|
US ARMY HAT CORD – EXTREMELY RARE ORIGINAL
QUARTERMASTER DEPARTMENT SEALED STANDARD SAMPLE:
In order to establish a definite pattern for a
particular item of equipment, uniforming, and insignia,
once the army had made a selection, a sample of that
piece was provided to the appropriate department and it
was identified with a tag providing the nomenclature,
approving authority, and the date of adoption, and the
item was literally “sealed” with an embossed hot wax
seal placed over the ties that attached the tag to the
item. As there was only one sealed sample for each item
they are by their very nature unique. Further, once
that particular piece was no longer in use or had been
superseded by a replacement, these sealed samples were
disposed of, and surviving examples in modern
collections are quite rare.
This hat cord intended for wear on the issue campaign
hats consisted of a black cord with scarlet acorns and
sliding knot, and was designated for use by enlisted men
of the Militia Bureau in 1923. The hat cord shows some
age due to storage as the threads covering one of the
acorns have partially unraveled, but otherwise the cord
is in excellent shape with no other condition issues.
The original Quartermaster Department tag, measuring 5”
long and 2 ½” wide, is still present and completely
intact, to include the black wax seal that secures the
red cotton tape ties on the reverse of the tag. The wax
seal is impressed in the center with the insignia of the
Quartermaster Department, and around the circumference
of the seal is the legend “OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER
GENERAL U.S. ARMY” The text on the tag is fully legible,
to include the ink signature of R. H. Rolfe, Assistant
to the Quartermaster General.
There is only one “R. H. Rolfe” listed in Hietman’s
Historical Register and Dictionary of the U.S. Army
which lists all of the officers who served between 1789
and 1903 – Robert Henry Rolfe. Rolfe, a native of New
Hampshire, served as a colonel of the 1st New
Hampshire Infantry in 1898, was mustered out and
returned to service in 1899 as a major as an Inspector
General of Volunteers. In 1901 he was appointed as a
captain in the regular army and assigned to the
Quartermaster Department, where he was apparently still
serving in 1923 when he signed this tag.
The rarity of these sealed samples cannot be overstated
and they are excellent documentation of the methodology
used by the U.S. Army to clothe and equip their
soldiers, and would make for a very special addition to
your uniform and insignia collections. $175
|
