Military Collectors at Attention

Morphy Auctions’ recent three-day Firearms and Militaria auction surpassed expectations and generated nearly $7 million in sales, proving that collectors still feel patriotic about military items and history. Militaria collectibles are prized artifacts for history buffs and collectors with an affinity for one or more military branches. Morphy’s offered a wide variety of items, including […]

A Flagg Worth Honoring

Dear Lee,

For many, July is the best month of the year. The first full month of summer gets off to a bang, thanks in large part to Fourth of July celebrations. Honoring our independence is a grand time to wave the flag. And while we’re at it, this July just might be the perfect time to honor another Flagg as well.

James Montgomery Flagg was 39 when the United States entered World War I in 1917, much too old to serve his country in battle. Instead, Flagg drew on what he did best, and in the process helped not only the war effort but helped shape the face of a country.

A leading illustrator of the time, Flagg’s dramatic creation of Uncle Sam exhorting “I Want You For U.S. Army” so resonated with the public that it became a recruitment marvel and one of the most enduring images of the 20th century.

Flagg didn’t invent Uncle Sam, of course, but, with the top hat, goatee, the burning eyes and long finger pointing at the very soul of able-bodied Americans, he did transform him into a powerful and convincing figure. Flagg’s Uncle Sam poster struck a patriotic nerve, with a staggering four million copies printed between 1917 and 1918.

Flagg produced 46 posters for the government, many of them featuring Uncle Sam. He wasn’t the only artist to step forward, of course. As many as 300 illustrators volunteered their talents to promote the war effort, including the likes of Howard Chandler Christy, N.C. Wyeth and a young Norman Rockwell. But it was Flagg’s work that proved most effective and memorable.

During World War II, Flagg’s Uncle Sam reemerged and was found in front of every post office and recruiting station in the country.

Flagg, who had a healthy ego and was not shy about sharing his opinion, called his recruiting poster “the most famous poster in the world.” Few could argue otherwise.

Sadly, Flagg’s fame dimmed as the post-World War II era dawned. The role of illustrators changed dramatically. They needed to work fast to adapt to the evolving world of mass markets and color photography. Flagg’s style fell out of fashion and as it did his health faded. “I really died twenty years ago,” said Flagg referring to his career later in life, “but nobody had the nerve to bury me.” Flagg passed away on May 27, 1960, at the age of 82.

Time is relentless and change steadfast, but while we celebrate all that is magical about July, let’s not forget James Montgomery Flagg and his most famous work, an Uncle Sam who unified a nation during its most desperate times.

Cheers!

Paul Kennedy
Editorial Director
Kovels + Antique Trader
pkennedy@aimmedia.com

 

James Montgomery Flagg’s famous World War I Uncle Sam recruitment poster.

 

Later in life, Flagg began to resemble his Uncle Sam character.

World War II Teapot

Q: This teapot was part of my aunt’s estate. It’s black with raised blue and pink dots, gold lettering and trim, and is 5 1/2 inches high. It says “For U.S.A. Britain and Democracy” on the lid. There is a looped rope mark on the bottom and the words “World War II, Made in England, Escorted to United States by the Allied Fleets.” It has a tag with the British flag and “Britain carries on” on one side and the story of how this teapot was made to sell in America. What is it worth?

A: The looped rope mark is called the Staffordshire knot. Several Staffordshire potteries made these teapots and sold them in the United States to raise money for the war effort in Britain during World War II. Some teapots were made with slightly different wording on the lid and “Escorted to the U.S.A. by Royal Navy” on the bottom. Your tag explains that they were made by women who replaced men “employed in defense of their country.” Credit for the sale of the teapots was applied to the debt Britain owed the United States for the purchase of war material. Merchant ships crossing the Atlantic during the war were protected from enemy attack by escort ships from the United States, England and Canada. The original hang tag adds provenance to your teapot. It’s rare to find the pot with the tag. Value of your teapot: up to $90 with the tag.

World War II Code Machine Found at the Bottom of Baltic Sea 

In a week marking the 79th anniversary of the bombing at Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into World War II, one of the war’s most significant items was found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. One of the legendary code machines called Enigma, used by Nazis in World War II to code messages, was found in its 75-year-old watery grave recently by a group of environmentalists. Divers were searching for abandoned fishing nets in the Bay of Gelting in northeast Germany. The machine is going to be restored at the state’s archaeology museum in what is expected to be a yearlong process. After that, the Enigma will go on display at the museum. 
 
Naval historian Jann Witt from the German Naval Association said he believes the machine was thrown from a German warship in the final days of the war. The breakthrough helped the Allies decipher crucial radio messages about German military movements. The Allied forces worked hard to decrypt the codes produced by Enigma, which were changed every 24 hours. British mathematician Alan Turing cracked the code in 1941. Historians believe it shortened the war by about two years. The story was turned into a 2014 movie called “The Imitation Game.”

 

 

Toy Cars

The toy auto of the 1920s and 1930s is an important vestige of childhood and a collector’s treasure. Collectors distinguish between cars made before 1940 and cars made after World War II. Metal toy cars were not manufactured in the United States from mid-1942 to late 1945 because of the war. Many of the bronze […]

Lighting Mid-1920s to the 1960s

From about 1925 through much of the 1930s, art deco designers created lamps that softened the light cast by electric bulbs. They replaced colored-glass shades with frosted, opaque, and smoked glass and designed uplights, indirect lighting with bulbs that shone upward. Stained glass went out of favor, and bronze, painted metal, alabaster, marble, lacquer, chrome, […]

How to Buy or Sell — Firearms, Knives and Military Memorabilia

Collectors of military memorabilia search for everything from toy soldiers to working guns. Many of these souvenirs are dangerous, and any gun, hand grenade, or other military object that might hold explosives should be checked by local police or other experts. If you have children in a home with military memorabilia, be sure the guns […]