✅ SOLVED Trench Art, but what is it?

[vhs07]

I have what I first thought was a letter opener marked Verdun with a shell casing date of 1916.
But after looking at it, the blade part is rather flimsy and easily bent. I don't think it would of
survived long as a letter opener.
Any thoughts?











Thanks,
Charles

 

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[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Last but not least ...

Of all that I have read and seen regarding trench art, especially items like vhs07's letter opener, the following are a couple of my favorites. And if what they suggest is true, then I'd say there is still a remote possibility that vhs07's item is the real deal ... maybe.

SBB

... small items such as paper knives and rings made from battlefield detritus were popular pieces. Wounded French soldiers picked up scraps of metal from the battlefields and made them into letter openers and similar items for sale at Fort Vaux during the war.

... it is fair to assume many smaller items—rings, paper knives, etc.--were made by soldiers either in front line or support trenches, especially in quieter parts of the line.

 

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[Unicorn]

Well I think all of you Gentlemen can award yourself a gold star for the time and effort you have put into researching some very interesting objects. On the other hand of course, I withdraw any notion of it being a fish server .........

There you are, your own little medal. No, seriously I have enjoyed reading and learning from this thread.

Thank you

Unicorn

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

vhs07 ~

I thought you might enjoy this. It's a WWI postcard from France. Apparently it was one of the more popular ones sent back and forth between sweethearts. It reads ...


Porte Bonheur ... which in English means "Lucky Charm"

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The measurements of the bullet definitely make it french 8 mm, but if you could give me the length of the shell I can tell you what rifle it was for, I'm thinking this is a civilian made piece, more likely post war, and I'm basing that on the pieces I've looked at researching this one, not something I can define, but just a gut hunch from the workmanship.......STILL a great piece of history though, and worthy of a top display!

 

[diggummup]

Bob and BigC, you guys are uh,er, how do they say it.... off the chain! You always take it to a whole new level when it comes to id'ing something! Keep up the good work. Nola Ken you didn't do too bad yourself.

Did anyone notice or mention the fact that the "blade" part of this object is shaped like a bomb? Which I believe enhances Bob's theory of "The bullet represents the "Victor" who was France. And the button represents the "Loser" who was Germany." Figured i'd mention that.

Another question. I have literally thousands if not 100's of thousands files and images stored in my computer. Why do I need to save them here under "manage attachments"?

You don't, it's very easy and quick to post an image from the quick reply at the bottom of the page. Just click the "insert image" icon, it's the little square looking picture with a tree in it next to the "unlink" icon (the globe with the red x) and go from there.
As for changing the amount of pages of replies... click "settings" at the top right hand corner of the page, then on the left hand side of the next screen, scroll down a little bit to "My account" and under that click "General Settings", from the next page scroll down to "Thread Display Options" and choose number of posts to show per page. I had mine set at 80 per page but it seemed much slower to load than the old format for some unknown reason (since this is supposed to be an upgrade), so I put mine to 30 posts per page
. PM me if you need a hand at anything, i'll be happy to try and talk you through it. You've always been a big help to others, it's time for a little payback.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Hey diggum ~

You're a clever guy and deserve some kudos yourself. Until you mentioned it I never thought of the letter opener looking like a bomb. And while looking for a picture of a WWI bomb, it dawned on me that it also resembles a German Zeppelin, or Derigible as the French called them. At one time during the Verdun conflict the skies were filled with Zeppelins dropping bombs. The Zeppelin, also known as blimp, was an airship that was used during the early part of the war in bombing raids by the Germans. They carried machine guns and bombs. However, they were abandoned because they were easy to shoot out of the sky. And it may help to remind us that during WWI they didn't have the big bomber planes like they did later during WWII. Of course, they did have a great deal of large caliber artillery and motar rounds that did more than their share of damage.


Below is a little photo gallery I put together to illustrate your bomb theory ... which I like a lot!.

As they say, four pictures are worth four-thousand words.



1. vhs07's letter opener



2. WWI German Zeppelin



3. German dropping bomb from Zeppelin


4. Of course not all of the Zeppelins made it home safely

 

[diggummup]

I like the Zeppelin theory too. The bombs I was thinking about were more like these- View attachment 625492
Here is a site that shows some good (albeit graphic) photos of the Great war. Histomil.com • Information

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

diggum ~

Great site! And I really like your bomb, too.

I'm curious. Do you happen to know if bombs that size were carried aloft in Zeppelins, biplanes, or fired from artillery cannons? It looks kind of heavy. (I haven't researched it yet).

Thanks

Bob

 

[diggummup]

diggum ~

Great site! And I really like your bomb, too.

I'm curious. Do you happen to know if bombs that size were carried aloft in Zeppelins, planes, or fired from artillery cannons? They look kind of heavy. (I haven't researched it yet).

Thanks

Bob

I would tend to think they were dropped from planes. The Germans did use alot of aircraft in the form of biplanes in WW1, many capable of carrying a decent payload. WWI German Bombers

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Super! That answers my question. I had no idea that biplanes could carry such a payload ... especially vertically mounted to the wings like the picture shows.

Thanks

Bob

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Here's diggum's bomb picture again that mysteriously got "blown" off the page. (If he re-post it I will delete this one).

 

[diggummup]

Here's diggum's bomb picture again that mysteriously got "blown" off the page. (If he re-post it I will delete this one).

View attachment 625567

Another wrinkle in the new software I guess, i'll let yours stand. I tried editing it before you reposted it, didn't take for some reason.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Speaking of Bombs, Biplanes, and WWI trench art Letter Openers from Verdun, France that resemble bombs, I'd like to add this to the mix ...

German Gotha Bombers at Verdun:
60 Years Florennes Airbase
During the First World War when the German army constructed an airfield near the village of Morville. Based there were Zeppelin dirigibles for operations over the IJzer front and Gotha bombers to attack the city of Paris and the fronts of Verdun and along the river Marne.

Gotha Bomber History:
WWI Aviation Illustration: Germany 1916-1917 Gotha Bombers

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Poll ...

Which do you think vhs07's letter opener resembles most?

1. A Bomb
2. A Zeppelin / Derigible
3. Both
4. Neither

I vote 3. Both ... but leaning 51% toward Bomb because the overall shape tapers near the tail fin. I'd say 100% Bomb except for the fact the tail fin appears to be facing backwards.

SBB

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Diggum ~

Regarding the problem you had re-posting your bomb picture ...

I've noticed when I'm posting pictures, and especially when I'm editing, that an option box pops up asking if I want the picture ... 1. From Computer or 2. From URL

I'm not sure you get the same option box, but if you do you need to be sure and click on the "From Computer" option. Otherwise it gets weird with that URL deal. Uniform Resource Locator, is an address widget that identifies a document or resource on the World Wide Web.

Good luck.

SBB

 

[diggummup]

My reply with the bomb photo showed up when I first posted it. A few minutes later I edited it. When I did, the same reply (with the added edits) showed up under my original reply. So I had two replies basically identical (except for edit) showing up one after the other. I then deleted my original reply since it didn't have the edited text on it. When I did this, the photo disappeared like it is now. I just did the same exact thing on another thread and the same exact thing happened- http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/help/291603-formal-announcement-optional-skin-treasurenet-com.html . Click on it and see if you can see both screen shots that I took. I really haven't had a problem on the new forum once I found out where everything was. Just little quirks here and there. Posting photos have never been a problem.

 

[Unicorn]

SBB, I tend to agree with you about it looking like a bomb. Also you have to bare in mind the human element when they made these objects. They are surrounded with all types of ammunition of War, so their thoughts are geared to objects of War. Mind, this is just a personal opinion, for what it's worth.

Unicorn

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Bob and BigC, you guys are uh,er, how do they say it.... off the chain! You always take it to a whole new level when it comes to id'ing something! Keep up the good work. Nola Ken you didn't do too bad yourself.

Did anyone notice or mention the fact that the "blade" part of this object is shaped like a bomb? Which I believe enhances Bob's theory of "The bullet represents the "Victor" who was France. And the button represents the "Loser" who was Germany." Figured i'd mention that.



You don't, it's very easy and quick to post an image from the quick reply at the bottom of the page. Just click the "insert image" icon, it's the little square looking picture with a tree in it next to the "unlink" icon (the globe with the red x) and go from there.
As for changing the amount of pages of replies... click "settings" at the top right hand corner of the page, then on the left hand side of the next screen, scroll down a little bit to "My account" and under that click "General Settings", from the next page scroll down to "Thread Display Options" and choose number of posts to show per page. I had mine set at 80 per page but it seemed much slower to load than the old format for some unknown reason (since this is supposed to be an upgrade), so I put mine to 30 posts per page
. PM me if you need a hand at anything, i'll be happy to try and talk you through it. You've always been a big help to others, it's time for a little payback.

That is the obvious way to post a quick image and it was the first thing I tried but it does NOT work for me. If it did, I wouldnt be complaining. (sad smiley) There must be something Im missing.
Sorry about the improper multi-quote.

Thanks for trying to help Digg. Everyone else seems to have adjusted to the new format now so apparently its just me. A complicated system seems to be what everyone likes. But not me. It slows me down too much.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I was able to reduce the amount of pages so that gives me some hope. The default setting was not working for me to say the least.

I changed to the highest setting of 80 replies per page. The old format was 100 replies/page.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

My image posting seems to be working now. I didnt take the extra step to upload. In the old format it wasnt necessary but thats a lot better than the way I was doing it with managing attachments etc etc,

Great info here Bob. I think this needs the Green Check. Can someone explain to me how to do this? or is it back to the old way of OP only? Im beginning to think we need a new Green Check system because I have been reminding members for years but it didnt always get done. I think the OP or 5 members (whichever comes first) could give a green check.