July 12-14, 2022 Collectible Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/13/2022
Exceptional example of a US World War I footlocker time capsule grouping named to 2nd Lieutenant Alfred George Schafer. The grouping is vast, and contains a plethora of paperwork, documents, photos, and uniform pieces, all which chronicle his time in the US Army Air Service. Schafer's military career began on December 3, 1917 when he joined the US Army and subsequently qualified as a cadet in the US Army Air Service. According to records, Schafer never traveled overseas with the Allied Expeditionary Force, but was assigned to various well known air fields around the United States. These include Camp Dick from April-May 1918, Dorr Field from May-August 1918, Wilbur Wright Field, from August-October 1918, and Payne Field from October 1918 to when he was honorably discharged on January 3, 1919. Based off of the paperwork, Schafer was an avid note taker and was preparing to go overseas. The grouping contains a large amount of classroom instruction notes and manuals regarding the functions of the Air Service, and Schafer's role as a 2nd Lieutenant and Aviator. Among these notes are maps, and pages of different symbols which would be used to identify lines, roads, advances, and much more on map keys. There are also several documents pertaining to Schafer's promotion to 2nd Lieutenant, as well as telegrams which order him to report to his various assignments. In the nutshell, Schafer seemed to have kept every document that was given to him both during his time in the service, and relating to his time in the service shortly after the war. The second layer of the trunk, beneath the tray, are Schafer's uniforms which include his wool dress tunic with, lightweight summer tunic, both with "vegetable buttons" and wool trousers. There is also an officer's visor hat, however the leather brim has separated. Also included is Schafer's early leather flying jacket which is in poor condition, as there is a large hole in the reverse at the collar. The cuffs and waistband are in good condition. There is also a nice clock, which was mounted to the center of a cut down propeller, and his pair of leather officer boots. Interestingly, the original uniform receipt in the group states that Schafer paid 95 dollars for his boots and uniform. The grouping is all contained in Schafer's footlocker, which is painted with his name and Army Air Service roundel. CONDITION: Most of the paperwork is wonderfully preserved but exhibits various blemishes which are typical of old paper. The flight jacket as stated, is in poor condition. The other uniform pieces are in otherwise good condition, with typical stains and blemishes noticed. The uniforms are devoid of insignia with the exception of the wool tunic, which boasts two silver service chevrons. The footlocker exhibits various scuffs, scrapes, and other blemishes, but the paint presents nicely. This is a very nice time capsule WWII Air Service grouping. Overall good. JLD
Item Dimensions: 32 x 18 x 14"