewelry district. There is no real way to narrow down the manufacturing date of J A Meyer wings, but between 1919 and 1921 USAAC flying cadets received four months of preliminary flight training (combining ground and preliminary flight school) at March Field (or Carlstrom Field, FL).  So there were a population of locally-trained pilots that would have been getting their wings at least from 1919-1921.  Following preliminary flight training there was 3 months of advanced  flight training at Post, Kelly, or Ellington Fields in Texas but by 1922, the Air Service consolidated all its training at San Antonio, TX.

 

Thus, it is reasonable (and more than likely) that between 1919 and 1921 the pre-flight training of flying cadets enrolled in programs in Los Angeles (either at UCLA or USC) would have then gone on to finish up their preliminary flight training at March Field in Riverside, CA.  I've been to Riverside and I can't imagine it was more "appealing" in 1920 than it is now, so I suspect that if you wanted something nice (like a new pair of wings), you had to drive into Los Angeles. 

 

You can find J. A. Meyer & Co, and other local jewelry companies in Los Angeles (such as TV Alan) advertising their lines of wedding, fraternal, masonic and school related jewelry in the local USC and UCLA school papers and year books during this time period (1911-1919 or so).  Thus, young men involved in the pre-flight programs at these Universities would have probably been well aware of J A Meyer & CO, and it would have been relatively easy for someone to make a special order  for wings.  This would explain why J A Meyer wings are so rare and supports the idea that the wings were made in the 20's (actually between 1919 and 1921).  I can certainly see why post 1922 or so, the move of pilot training to Texas would have made it less profitable for JA Meyer to manufacture pilot wings, and I suspect that they didn't.  The only other major Los Angeles based wing manufactures (Moody Brothers and Beverly Craft) appear to have started making pilot insignia in the 1940's in response to the growing demand. There are some other JA Meyer's wings that periodically show up (like an instructor badge for Hancock Field), and some DUI's from early in WWII.  I  agree, not absolute proof, but rather compelling historical information that JA Meyer's made their wings very early in the 1920s."

 

While CLOSE to the Adams design, not actually the same.

 

The Link wings are also similar but unique.  Since Link was making wings in WWI, it isn't clear why they would go on hiatus and not continue to make wings in the early post war period of 1919 and into the 20's  Clearly they were making wings (including observer, airship, balloon pilot, etc). I don't recall if we know when Link sold its dies to Amcraft, but I suspect it was in the late 20's or 30's.

 

My point is that even if Adams had intended to make badges "uniform" the military seemed to have failed....
 

[jeff41st]

Thanks for sharing this great information guys. Those are some beautiful wings.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Illustrated below is a memorandum dated November 9, 1918 which specifies the nature of the "Official Die" and how manufacturers were to obtain working dies to create official insignia. The Commission of Fine Arts, once it had created the approved pattern, was to create an official master die to be held by the US Mint, Philidelphia under the direction of the QM Depot. Manufacturers could then apply to use the die and at their cost, create working dies.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Some examples of mine that seem to hew most closely to the original die pattern and construction from the 1919 regulation.

[haw68]

On 9/21/2022 at 5:48 PM, rathbonemuseum.com said:

Illustrated below is a memorandum dated November 9, 1918 which specifies the nature of the "Official Die" and how manufacturers were to obtain working dies to create official insignia.

 

Tod - Thank you for sharing the document you posted above which explains the often misunderstood concept of 'Official Dies'.  Some insignia was marked as made with official dies and some companies advertised they sold insignia made with official dies.  Most manufactures didn't bother marking or advertising the use of official dies. 

 

When The Robbins Company made insignia for the Philadelphia QM and a hub (master die) was sent to them it was noted in their record books as follows:

 

 

This listing is for a wings & propeller design from 1942.  Note the words 'HUB SENT HERE' in the right hand column.  Your document clearly states that these hubs were to be sold at cost to the manufacturers.  I was told that a hub was used to create a stamping die then it was returned to the U S Mint??  Amongst tens of thousands of hubs and dies from The Robbins Company archives there were no surviving hubs from the U S Mint.  If I counted all the entries in their record books I am sure Robbins received 100+ hubs for various insignia they made for the QM.  In all the dies I have handled, I think I have one U S Mint hub from The M C lilley & Company and one from The Irvin H Hahn Company.

 

In theory, insignia stamped by different manufacturers using a stamping die made from the same hub should be precisely the same.  In reality, they aren't the same for many reasons:

1. Each factory utilized slightly different processes, had different equipment, and employed different people that resulted in differences in finished goods from one company to another.  Knowledge of these differences is key to ascribing insignia to the correct manufacturer when there is no hallmark.
2. After a stamping die is made from a hub an engraver would chase some, many, or no additional details into the die.  If a factory did chase additional details into a die it would make insignia that is clearly identifiable and different from other manufacturers.
3. The hub only made the obverse side of the insignia.  Each factory made their own tooling for the reverse.  They also made their own trim tools and piercing tools, if required.
4. Some companies applied finishes or used attaching mechanisms not offered by other companies.

Thanks,

Heath

[cwnorma]

Heath,

 

I love the fact that you post here amongst us wing-nerds!  For our sake, your collection (and knowledge) truly pushes the envelope about what is known with respect to insignia makers.  Other collecting communities should take note!  But, I think perhaps the reason you may have found us wing-nuts is we (perhaps uniquely so amongst insignia collectors?) seem to actively pursue small variations for our collections.  For my own sake, the more I study these wings and their makers, the more I discover that this was not merely simple commerce.  There are complex, socio-, economic- and even governmental-threads woven throughout.

 

Thanks again for helping us illuminate it all!

 

Chris

[pfrost]

Sure, it could be said that we "actively pursue small variations for our collections" or is equally likely that we have developed behavioral issues due to being dropped on our heads as infants.  Six of one, half a dozen of another.  LOL

 

But ditto to what Chris says.