Grandfathers Marine uniform

[Rakkasan187]

This is a stunning looking uniform.. Extremely well preserved and cared for. The insignia is vibrant and colorful. This is a museum piece..

Wonderful that you have the provenance and that it was your Grandfathers. Looking forward to seeing what you decide to do with a display..

Wonderful stories about the dynamite and home on the farm..

Great to be able to capture some of those unique family stories..

Smitty

[justbrowsin]

Thank you all for the kind words. I am trying to figure out a way on how to honor it. I don't know whether I want to build a display case for it or put it in the National Guard museum we have in town as a local piece to display. The poppy hanging from the button is supposed to be one handed to him as he stepped off the boat when he got back from Europe. Not sure if true or not.

[buellmeister]

Great collection and what an honor to have it bestowed to you. Thank you for sharing!

[justbrowsin]

Thank you buellmeister I appreciate the comments. I truly am grateful that my grandmother and mother kept it in such condition to pass on to myself. My mother regrets playing with stuff like the gas mask as a child because she and her brothers would play with it and unfortunately was ruined. Of course back then you don't realize the history of the items.

[MAP]

Just make sure if you do have it displayed in a museum, make sure it is a) a loan, b) displayed (many museums have too much stuff and it goes into storage and c) is properly maintained and displayed.

Personally I would keep it. As much as it is nice to see I would store it out of the light, off a hanger and protected against bugs, mold, etc. You can always pull it out when ever you see fit

[Rakkasan187]

I will echo what MAP said about museum offerings. I am a museum professional and work for the US Army Museum system, and there are quite a few stipulations for loaning an object versus donating an item. In many cases a particular "story line" must be met in order for a museum to receive an artifact into the collection. For years the museum system was accepting anything through its doors but them realized that there were artifacts coming in that would never see the light of day because it was not specific to a story line. For example, a Special Forces uniform that belonged to a Colonel shows up at the NCO museum, well no connection to Sergeants or NCOs so the uniform would never be exhibited.. The uniform sits in a closet (preserved) but it is useless for the storyline. Currently the Center of Military History has been directing it's field museums to look at their collections and downsize where appropriate. For many years museums were just bringing items in without capturing the provenance of the uniform, the persons personal story ect. History lost forever. The museum in turn decides that the uniform can't help so they ship it to a storage facility an there it sits.. Kind of like the last scene in Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark when they wheel the crate into a warehouse.

We are preparing to do a purge/turn-in of artifacts in the coming months, but we spend a lot of time reaching out to other museums asking if they would be interested in an item before we send it off for storage.. So the system does work if the museum workers take the time to reach out to it's fellow museum minions..

I would hang onto your family's uniform and items. You can do a shadow box with the uniform, look into getting a large shirt box from Hobby Lobby (Sport shirt, football hockey jersey size) and possibly place the uniform in there. That is one way of preserving. The next best way to preserve is do exactly nothing. It appears that your mom and grandmother did a remarkable job of caring for the item..

If you would like to display the medals, you could remove them from the uniform but I have reservations about doing this some times. If your grandfather was the last person to place the decorations on the uniform and someone removes them, the integrity of the uniform is compromised meaning that your Grandfather would not be the last person to place his medals on his uniform. If this was not the case you can remove the medals and display them in a shadow box.

One recommendation with medals though.. The suspension ribbon has a lot of stress on it due to the weight of the medal planchett. After many years of the medal suspended and hanging down.. a lot of tension will build up on the seam of the ribbon itself and in some cases will start to fray and wear, eventually separating the medal and ribbon. When storing the uniform I would lay it flat in an archival safe storage box. Line the box with acid free tissue paper and then place the uniform in the box. Place tissue paper in the sleeves to create a barrier between the front of the fabric and the back of the fabric.. (Imagine the tissue paper is an arm) and this will help preserve evenly and not create friction points where the two fabrics are touching. You can also build up some tissue paper in the chest and back area to create a barrier.

All of these methods are simply to help preserve your items. This uniform is stunning. One of the best WW1 era uniforms that I have seen in a long time. It appears very clean, dirt and lint free, free from stains, oils, ect and this has ensured a long shelf life.

Any paper type products that you have, I would place these in a binder in archival safe document protectors. Scan the items though if you can that way the originals can be stored in a safe deposit or fire proof cabinet. The scans can be viewed by everyone and you don't have to worry about the brittle paper be touched and handled.

Sorry for the long ramble but as a museum professional I would not be doing my job offering some of my knowledge and experience to those who wish to preserve and store an artifact. I am more than happy to assist when and where I can when it comes to preservation of historic artifacts..

I will end with this sad horror story. When I became the curator 3 years ago, I started a complete purge of the facility. The storage areas were a mess and there was stuff everywhere. It was an embarrassment to say the least..

Well as I am cleaning and sorting through artifacts in the back of one of the wall lockers, there was a coat that was rolled up in ball..

As I pulled it out from the back I nearly dropped dead. Rolled up in a ball in the back was a Confederate South Carolina Frock coat. Apparently the museum workers before me determined it was a PROP item and not original so they treated like a PROP.

It took all of 1 minute and 27 seconds to determine it was in fact and original Civil War era Confederate uniform. This was confirmed by several other civil war era uniform experts and when I told them the story, they too were just shocked at the lack of care and or treatment of the item.. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER...

So, feel free to contact me anytime If you would like some suggestions or tips to preserve this stellar grouping..

Smitty

[justbrowsin]

To MAP and Smitty, thank you for your ideas and insight on the idea of a museum. I think you have both thoroughly convinced me to keep it in my possession. Which I have no problem doing. Smitty, as time permits, I may PM you for more information about storing/displaying the uniform. I completely appreciate your explanation about the workings of a museum. The museum I was in contact with is just a little local museum dedicated to the local military and its history. I appreciate and never thought of the stress on any hanging medals. Definite food for thought. When I go through this process, I may lean on you for advice as there really is no one local that could guide me through the process. The story of the Civil War coat is just amazing. It makes you wonder what else gets thrown away or unnoticed by people who don't understand the item. Another quick story, went to an auction just recently where a seller had several old rifle clips and such stored and wrapped up in a paper. They were going to throw the paper away until they noticed it was an invasion map of Sicily dated 1943. The map had spots of cosmoline on it and was little beat up, but still sold for a lot more than the clips. I guess pay attention to everything...

[Rakkasan187]

Feel free to contact me at any time. Smitty..

[MAP]

IMHO...... (worth nothing)....

If it is a small local museum, I would be more then happy to loan it to them for a display and for a limited "engagement". It would pay tribute to your grandfather.

But I would just stipulate how it should be displayed (Smitty could probably tell you the best way) so as to minimize any concerns regarding damage.

[justbrowsin]

Thanks guys for all the input. I talked it over with my family and they are of the same consideration of keeping it at home. I myself thought it would be nice to show to the public but at the same time I do want to protect it. Smitty, I don't know why or how it was kept clean unless maybe he sent it home before it could get used. When he was gassed in July of 1918 he was sent to an aid station for awhile. It sounds like he may have lost most of his original equipment, as the back pack is not factory stamped with his name but penciled in. Most everything is in pencil. Also in his helmet. I assume that most of his actual gear was left behind when he was moved to aid station. Probably will never know. He did go back into combat after his stay at a field hospital. I do not have a record of a "wounding" that would qualify as a purple heart. But in the pictures I sent, I was thinking that extra chevron may be a wound chevron? any one with ideas?....