Jump smock eagles

[John Hodgin]

Most members of the Forum are aware of the styles of reproduction breast eagles. Just in case some begining collectors are not, here is a photo of camo backed breast eagles. The top eagle is one of the more recent reproductions. The bottom two are authentic.
regards,
John

[Jos L C]

Hi John,
Can you post a bigger pic of the fake eagle front and back please ?
It's very important to find out what is wrong with these,at least I hope something is wrong on these ones !!!

Regards,
Jos.

[John Hodgin]

repro eagle

Hi Jos,

I'll post a photo of the rear later on. Is this image big enough? Jump smock collectors will know the backing to the eagle is just not correct in pattern and weave. The machine embroidery of this eagle itself is very accurate and scary.
You should study this because it is widely reproduced on tropical tan material, and I've seen these on excellent copies of tropical shirts and tunics. The bottom eagle is, of course, an authentic one.

Best,
John

[John Hodgin]

Repro reverse

Jos,

Here is the reverse..

[John Hodgin]

front

Here is a better of the front. The other is too light.

[John Hodgin]

Authentic, early, smock eagle

Here is a green backed eagle cut from a green step-in jump smock.

[Willi Z.]

Some great eagles John! Another passion we both share. Yes, that repro splinter backed eagle is the best one out there. As you correctly mentioned, the backing is the key. Also, tha back of the eagle holds the key...the repros are always flawed here. Yes, I have a few of those new repro tropical eagles....they are very, very good. They also make some nice repro eagles on a heavy green coarse cotton. No originals are on that fabric. Will post a few eagles tomorrow. The key to remember is that original splinter backed eagles are rare and very expensive........tons of the repro splinter ones in Europe.

Willi

[Jos L C]

Hi,
Very convincing repro eagle !
I believe I've found a original eagle in my collection that's from the same pattern as the fake.
It's the common eagle on blue backing.
The back shows another black cotton backing.
I believe this to be a original eagle and the back looks different and shows more detail.
The front however is very much alike,maybe the threads are a bit more tight on the original.

Jos.

[Jos L C]

The back.

Any comments on this eagle ?
It's very much alike.

Jos.

[John Hodgin]

Luft eagles

Hi Jos,

I think you are correct. Your eagle appears to be the style that was copied. The front is so much like the repro that it makes me nervous. Had you only shown the front I would have felt your eagle was a repro too. However the back looks correct and makes me believe the eagle is original. How long have you had it?

We had better show more smock eagles or go to the uniform section.

Ian, if you are reading this I just got in, unexpectedly had to work late. moremad moremad moremad moremad

[Jos L C]

Hi John,
I have the eagle for about 5 years,I guess.
The back shows some spots of glue,some collectors make or made displayboards and put their cloth items on with glue.
In this way they ruined a lot of stuff.
I've seen jackets and caps in collections having all things glued on 'cause mother or wife didn't want to sew things on.
Fortunately it mostly happened in the early years when all the stuff wasn't that expensive as things are now.
I hope that these collectors now only sniff glue instead of using it on nice items !!!!!
I'm positive about my eagle,but fakers are getting extremely close.
I've seen very convincing LW reed green(drillich)jackets and trousers in mint condition,eagles sewed on extremely well,paper tags,buttons,different pieces of silk liner,zig-zag stiching in the collar etc....ALL FAKES..!!!
Some dealers here had several,beware !!

Jos.

[Willi Z.]

That wool eagle is original. Though the back holds the clue, the front is textbook. The wool backed eagles are not that well made. Since wool backed eagles are only worth $25, the desire is not there to make them too perfect yet. Plus, the repros sell for about $15, hardly worth the effort when there are 1000's of these original wool backed eagles on the market. I probably have a solid 100 myself. On front details, the repros, like the bad camo one, has the details of the eagle too loose. In other words, the feathers are not tight enough......you can see a gap betwen them. Because I re-enact, I get to see the best eagles the market can make. Will post some photos of the new repro tropical Luft breast eagles tonight.........now, they are scary!!

Willi

[John Hodgin]

Hi Willi, Jos, and others

At work so this will be too brief. Willi, I have authentic eagles where the feathers are "loose." Will post some photos in the next day or so. Jos, the repro Luft. tropical clothing I've seen at shows here are almost perfect reproductions. Very disturbing to say the least. Looking forward to seeing Willi's eagles. Perhaps we should start a Luft. eagle thread on the uniform section.

Have a good day,
John

[Willi Z.]

Hi John,

Yes, maybe we should shift to the uniform thread if we are going to do trop eagles. Also have a nice repro wool backed eagle to post. But, for now........here is a trio of Grünmeliert eagles still sewn to green step-in smocks. They were all trimmed arather closely..........but, you can tell which were earlier smocks based on the tightness of the zig-zag stitching.

Willi

[John Hodgin]

more eagles

Here is a very old reproduction. This style has been around for years, yet I recently noticed a wool backed one on a flight blouse for sale (claimed as "resewn but authentic"), so perhaps it's good to show it anyway.