No. 097 May, 2009
Did You Ever Wonder ?
By Harold Ratzburg
Did you ever wonder when these crazy militaria collectors, like us, started the this illogical thing about collecting stuff, stuff that you put away in the attic, or garage, or basement, or sometimes even building a special room or storage building for it just so that you know that you HAVE it and can talk about it, show it off occasionally, and meet with other "collectors" for rallies and have a "show off time" together?
The collecting mania has not been around a really long time. It is a relatively recent phenomena that has manifested itself as a strong hobby and investment area only within the last fifty or sixty years.
Prior to the end of the Second World War (1945), there was little evidence of any large collecting community.
Before World War One, common people were busy just trying to make it till the next payday and the people with money were busy showing it off by their big houses and fancy furnishings and country estates. I don't recall ever reading about any old time rail road baron that felt like, "Gee, I have to save this antiquity for posterity." They were only looking out to make more money and show off all their new stuff.
Then, after World War One, came the great depression which lasted until the start of World War Two, during which there was little or no money to spend on non essentials. My Dad couldn't even afford to buy me a BeeBee gun like the kid "Ralph" in the holiday classic movie, "The Christmas Story". Of course, I didn't shoot my eye out either.
Previous wars, like the Span-Am War around 1899, had of course, generated tremendous amounts of material---booty, relics, uniforms, badges, etc., but it was not exploited for its collector value as it is today.
Companies such as Francis Bannermann offered a wide assortment of muskets, cannons, uniforms, sword, armor and related equipment at what would today be considered dirt cheap prices, but at the time of offering were somewhat high. I can remember as a kid seeing the Bannerman ad somewhere which listed a Civil War saber for $12.50 and I wanted one so bad that I could almost taste it. I reasoned that I could help my Dad cut thistles out of the grain field with it, but there was no way that I could come up with that kind of money. Heck, I didn't even get an allowance. My pocket money came from hunting gophers as a bounty hunter. I got five cents for every gopher head that I brought to the town clerk for payment, but my career as a bounty hunter is another story not really connected to military vehicles, so I won't bore you with it.
During the American Civil War there were some exhibitions of captured Confederate flags, muskets and swords, but the items were not considered collectible in the modern sense of the word. Indeed, with the advent of cartridge weapons, all the muzzle loaders were relegated to the category of outdated weaponry and were used only by those who could not afford the newest improved cartridge firearms. There were no collectors back then, the weapons were needed to get out there and settle that western frontier.
The Spanish American War Veterans of 1898 brought home few souvenirs and there was again no collectible market for relics of the conflict at that time, unlike today.
During the First World War (1914-1919), the American government sponsored Victory Loan drives and utilized captured German spiked helmets as an attraction to gather curious crowds for the purpose of soliciting donation to the war. After the conflict, scores of these helmets languished in civic centers, schools, libraries and VFW and American Legion Halls to gather dust.
It would not be until the end of the Second World War (1939-1945) that the beginnings of a collector hobby community could develop. American soldiers returned from this conflict laden with war souvenirs---colorful German flags, daggers, pistols, swords, uniforms, buckles, etc. American vets who fought in the Pacific brought back samurai and Japanese military swords along with Rising Sun flags, weapons, and Uniforms.
Even before the end of hostilities, GIs were collecting and sending home collectibles. They were even allowed to send home Japanese Knee mortars, rifles, submachine guns and similar items through the US mail.
I remember our local druggist in my small town in Wisconsin having a display of about 10 German and Italian rifles that his son in the service had sent home. Another friend of mine, even as a kid, had a Broom Handle Mauser pistol, and another had a real honest to goodness German Schmeisser MP-40 Sub Machine Gun.
As time went on, GIs, who had fallen in love with their Jeeps in service, were able to buy Jeeps and other vehicles on the Surplus Sales market. Then, about 1970, a man in California organized the first MV collecting organization named the "National Military Vehicle Collectors Association", the NMVCA, and the hobby took off. In 1975, after a lot of club politics, the NMVCA gradually morphed into our present MVPA.
Are we having fun yet???? You bet we are!!!
copyright by Harold Ratzburg, 2009