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WORLD WAR ONE “AEF WORLD WAR” TRENCH ART – A VERY
PRACTICAL DISPLAY PIECE WITH AN EXCELLENTLY EXECUTED
DESIGN:
This soldier-made piece of
World War One American Expeditionary Force Commemorative
Trench Art was fashioned from two French 75mm artillery
shells. The soldier created a canister consisting of
two pieces – the body and a separate top – measuring 5
˝” tall and 3” in diameter.
The canister is decorated with “pin punch” panels
consisting of a banner around the lip of the top “WORLD
WAR”, covering the majority of the front of the body of
the canister is a martial shield shaped panel bearing
“1918” and “1919” above and below a bold “AEF”, and on
the reverse of the canister body is rendering of the
Ordnance Department “flaming bomb”.
The size of this piece suggests it was intended to be a
functional piece, perhaps as a cigar humidor, and as
such it would have been the sort of piece displayed on
an officer’s or senior NCO’s desk. If it was used for
cigars, the top is of a size where it certainly could
have served as an ashtray.
The top has a snug friction fit, and for all intent and
purposes creates an air tight seal. The headstamps on
the bases of the two shells are all legible, to include
the date of 1917 on one of the bases.
Both the top and the body
retain their full forms with no dents or misshaping.
This is a very attractive – and functional – soldier
made souvenir of the Great War which commemorated his
service with the AEF on the Western Front.
SOLD
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