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In the spirit of our dear friend Marc Chevalier I have decided to create a thread to show you all the Disney Squadron patch collection that I am selling on eBay. To honor the rules of the Lounge with respect to live eBay auctions, I will only post HERE the patches that have sold. Enjoy!
831st Bomb Squadron, 485th Bomb Group:
About the Collection:
I purchased 65 patches from an individual in Feb. 2007. He said he bought them at a garage sale. I have studied these patches carefully and contacted many knowledgeable collectors of both squadron patches and Disney memorabilia.
A booklet showing all of the patches was sent to and examined by Robert Tieman, Manager, Walt Disney Archives.
The patch collection itself was also thoroughly examined by a team of individuals at the world's leading Disney memorabilia auction house. They could not reach agreement as to the age of the patches and decided not to auction them.
Reasons I believe these could date from the 1940s:
- These appear to have been collected by someone supervising the artists.
- Patches are each correctly sized for the specific unit.
- There were several different artists. (Quality of images varies a lot.)
- Each and every leather disc varies greatly by color, thickness, texture, etc.
- Some patches have vibrant paint colors, others muted.
- Some patches have varnish over the paint, others do not.
- Paint on some patches has cracked with age.
- A few of the patches are accompanied by original pencil sketches.
Concluding Thoughts:
During the war, Disney produced more than 1,200 designs for various U.S. and allied units. As described in the letter from Mr. Tieman, the Disney studio sent finished artwork directly to the units. It was up to them to execute the design on finished items. It is logical to assume that many units would have contracted with a small firm to create squadron patches on leather.
The studio did NOT keep full color copies of the final designs. All that exists in the Walt Disney Archives are black and white photographs. And, because the final designs were shipped (literally) all around the globe during the war, there is no definitive reference source. The only book published to date is "Disney Dons Dogtags" by Walton Rawls (1992). Many of the patches that I will be offering for sale in coming weeks are shown in the Rawls book, but many are not.
831st Bomb Squadron, 485th Bomb Group:
About the Collection:
I purchased 65 patches from an individual in Feb. 2007. He said he bought them at a garage sale. I have studied these patches carefully and contacted many knowledgeable collectors of both squadron patches and Disney memorabilia.
A booklet showing all of the patches was sent to and examined by Robert Tieman, Manager, Walt Disney Archives.
The patch collection itself was also thoroughly examined by a team of individuals at the world's leading Disney memorabilia auction house. They could not reach agreement as to the age of the patches and decided not to auction them.
Reasons I believe these could date from the 1940s:
- These appear to have been collected by someone supervising the artists.
- Patches are each correctly sized for the specific unit.
- There were several different artists. (Quality of images varies a lot.)
- Each and every leather disc varies greatly by color, thickness, texture, etc.
- Some patches have vibrant paint colors, others muted.
- Some patches have varnish over the paint, others do not.
- Paint on some patches has cracked with age.
- A few of the patches are accompanied by original pencil sketches.
Concluding Thoughts:
During the war, Disney produced more than 1,200 designs for various U.S. and allied units. As described in the letter from Mr. Tieman, the Disney studio sent finished artwork directly to the units. It was up to them to execute the design on finished items. It is logical to assume that many units would have contracted with a small firm to create squadron patches on leather.
The studio did NOT keep full color copies of the final designs. All that exists in the Walt Disney Archives are black and white photographs. And, because the final designs were shipped (literally) all around the globe during the war, there is no definitive reference source. The only book published to date is "Disney Dons Dogtags" by Walton Rawls (1992). Many of the patches that I will be offering for sale in coming weeks are shown in the Rawls book, but many are not.
