1910'S PRINCETON A.G. SPALDING SWEATER

Today's post will showcase what's probably the oldest sweater in the RIVETED archives.... so far .This 1910's Princeton Spalding Bros.football sweater still has its early tag .This particular one was used up to the early 1920's.

  

 Albert Goodwill Spalding was a renowned Boston Red Stockings pitcher [Cubs] when he retired from the game,then he persuaded his younger brother Walter to manufacture sporting goods.. A.G. Spalding and his brother opened their business in 1876 ,with an $800 loan from their mother. Spalding got its start by manufacturing baseballs gloves,but the big break came when he paid the National League to use his balls, so that he might advertise them as the "offical" league ball. Soon, his company was making golf clubs, football ,tennis rackets, basketballs, and anything else remotely connected to sport. .The brothers opened A. G. Spalding & Bros., the Chicago sporting goods store that would grow into a chain over the next 25 years.1887 was the year the company manufactured the first American football. In 1899, the company allowed other retailers to order directly from the their catalog. The new policy mandated quality, fixed retail prices, a fair profit to retailers, and consumer satisfaction. By 1901, the chain had grown from three to 14 stores. "Quality First" became the organization's slogan.....

FROM THE RIVETED STUDIO ......OUR LATEST RECREATION

all artwork © patrick segui 

So here's another "recreation" from the riveted studio.This 40's stenciled sweatshirt, pays tribute to the US.Navy men who fought during the operation dragoon in the south of France....

PT 209:

On August 14th, the eve of the invasion of Southern France AKA operation dragoon,PT 209 was out on his first combat mission in several weeks in the Mediterranean . PT 209's role, along with several other Ron 15 boats, was to help guide the first troops in the invasion to their designated assault areas.

Thousands of airborne and seaborne troops were to land ahead of the main invasion to secure important locations including coastal batteries that could threaten the main assault force. PT 209's role was to act as a beacon, sliding into enemy territory and, at a predetermined fixed point, guide those first troops through the darkness.

Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944.It came in the later stages of the war and was overshadowed by the earlier and larger Operation Overlord that summer.The original plan was to invade on June 6th, 1944  while the troops were storming the beaches at Normandy but the plan wasn't meant to be for a single reason: there just weren't enough landing craft to get soldiers where they needed to be. Operation Overlord went off by itself, and southern operations were confined to Italy. Two months later, the men and materiel had been gathered for an assault. my grand father ,as a soldier in the first French army ,took part in the operation. 

The invasion started with a parachute drop of the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by the amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army and by a force made up primarily of the French First Army. The landing caused the German to abandon southern France and to retreat under constant Allied attacks to the Vosges Mountains. Despite being a large and complex military operation with a well-executed amphibious and airborne component, Operation Dragoon ,perhaps because of its lesser number of casualties ,remains overshadowed by the Normandy invasion......

RODEO KING .....RALPH DOUBLEDAY

In the early years of rodeo,Ralph Doubleday changed the way rodeos were photographed. When rider Gus Nylen was bucked off his horse, Doubleday took a picture of him in midair, becoming the first person ever to capture such an image."action picture " was born.

Doubleday was fearless in his pursuit of the dramatic shot,by being right there in the arena standing there,hopping to shoot the shot

While many of his images were sold to magazines and the press, Doubleday's primary and substantial income came from photographic postcards .After 1907, when Congress legalized the mailing of divided-back postcards with the message on the left and the address on the right, the production of photographic postcards grew into a substantial business.A national craze for postcards made the first decades of the twentieth century.It was the golden age of picture postcards.Americans were then mailing nearly a billion postcards annually .Entrepreneurs, such as Doubleday, found a niche in this business. Besides drugstores and souvenir shops, 200 Woolworth stores carried the Doubleday line at one time. It is estimated he sold over 30 million postcards.

SO I DID IT AGAIN.....

all artwork © patrick segui

 So i did it again ....here's the new period correct, hand made reproduction sweatshirt.I must say that this one is even more convincing and is your best ever alternative to the real deal.

i've chosen one of the most iconic and reproduced USN squadron's mascot : felix the cat of the famous VF-3 .

The VF-3 is the second oldest fighter squadron operating in the U.S Navy and is known today as Fighter Squadron Thirty One.VF-3 has a rich history and we can trace It’s beginnings in July, 1935. During WW2 VF-3 served aboard the carrier USS Lexington until its sinking during the Battle of the Coral Sea .It was then assigned to the USS Yorktown until the Battle of Midway. After Midway, the squadron served in several other posts, including the USS Enterprise until the end of the war. After the battle of Midway, VF-3 and VF-6 [who was also using the same mascot] swapped designations on July 1943, resulting in a three year controversy as to which squadron owned the "Felix" name and emblem it was until VF-3 was re-designated VF-3A on November 15th 1946 and awarded the official approval to adopt Felix the Cat by the Chief of Naval Operations. VF-3A was then re-designated VF-31 on August 7th, 1948.  The Chief of Naval Operations approved the official adoption of the "Felix the Cat" name and call-sign by VF-3A.  On August 7th 1948, VF-3A became today's VF-31 aka the Tomcatters.....

WHAT'S INSIDE THE BOX ........

all artwork © patrick segui

so,i've finally done it!! as the 2 years RIVETED's anniversary is coming up, i've decided to mark the occasion with a unique piece to finance a little project of mine.This is the first sweatshirt made ,"el numero uno"  so grab it fast while it lasts. This vintage 40's single v shirt has been marked by hand using an antique Naval stencil [front] that was originally intended for duffel or sea bags. Please note there was no use of screen printing or any other commercial garment printing method in the manufacturing of this shirt. it was made using authentic military materials and techniques only. The resulting impression will continue to fade with time eventually leaving only the permanently stained cotton fibers and having no tactile effect remaining.check this out ....HERE

WW1 FRENCH TANKER JACKET