A. Johnson Company WWI Elegance

[mtnman]

There was a particular Wing that I never thought I would handle, much less own, and that was one of the rarest wings in the category of US military aviation insignia history, the A. Johnson wing circa World War I. I admire the similar Tiffany wing and it is a beautiful design, precious and unique and the aesthetic divergence that makes Tiffany such an example of sui generis.

 

Coming from Chris Norman's description of the aesthetic and compositional differences between the two wings, Tiffany and Johnson, I was intrigued by the Johnson wing because of the dense composition, more solid and masculine construction and presentation visually as well as the crescent configuration of the body of the wing itself to create the swept wing effect.

 

The gothic lettering choice for the US is most appealing and again, with its angular and squared off curvature most pronounced in the S and the bass of the U, framed by the dense and visually solid essence manifested by the thickness of the escutcheon, it is a magnificent and masculine effect. The wings themselves are second to none in there unique artistic design descending from thick, muscular shouldering with micro fletching along the shouldering surface, each wing   precipitates outward in a most pleasing visual swept display of overlapping fletching at various angular degree configurations relative to the escutcheon which is the anchor of the entire visual display.

 

The rear of the wing presents the arched Maker's Mark underneath the Sterling set intaglio and centered. Underneath the Sterling is an excellent arched display of A. Johnson Co. Which is undergirded by 14- 16, again centered, and then undergirded by Church Street N.Y. centered.

 

The centering of the Maker's Mark is precise and aesthetically pleasing along with the classic thick in assembly and blanchard style pin catch. 

 

This Wing came from a pilot that apparently settled in France after World War I and eventually this wing was purchased by an antiques/estate purchaser and dealer near Paris. 

 

As many of you know, I clean my wings so the completely "inundated in patina"  state of this Wing has been remedied and the Glorious radiance of its silver body and gold US has emerged in all the resplendent beauty of its unmitigated reflective essence.

 

From my own experience and speaking with other collectors, it seems the Johnson Wing is the more difficult to find regarding its rarity, so this discovery was made that much more poignant and meaningful in the blessing of finding such a rare piece of US Military Aviation History.

 

Hope you enjoy and blessings in your collecting efforts!

[cwnorma]

Mel,

 

What more can I say except to heartily congratulate you on an outstanding addition to your burgeoning WW1 wing collection!

 

Chris

[mtnman]

That is a special congratulations coming from you Chris! Thank you so much sir!

[rathbonemuseum.com]

What a find. Congratulations Mel!

[blind pew]

Really splendid!

 

This is one of my favorites as well. Thanks for posting a fine example. 

[pfrost]

Thanks for sharing this wing Mel.  You did good.

[pfrost]

That is interesting about this wing is that the hallmark is a variation of what is normally seen.

 

Types are relative, but you can divide them into what I suspect is the more common "type 1" straight hallmark and the less commonly seen (like this one) "type 2" arched hallmark.

 

I have always thought that this company was the source of the Tiffany marked wings.  Without out a careful look, the two badges (Johnson and Tiffany) are near identical.

 

My limited internet research has yet to find a direct link with Tiffany and Johnson, but it is well known that Tiffany didn't actually make all its products and used "jobbers" to make more mundane items for retail sale to the public.
 

[mtnman]

Excellent observation Patrick! Having the address 14- 16 Church Street in New York "City"  I presume, this must have been quite an operation.  I would love to see some pictures of their manufacturing facility if someone can find those treasures. Thanks so much Patrick, for adding a line of inquiry and such a visually adroit observation!

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Just reminding everyone this thread has the most collected data on the Arthur Johnson Manufacturing Co Inc so far

 

 

[bschwartz]

1 hour ago, rathbonemuseum.com said:

Just reminding everyone this thread has the most collected data on the Arthur Johnson Manufacturing Co Inc so far

 

 

Really shows you just how valuable those weekly posts that Chris did were.  What a treasure trove of information.  Thanks for taking the time to do that, Chris.

[cwnorma]

23 hours ago, bschwartz said:

Really shows you just how valuable those weekly posts that Chris did were.  What a treasure trove of information.  Thanks for taking the time to do that, Chris.

Thank you all for the kind words.  I just wish I had more time to dedicate to the things I want to do...  Since those were written, I've learned more interesting detail about several manufacturers--and so several of those threads need updates.  I also have a few great new wings I want to share.

 

All the best!

 

Chris

[blind pew]

Somebody picked up a nice pair of Johnson wings on ebay a few days ago for a good price. 

[cwnorma]

1 hour ago, blind pew said:

Somebody picked up a nice pair of Johnson wings on ebay a few days ago for a good price. 

Was this the wing you are referring to?

 

 

It was a very nice wing!  Engraved to an aviator and his sweetheart with some personal history too, and it sold for what I consider to be a good price.  But, it was a Paye and Baker wing not a Johnson.

 

Warm regards.

 

Chris

[blind pew]

7 hours ago, cwnorma said:

Was this the wing you are referring to?

 

 

It was a very nice wing!  Engraved to an aviator and his sweetheart with some personal history too, and it sold for what I consider to be a good price.  But, it was a Paye and Baker wing not a Johnson.

 

Warm regards.

 

Chris

That was it!

 

My mistake- thanks for the correction, Chris!

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Wow. that was a bargain. Congratulations to the winner!

 

[Bull Moose]

Thanks!

Here are a couple better photos of the wing.

 

I will add some additional photos to the WWOWW Paye & Baker thread.

[cwnorma]

Really lovely!  Thanks for sharing.

[mtnman]

What a beautiful wing and a splendid sentiment indicating what this man was fighting for, his beloved. 

[blind pew]

21 hours ago, Bull Moose said:

Thanks!

Here are a couple better photos of the wing.

 

I will add some additional photos to the WWOWW Paye & Baker thread.

Really splendid wing and at a great price! The cool thing is the personal note from the family member as well. Thanks for sharing the photos. 

[Bull Moose]

Thanks for all the kind thoughts. 

 

Without this forum and Bob’s WW2wings site I would have never been able to research this wing and feel confident bidding on it.

I would like to thank all the contributors who share their knowledge, that is what makes this forum great.
 

I would especially like to thank Chris for all his efforts with the WWOWW posts. That is what got me interested in WW1 wings.

 

Remi

 

[cwnorma]

6 hours ago, Bull Moose said:

...

I would especially like to thank Chris for all his efforts with the WWOWW posts. That is what got me interested in WW1 wings.

 

Remi

 

Remi,

 

It was my pleasure and you are most welcome!  

 

The purpose of the series was to help WW1 wings feel more accessible--I am gratified if the posts helped do that in some small way.  I have more planned, but unfortunately, lately, not much time.

 

That is a great wing and I hope it leads you to many, many more!

 

Chris

[5thwingmarty]

This little Johnson wing just arrived.  It is all of 1-3/16" in span.  It appears to have yet another version of the hallmark, and a different address which under a loop looks like 52 W 8th NY.

 

[mtnman]

1 hour ago, 5thwingmarty said:

This little Johnson wing just arrived.  It is all of 1-3/16" in span.  It appears to have yet another version of the hallmark, and a different address which under a loop looks like 52 W 8th NY.

 

 

Marty that is one of the most beautiful World War I mini wings/cap wings I've ever seen. I'm particularly drawn to the large gold US which stands spectacular and salient across the patina of the silver. The Maker's Mark adds an element of elegance and quality to the wing indeed, to have such precise and nuanced font on such a small wing indicates a dedicated standard of standalone design. To get the triple tier fletching on the wings on that micro level took some work regarding the die construction by the artisan, excellent balance and precision.  Just beautiful my friend, very, very nice find