A WW1 Jessop "Cousin"?

[blind pew]

Here are some images of an "unknown maker" wing that I purchased from Ron at Flying Tigers a few years ago. Ron said at the time he had only seen six such wings. I have been looking over fake vs real Jessop wings; in that process I remembered that I actually have a non-Jessop wing that has periods after the "U" and the "S",  just like original Jessop wings. 

 

Then looking over the wings a little more, they actually have some other similarities to Jessop wings. Is it possible that this "unknown maker" is actually Jessop? I know that the real Jessops posted by collectors have all had "Jessop" stamped on the back, while this does not. Just coincidence with the similarities, or does it suggest a link to Jessop? I posted the image of the Jessop wings on the Chris's extensive WW1 wing thread (boy.......................that is quite a reference!) Notice even the font of the "US" lettering is the same. 

 

Any thoughts? I boosted the images from Ron's site. I figured he wouldn't mind, as I had bought the wings and his pics are far better than what I can do. 

[cwnorma]

Tom,

 

I'm not sure they are Jessop--but they definitely are nice wings.  Jessop was usually very good about marking their creations.  I do have a theory, and I think they are related--if not by manufacturer...  Mind you, its only a theory.   I have shared this hypothesis with Patrick and Russ... And, they both politely listened and started walking away...  Backwards...  V-e-r-y   s-l-o-w-l-y...

 

Anyway, this is my crack-pot notion: I believe there is a category of wings, that hasn't really been written about, that could loosely be called "Late 1918" or "Keeping up with the Adamses" wings.  

 

In December 1918, a spare description of the new Adams style wings was published in the Air Service Journal.  They were described as having straight wings, attached to a  squarish shield with prominent shoulders.  A week or two later, actual photos of the new badges emerged.  The new Adams badges were much derided by the aviators.  A lot of jewelers too probably looked at the Adams designs and thought, "Well, if that's the way the Government is going; I can do better than that!"  What I think happened next is a number of jewelers rushed to bring wings to the market that ultimately can be seen as variations on the Adams theme.  By then, the whole wings "arms race" had been going strong and steady since mid 1917.  These jewelers had every reason to believe the fancy wings party would keep on going, and likely had no notions the Army would step in with the whole "FROM OFFICIAL DIE" thing and shut it all down.

 

So I do think they are related, but I think its because  both your unknown maker wing and the Jessop wings fall into this "Late 1918" category.

 

So that's it.  My opinion.  That, and about six bucks, will get you a pretty good cup of coffee.

 

Warm regards!

 

Chris

[blind pew]

Thanks for the information! That seems like a reasonable, well thought out explanation, which is far more than what I knew! I guess that would explain why we don't see many of these "unknown makers" as demand had dried up. 

 

It's been a few years since I've had a cup of coffee. Is it really six bucks for a cup of coffee now? I guess its a darn good thing I don't drink alcohol either- one could go broke with those habits!

[blind pew]

But dont you find the periods after the "U" and the "S" , the shoulder shape of the wings and the shape of the shield to be very similar to the Jessop wings?

[cwnorma]

Certainly so!  I also see many differences:  The feathering. The relative proportions of the shield.  Raised versus incised stars.  Clearly the two badges share a common design influence.  Regardless, both are wonderful!

 

Chris

[pfrost]

That is another lovely wing.  I seem to recall seeing that particular badge in one of the shows back east being sold by Charlie, "The "real deal" Snyder many many years ago.  My dad, who is also a militaria collector, had told me (as a newbie) to go talk to Charlie and see what he had.  There were two Ricker mounts of wings, one was full of all good WWI wings  (as best I could tell) and one was full of fakes.  The "real" ones had exorbitant prices and many were spoken for, while the other case had all sorts of available (and for a discount).... LOL.  Because Charlie knew my dad, I was able to spend a good couple of hours handling all the wings I could.  It was an excellent learning experience, but I do recall that particular pattern and I suspect it was one and the same.  As many of these rare wings have tended to work their way through collections and dealers over the years.

 

As to Chris' thoughts, I think he does have some merit. I suspect that once the post WWI brass decided to reign in some of the wild-west attitudes of pilots wearing what they probably thought of prom-inspired insignia, that there was also a concurrent adjustment period when a fair number of manufacturers (and gullible young pilots) were finding out the hard way that the Army leadership was in fact serious about strict adherence to the new regulations.  I can imagine a fair number of "Oh, you were SERIOUS about that new regulation and I cannot strap an obscenely large and ornate gold and silver badge on my chest?!" conversations. I often wonder what the final iteration of those wings would have been, if left to run its course.  Perhaps it would have been like  Goering and other high ranking Nazi's in WWII, would they have eventually ended up with platinum and diamond encrusted wings being worn by some kid who just passed flight school?

 

Even the Marines didn't get away with going to far astray from their official designs and we all know how much they enjoy their bling. 

 

Also, I have always felt that the "romance of being a pilot" lasted up to the first flight on a cold wet morning being flown from a muddy field in a stinky open cockpit, cloth and plywood built death trap that was more than likely to plummet to the ground and catch on fire, killing all on board and any stray cattle, sheep or farmers who had wandered onto the landing strip to see that the commotion was. As collectors we tend to think that it was all giggles, Sam Browns, flying knights and pretty girls in the Air Service, but I believe that those guys who were actually returning from France (and were probably the ones being promoted) had a better sense of the reality of combat flying. Cold, dirty, uncomfortable and scary as hell. I wonder how much of the new Adam Design regulations was driven by crusty old lifers in the Pentagon or the experienced pilots coming back from France and seeing what the guys who never made it over there were ornamenting on their uniform.  Im sure that must have annoyed off a few combat pilots with their "simple" bullion wings.

 

Hap Arnold had been instrumental in designing the early bullion badges and I have always wondered what his thoughts on the later WWI explosion of insignia types.  Maybe someone has some information about that.