Picked up this Camp Hale graphic shirt recently but I'm not 100% positive it is original. I asked around on some of the 10th Mountain and Camp Hale facebook groups and got mixed opinions as to whether this shirt is authentic. The majority believe the shirt to not be period due to the construction being a little more robust and durable than original shirts which appeared to be rather thin and poorly made. Additionally, another point of contention was the shirt tag. While the tag appears to be old, and not the new design used by The Real McCoys (which has a product line of WWII and Korean War era graphic shirts with a modern version of the label), it is not one I saw on any original shirt that was photographed by other collectors I was able to reach out to. Additionally, one collector stated that these shirts never had the logo printed in blue, and were always black. This does appear to be consistent with photos of original shirts and sweatshirts with the same graphic that I have seen. 

 

Attached are a couple photos of 10th Mountain soldier John "Jack" Verville (85-E) found on the Denver Public Library's 10th Mountain digital collection wearing his Camp Hale shirt in Italy (July 1945), and photos I took of the shirt I purchased. I tried my best to compare and contrast the construction and graphic and there does appear to be slight differences in the design, mainly the slashes underneath the ski, the spacing between the skies, the width/bulkiness of the ski boots on the skier, and the lack of creases on the left leg. The text appears to be similar but a bit more elongated and spaced out, maybe due to the nature of the camera and or possibly due to being worn and washed? 

 

What are your opinions, is this shirt original or a postwar reproduction?

 

 

 

 

it is original