BOSS OF THE ROAD JACKET

Late 19th and early 20th century ,manufacturers of work clothes such as Boss of the road and Can't but 'em,started to "tailor" their ads for their demographic, hoping to establish brand loyalty.Their goal was to appeal to consumers "rugged sensibilities ,by creating logos baring strong animal symbols unable to tear apart their products .the hard working men who purchased such garments, required well-made and most of all,durable clothes. Having a recognizable company name or trade mark was a huge advantage when it came time of replacement.It was then that ad campaigns emphasizing on logos started in newspapers ,magazines and on the sides of buildings.The buildings were often general stores where the consumer could buy the advertised garments or brand.No doubt that it was the names and images on the work clothes buttons and tags ,that contributed to future purchases of that brand .These reminded the wearer how well a garment wore long after it was purchased .Nowadays in the vintage collector's universe same principals still apply ,but mostly focusing on rarity rather than quality..........

CLOSE COVER BEFORE STRIKING..

About 10 years ago while at my favorite flea market in Florida, i came upon a big cardboard box filled with vintage matchbook covers .It was the vendor's life time collection.At the beginning i just wanted to get one or two,but quickly realised cherry picking was ridiculous, as they were all amazing.Today ,following with my Navy fixation, i've decided to post some of the USN related ones .....to be continued of course.

From the 1920s to the 1950s,The give-away matchbook was one of the cheapest and most effective way ever found of putting promotional images into the hands of the public.The small advertising gimmick spread like "wildfire" into the pockets of millions of Americans. . Small and disposable, matchbooks were not only a highly successful marketing tool for a wide variety of products, they were also a great outlet for creativity and for legions of artists to make a living. Bathing beauties, regal leisure, and tropical locales adorned the covers, as did hand-lettered typography, stylized illustration, and eye-catching color....

MY MESSAGE TO THE BP EXECUTIVES .......IT SHOULD BE THE NEW LOUISIANA ANTHEM

SELF PORTRAIT OF THE OL' MAN ......

THE ALL AMERICAN ....the mighty 82ND 6/6/1944

No bull here ,just the real deal .It was acquired straight from the vet's family 20 something years ago, long before unscrupulous EBAY dealers, were putting up "Christmas trees" to boost a sale and cheat on unsuspecting novices ......This jacket belonged to an 82nd airborne paratrooper,from the 505th parachute regiment ,who fought at ste MERE L'EGLISE in June 6th of 1944. This trooper had 3 years in the service with 2 of them being overseas,which means he was one of the "original ALL AMERICAN" and fought in the first airborne operations in Sicily too...........
Rough n' tuff ....here's what you should look for,as it will guaranty "the real deal ": a weathered set of ribbons .Here we have 4 bronze stars for combat jumps and an arrow head for amphibious operation [ D DAY] too bad the trooper's wings are missing ...........
Distinguished presidential unit citation with 2 oak leave clusters .the 505th was the only unit with such an award,the first oak leave was for bravery during the fierce fights at ste MERE L'EGLISE .......
A rare 82nd patch with its rocker still attached .........
The hard to find british made, silk on felt patch,worn for the combined allied operations of market garden....
Can you believe it !?? look at the date it's almost unreal..........
A member of the 505th pir in Sicily.......
A stick of pathfinders from the 505th PIR in front of the # 11 C47 ready to leave for Normandy......
The ultimate cowboy .....this member of the 505th PIR in ste MERE L'EGLISE looks a bit like James Dean don't you think !??.......

Enough has been said about the 101st already and one might have the tendency of forgetting that the first American paratroopers were the men of the 82nd airborne division .Today is the 66th anniversary of D DAY and i just wanted to pay my modest respects to all the brave men of the "ALL AMERICAN"who fought and died for my country .

The largest combined military operation in history,"D-Day", was to be spearheaded by the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions. Visibility was hampered by poor weather conditions as the C-47's crossed the English Channel during the first hours of the 6th of June 1944. When the troop carriers finally did made landfall on the Cherbourg Peninsula they came under heavy German flak scattering many of the troop carrier flights. It was 0300 hours on 6 June 1944, when the 505th were given the green light to jump. Some Pathfinders were able to signal their dropzones. However, many of the troop carriers missed their dropzones and the All-Americans of the 505th began landing across a large swath of the countryside around Normandy.

Nevertheless, the 505th PIR was one of the first airborne units to hit the ground and despite the subsequent confusion surrounding the landing, were able to use it to their advantage mustering enough troops under the command of the 2nd Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort to liberate the first town in France, - St. Mere-Eglise. The paratroopers jumped prior to the actual start of the invasion "H-Hour". Because of the tradition of being the first into the fight, the 505th Regimental motto is "H-MINUS". For their performance in the invasions the 505th was awarded the Presidential unit citation, the unit equivalent of the Medal of Honor awarded to individual soldiers. In the words of author Clay Blair, the paratroopers emerged from Normandy with the reputation of being a pack of jackals; the toughest, most resourceful and bloodthirsty in Europe.......