Pre-WW2 (?) Naval Aviator Wing by JR Gaunt

[VMI88]

I picked up this unusual naval aviator wing today:

 

 

 

 

The hallmark is:

 

J.R. Gaunt New York

Made in England

 

I've never seen a naval aviator badge by J.R. Gaunt before, and the only one I could find on the web is in this forum thread (see post #12 by KurtA):

 

 

Kurt's post indicates these are pre-WW2 wings, and the design without berries on the wings is certainly early.  Does anyone have any additional information on these?  I would guess they're not very common since there's so little information out there.  What about a ballpark value (not for sale but just curious)?

 

Bill

[rathbonemuseum.com]

this is a between the wars NS Meyer pattern naval aviator wing, with US style fittings. As such, I have to doubt it is anything British at all. My reaction would be, huh, so the people restriking Meyer wings are getting more creative. But others may differ with my inconclusive assumption.

 

Tod

[pfrost]

JR Gaunt had a store open in New York around 1919-1920.  Apparently this is a flyer from 1921.  So the time seems ok for this wing.

 

I can not really offer much insight into this particular wing's authenticity, although I am leaning towards the positive side.  Gaunt was very active in making buttons from the late 1890's all through WW2 and beyond (I believe that Gaunt was purchased by Fermin in 1991 or so) and from what I have seen, they were marking items just as shown in this example. 

 

Someone showed a similar USN aviator wing in this thread--read post #12

 

[VMI88]

Thanks for the additional information!  I also believe this wing to be genuine.  It's clearly stamped rather than cast and the quality is high.  Maybe the early Gaunt insignia were made with fittings imported from the US, which became impossible once the war broke out?

[R Leonard]

 

Bill - 

 

Are they really silver?

 

Though some like to say silver wings were for NAPs, that is not true.  Silver wings were for Naval Observers in the 1920's.  See post #25 in the discussion here

 

Rich VMI '74

[VMI88]

Rich, 

 

No, that's just the lighting. The wings are the standard gold color in person. 

 

Bill 

[R Leonard]

 

Okay.  Just checking.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

These are NS Meyer pattern wings. So could be Gaunt bought these wholesale and marked and resold in the US. 

[Tonomachi]

Here is another US WW2 era insignia with similar hallmarks.  So were these made in the UK or in the US (New York) by maybe a subsidiary of JR Gaunt in the US? 

 

 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Another example of the JR Gaunt made in NY wing recently came up for auction

[VMI88]

Thanks for following up!  Can you post a link to the auction?

[rathbonemuseum.com]

It was sold on a FB deal or no deal page and already gone. Put images here for reference. 

[atb]

On 9/11/2023 at 1:30 PM, rathbonemuseum.com said:

Another example of the JR Gaunt made in NY wing recently came up for auction

It says "Made in England." The "New York" marking indicates a J.R. Gaunt office there to market their items in the U.S.

[VMI88]

3 hours ago, rathbonemuseum.com said:

It was sold on a FB deal or no deal page and already gone. Put images here for reference. 

 

Do you recall what it sold for?

[rathbonemuseum.com]

don't know