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Exceptional WWII-era U.S. Army Air Forces Air Transport Command leather insignia/display piece, approximately 13 inches in diameter.
The central hand-drawn emblem corresponds to the distinctive WWII Air Transport Command insignia, depicting the stylized aircraft/wing form over a globe with the segmented arc above. Comparable original WWII examples are known in painted and appliquéd leather and are often identified as theater-made pieces associated with the USAAF Air Transport Command and CBI theater.
What makes this example particularly remarkable is its massive approximately 13-inch diameter and extremely elaborate handmade construction.
Surrounding the central Air Transport Command design is a separately applied and stitched leather border containing 48 individual stars. Also when you look closely at the flight or supply lines on the map three are many individual rectangles with a circle on top of that and a star in the center of the circle , maybe pointing out outposts? I’m happy to send additional pictures as it’s hard to see .. The 48-star motif is especially appropriate to the WWII period, when the United States flag consisted of 48 stars.
The piece is constructed from numerous individually cut sections of leather in several tones, all assembled and stitched by hand. The Air Transport Command design appears to have been laid out directly on the leather, giving the piece a wonderful one-of-a-kind theater-made quality. There is a crease in leather going from top to bottom currently as I have done nothing to it.
The reverse is completely unfinished natural leather and clearly reveals the hand stitching and construction.
This is substantially larger and considerably more elaborate than the more commonly encountered small round leather Air Transport Command jacket insignia. At approximately 13 inches, it may have been intended as a large jacket/back insignia, display piece, or other personalized serviceman-made item. Look at photos it’s marked Atlantic Ocean on bottom middle left, Indian Ocean on the low right of patch.
Original untouched condition with extensive age, wear, staining, creasing, surface losses, dryness and deterioration consistent with an old leather artifact. No attempt has been made to clean or restore it. Please examine all photographs carefully for condition and construction.
A fascinating and visually striking piece of WWII USAAF history combining an Air Transport Command design, theater-made leather construction, monumental 13-inch size and a complete 48-star border.
Exact theater of manufacture and original use have not been independently documented, so the photographs should be considered part of the description.
