Trench Art from WWI & WWII – the Obsession Continues
I’ve become obsessed with buying trench art on eBay. I discovered the sub-art of trench art when searching for a bulk lot of stamps or something less exciting. After spending $100 on trench art, I ultimately decided to also spend $8 buying a book on trench art (Trench Art: Materialities and Memories of Wary by Nicholas J. Saunders – 2003). There aren’t many books on trench art and this one covers WWI almost exclusively. There is another book, Trench Art: An Illustrated History by Jane A. Kimball (2005), available at Amazon.com. The public and school libraries don’t have it, either.
What I’ve learned about trench art so far is that most of it was not, in fact, made in the trenches. A lot of it was made at safe locations outside the trenches. Of course, items COULD have been made in the trenches, but there is no real way to confirm this. A lot of trench art was made in hospitals as a way to encourage soldiers to recover. Also, a lot of trench art was made as a past time and a way to make money (by selling it to other soldiers by skilled craftsmen). It was rather a commerical effort for some, but also an effort to take something home for others or to pass the time. Most of it is not signed by an artist because it was technically illegal to steal shell casings (they were supposed to be sent back home and recycled). The most common type of trench art is the decorated artillery shell, which I am less interested in. The best examples are from Yser where lots of Belgian metalworkers were fighting. They had the skills to create elaborate designs, like extruding the shell to create a lion’s face, etc. The less skilled examples are mere engravings on the shells. After the war, civilians in the war torn areas created lots of trench art as a way to make money and recover after the war. These are usually marked with 1914-1919 or say The Great War. These were sold to soldiers or to pilgrims, widows, etc. I believe that most corseted styles (where the bottom of the shell is twisted to make a better vase) are from the post-war era, although I’m not sure about this.
Of course, there were no trenches in WWII and there seemed to be an increase in manufactured items being sold to the soldiers who then bought them and sent them back to their loved ones, rather than making them. However, I’m not sure about this because I don’t have Jane Kimballs book. Grr.
Anyway, I like trench art because it feeds into my interest in the military, war, bullet casings, art, strange religious objects, and offbeat jewelry. The first item I bought was a pin and earring set:
I was totally conned by the soldier’s photo on the back. It looks manufactured. The auction threw in the pair of earrings, which look similar in tone to the pin. They didn’t know if they came with the pin as a set. There is an engraving on the back that says 10K R.G.P. Google indicates that this stands for 10 Carat rolled gold palladium. My sister and I are suspicious since this looks so dark in color.
This ring, from Korea, seems to be a common style (I’ve seen others on eBay with a similar design). It makes me wonder if they were manufactured – but this one is the same tone of metal as the shell casings so I’m not sure. There isn’t any kind of special mark inside of it:
This is definitely the best deal I got out of all the auctions. It was a $1!! Trench art just doesn’t seem all that popular. I’ve been trying to find Iraq trench art, but without any luck. It does seem like trench art tapered off with time, although my father remembers seeing so many ash trays made from bullet shells during Vietnam that he never even bothered to acquire one. That is one thing to think about on eBay, whether bullet shell ash trays are really from the World War I or World War II or from Vietnam.
The auction said this was found with another bracelet that was dated 1946. It looks like a lot of the other World War II bracelets I’ve seen on eBay on online. I like it because it is well made. A lot of these are obviously hand done with varying skill levels and the workmanship on this one is nice. On the inside “Myrna” is engraved.
The item below is probably my favorite and also the most expensive. I love breweriana or drinking related items, probably because my father has a large beer glass collection spanning decades and continents. I haven’t really seen anything like this. My father thinks it was a WWII Navy trench art item, maybe from the Pacific. It is heavy and well made and preserved:
I’ve always loved religious artifacts so I couldn’t resist this. The auction listed it as WWII trench art, but I believe it is probably WWI from the post-WWI period (1919-1939). Saunders’ book says that these talismanic trench art pieces were common during WWI during and after the war. The elevated crucifix placed on a tripod of three shells is a common style in the post-war period. Usually there is a plaque to indicate where in Europe this was made, but this one doesn’t have one and there are no marks to indicate it ever had one.
Glad you found my book useful, and that you are finding trench art so fascinating. I think the September issue of ‘The Armourer’ magazine (published in UK)will have my review of the April 2009 trench art conference held in Ypres.
best wishes and good collecting
Nick Saunders
Your book is really great – I’m soo glad you wrote it. Now one of my friends is getting interested in trench art, which I think is great. And I’ve been making jewelry out of shell casings from a Marine base here in Virginia – also fun. I’m going to have to subscribe to The Armourer. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog
I was given four rings and a bracelet made by a soldier during WWII. They were given to me by the soldier’s wife. They are inscribed 1944. The most unique piece is a brecalet made from airplane metal. Each link is engraved with pictures and names of all the places he went. It also has “do not forget me” engraved on the back of the main link. It is almost weightless. All I know is that the man served in the navy. I am wanting to sell but do not know where to sell them.
I would try eBay since it is easy to use and lots of people buy/sell trench art on it. Bracelets vary in price, from $1 on up so make sure you are careful with your starting bid. There isn’t a huge market for trench art jewelry, it seems, compared with the engraved shells. However, people (like me) definitely buy and enjoy it!
Thank you for mentioning my book in your article on trench art. Actually it is not out of print and can be bought on Amazon sites in several countries and on the Barnes & Noble website.
Jane Kimball
Hi Jane, thanks so much for visiting my blog. I had no idea when I wrote it that you and Nick would read it. I have (since writing this) purchased your book and it is terrific. The illustrations are amazing and I love the information on different conflicts aside from WWI/WWII. I’ve been trying to locate any trench art from the Iraq War but it does not seem to exist. I’ve talked to a bunch of soliders here in Virginia stationed at Fort Myer/Quantico and some wounded warriors. I suppose the changing nature of war is to blame for this or perhaps I’m not looking hard enough.
my husband and i have this trench art lighter from like world war II and we have no idea what something like that is worth. it is on a stand and it stands about 6″ tall. if you have any idea what it is worth or where i could sell it please let me know. thank you!!!
I don’t think there is much ‘trench art’ from our current wars.
In WWI, soldiers were mostly in the war for the duration; others were prisoners of war. In WWII, there are many trench art pieces from prisoners of war in addition to souvenirs from various battles. From what I have been able to find out, soldiers in our current conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan are deployed for shorter lengths of time and have other activities to keep them occupied. I would love to find some ‘trench art pieces’ from either of these conflicts!
The nature of modern conflict doesn’t lend itself to trench art as easily as earlier conflicts.
Most trench art pieces are made of artillery shells. While artillery has been used in both Iraq and Afghanistan it is not at the same magnitude of earlier wars. Additionally, most soldiers today are taught to not retain spent brass or ammo and that it must be turned in. Being found with spent ammunition stateside can result in punishment. Some of that mentality carries on overseas. Finally there are shipping concerns.
With this being said, there are modern “trench art” items. While I was deployed during Iraqi Freedom, I had a local artist paint two captured Republican Guard helmets for me. The top has a map of the theater and the sides have my unit symbols. I am certain there are other “non shell” trench art items out there from both Iraq and Afghanistan.
I forgot to mention that, the idea of putting a map on my captured helmet came from helmet #2 at Jane Kimball’s site:
http://www.trenchart.org/PaintedHelmet2.htm
So, some modern trench art can trace influence from something created in 1919!
Hi Scott, that is really interesting about taking ammunition being a punishable offense – I think I remember that being the case during the WWI and/or WWII, but obviously was not as enforceable? The helmets sound incredible – do you have any pictures of them up online by any chance?
Sorry, I don’t have anything posted online, but I’d be happy to email you a picture of the helmet.
That would be great! Would you mind sending it to retoldstory@gmail.com?
Photos sent to your email address.
If anyone would like to see Scott’s helmet, please see this post on it: http://www.retoldstory.com/blog/2011/01/trench-art-from-modern-conflicts-a-helmet-courtesy-of-scott-vezeau/
Have you ever heard of ships being carved out of ww2 planes windshields that had crashed, my uncle told me that is what happened, i have 2 pieces of very thick glass that a ship has been carved into one and the other is a carving of a ship, there look like warships, my uncle brought them back from the war in 1945, he has since past away and now i have them
I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that, but will have to look it up. I’d love to see some pictures! It sounds like an incredible piece of history and work of art.
I have a WW1 artillary shell and top that has a nice hand made engraving showing a christain crossarms 79th division and a design that shows, I think, a 312 “B” batallion? with a cross cannon inlay. I know my grandfather fought in France for at least a year.
Fascinating blog. We have inherited an 80mm shell casing from the Battle of Yser. It is ornately carved and has the words Honneur Patrie on it along with flowers and flags etc. 1916 is stamped into the bottom. Are you still collecting?
Thanks for stopping by. I definitely still collect. Your piece sounds beautiful!
Yes, its is quite remarkable. We found it in my wife’s father’s “collection”. We believe it was part of HIS father’s collection from WW1. She has no attachment to these items and wonders how we will find someone who wants to have them. Is there a forum where things like this are sold? Do you buy directly? I could send you photos.
That’s so neat that you have a personal connection to the art! Do you know where he fought in WWI by any chance? I do collect but my budget is small (poor post-grad student). I would suggest eBay. If you search for trench art you’ll see a lot of auctions and be able to see what items generally sell for.
Hello again. No we don’t know where he fought in WW1 but we do know he served in the Boer War in the Transvaal. Many thanks for the advice, I will have a look and see what’s out there.