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PATTERN 1917 US ARMY SADDLE BLANKET – VERY NICE
SCARCE SPECIMEN WITH THE LEGIBLE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT
LABEL INTACT: While the 1917 revision of the
Ordnance Department manual Horse Equipments and
Equipments for Officers and Enlisted Men, continued
to describe the Model 1908 Saddle Blanket - “ [it]
will be made of pure wool…[the color] to be a mixture of
olive-drab shade…[with] an olive-brown border of two
stripes…the blanket to be rectangular, 72 by 84
inches…each blanket to have the letters “U.S.” and the
bursting shell” – historical events had taken a firm
grip on the nation and the entry of the United States
into World War One dictated some changes in the
equipment in order to simplify and speed up production.
In 1917, the stripes at the ends and the Ordnance Bomb
emblem in the center of the blanket were eliminated, and
the resulting plain olive drab saddle blanket with no
distinctive markings became the standard. As with so
many other similar changes in equipment, the army did
not deem it necessary to document the change, rather the
Model 1908 Saddle Blankets simply stopped being made and
were replaced in inventory with the plain Pattern 1917
Saddle Blanket. Since the army did not assign a new
designation to the new pattern of blanket, collectors
have titled it the “Pattern of 1917” or the “Model 1917”
based on the contract year date that appears on the
manufacturers’ tags that are present on these relatively
scarce blankets.
From surviving examples, it appears that all of the
Pattern 1917 Saddle Blankets were manufactured by
civilian firms under contracts let by the Ordnance
Department. At the same time, the soldier’s bedding
blankets were also being manufactured by civilian
companies under contracts let by the Quartermaster
Department – two entirely separate procurement
arrangements by two autonomous entities. The only
substantive difference between the two blankets – the
saddle blanket and the bedding blanket – is most easily
determined by the presence of the contractor’s cloth tag
which was sewn to the corner of the blanket. As any
significant use of either blanket would result in these
tags being tattered beyond being legible or being lost
entirely, finding a blanket with the tag intact –
particularly the Pattern 1917 Saddle Blanket – is
notable.
Measuring 70” wide and 80” long, for all intent and
purposes, this blanket retains the original dimensions
and well within any variances in the manufacturing
process by the civilian contractors, and within the
range of shrinkage normally encountered in these
blankets as caused by the aging of the wool and repeated
washings through the years. Clean with bright colors
that show no sign of fading, this specimen shows little,
if any evidence of use and very likely was not issued.
It has survived the years in very solid respectable
condition with no damage.
The contractor’s tag is full form and legible, including
the name of the contractor, the date of the contract and
the all important Ordnance Department insignia. There
is also a name tag sewn adjacent to the contractor’s
tag, and it may very well be the piece worker’s identity
tag, sewn to the blanket by the woman employed by the
company who finished the blanket’s edges so that she
would get credit for the number of pieces she
produced. Paying manufacturing employees by the number
of pieces completed rather than for the number of hours
worked was a common practice in American manufacturing
well into the Twentieth Century.
As you can imagine, these Pattern of 1917 Saddle
Blankets did not survive in significant numbers due to
the hard use they experienced in service during the
First World War and the post war years, and as they
passed on as surplus to the multitude of post-army
agencies, charities and retail stores they were simply
used up with little to no regard for their historical
value. Finding one of these saddle blankets today with
the Ordnance Department tag intact is notable,
and this specimen will
certainly be a significant addition to display with any
of the 20th Century US Army saddles.
(0941) $450
NOTE: THE LIGHT STREAKS SHOWING ON THE BLANKET
IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS BELOW ARE RAYS OF SUNLIGHT SHINING ON
THE BLANKET AND NOT FADING, BLEACHED AREAS, OR
DISCOLORATION IN THE MATERIAL, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED IN
THE DESCRIPTION ABOVE.
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