US WW1 Officer Display and Grenade Vest

[wright]

This is a little display I've been working on, I thought I'd show off a bit of the progress I've made.


This is supposed to be an American Cold Weather uniform setup. I believe the overcoat is an officers and I have an officer's tunic, however it is very lightweight and small and does not fit on the mannequin. The belt is a Sam Browne leather belt marked 1917, most likely British but it works for my purposes. I am curious to know what the cord and hanger on it would have been used for, I was told when I bought it that they are for a bugle but I suspect they might have been used for a pistol.

Now I'm not really sure what else to put with this, I can't find many pictures of American troops during the winter so it will probably turn into a regular officer's display.





Here is the grenade vest:
(This will probably go with a different combat uniform)




Looks to be marked Seltzer Bro's, and I can't make out the other stamp.

[p-59a]

The vast majority of Sam Browns worn by U.S. troops during WW1 were British made. As for that lanyard, I see no indication of hard use. I can only guess that maybe a watch or compass could have hung from it...maybe. As far as the coat is concerned those are the same buttons on my WW2 Makinaw coat. I would like to see better pictures of that coat. On a side note, Welcome to the forum! You will learn allot on this site and if you are mistaken on anything you post the people on this site will correct and inform you. A wealth of information can be found here, in fact I look for things at swapmeets that baffle me and post here in order to learn about them. Good luck!!!! On another side note people living during WW1 tended to be smaller than people today. If you are looking to display on a mannequin look for a young adult mannequin. I display my stuff on a couple of full size and several 3/4 person (neck to knees no arms).

[wright]

The vast majority of Sam Browns worn by U.S. troops during WW1 were British made. As for that lanyard, I see no indication of hard use. I can only guess that maybe a watch or compass could have hung from it...maybe. As far as the coat is concerned those are the same buttons on my WW2 Makinaw coat. I would like to see better pictures of that coat. On a side note, Welcome to the forum! You will learn allot on this site and if you are mistaken on anything you post the people on this site will correct and inform you. A wealth of information can be found here, in fact I look for things at swapmeets that baffle me and post here in order to learn about them. Good luck!!!! On another side note people living during WW1 tended to be smaller than people today. If you are looking to display on a mannequin look for a young adult mannequin. I display my stuff on a couple of full size and several 3/4 person (neck to knees no arms).

Thank you for the advice! Here are some better pictures of the coat:

[p-59a]

Well that is not a Makinaw coat. I have not seen that before. I am sure someone will chime in.