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ca. 1905 U.S. NAVY MILLS
WOVEN BELT COMPANY POCKETED CARTRIDGE BELT AND WEB
HOLSTER FOR THE U.S. NAVY .38 CALIBER REVOLVERS – A
SCARCE MATCHING SET IN EXCELLENT CONDITION:
These US Navy Mills Woven Holsters were manufactured,
and issued by the Navy in both dark blue and in khaki
color. Adopted by the Navy as their standard
accoutrement set for their .38 caliber revolvers, the
blue and khaki versions were manufactured – and appear
to have been issued – concurrently without regard for
what uniform the sailors and officers were wearing.
Both the holsters and the belt cartridge pockets are
secured with snaps which bear the U.S. Navy insignia
featuring a spread winged eagle perched on a horizontal
anchor, surrounded by thirteen stars.
To put the use of these
belt and holster sets into historical context, they
would have been in the arms lockers of the ships which
were part of the Great White Fleet which President
Theodore Roosevelt dispatched around the globe from
December of 1907 to February of 1909.
The conventional collector
wisdom has always been that the belts with the
interlocking US Navy Belt Plates were worn only by
officers, and that when the belts were worn by the
enlisted ranks, the interlocking plate was replaced with
the simple “T” closure of the period. There is no known
naval regulation that documents this convention, and in
fact, period photographic evidence shows that the belts
with and without the interlocking plate were worn by the
enlisted men, as shown in the photograph above.
While it is unknown how
many of these Mills belt and holster sets were produced,
it is known that they were introduced in 1905 and by
1911 they were being replaced with belts and holsters
appropriate for the newly adopted Model 1911 Automatic
Colt Pistol. As these .38 caliber pocketed belts and
holsters were used for such a short period, and the Navy
purchased smaller numbers than the Army, and that the
Navy limited the issues of the holsters and belts to
officers, and to specific enlisted men only when they
were detailed for specific duty assignments aboard ship
or on the occasional shore party assignments, these US
Navy Mills Belt and Holster Sets have never been common
on the market.
While regarded as
relatively scarce, and when found, these belts and
holsters often are heavily worn with missing or torn
flaps, faded colors, and holes, I have been fortunate to
find these nice examples of the belt and holster sets
listed below. There is much truth to the old adage that
“when it rains, it pours.” Each belt and holster set is
described below in detail with accompanying
photographs.
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NO. 1
ca. 1905 US NAVY MILLS WOVEN POCKETED CARTRIDGE BELT AND
HOLSTER:
This holster and belt set is in excellent condition,
showing little indication of issue or use.
The holster presents in
full form and still retains a strong dark blue color.
The webbing has no fraying and is overall very clean.
All of the metal fittings are present, firmly attached,
and the snap closure functions properly. The horizontal
portion of the wire belt hanger on the reverse is
stamped in three lines, “PAT APR 18 05; MILLS WOVEN
CARTRIDGE BELT Co.; SOLE MAKER”.
The eight pocket Revolver
Cartridge Belt was manufactured by the Mills Woven Belt
Co. - as with the holster, Mills was the sole maker of
this belt – however as with all of these Navy belts,
none of the belt tips or the interlocking plate bear the
Mills Co. information as seen on the US Army Mills
pocketed cartridge belts.
The even dark blue body of
the belt shows no evidence of wear or soiling, and all
of the rimless eagle snaps are functional, solidly
attached, and none show any signs of the tearing that is
common to find around these snaps. All of the grommets
are intact and solidly mounted in the webbing. All
eight pockets are intact and the bottoms have none of
the wear caused by the friction against the bullet
tips. Likewise, there is no wear or fraying on the
corners of the pocket flaps where they would have come
in contact with the rims of the cartridge bases.
All of the belt hardware –
the belt tips, sliding keepers and the two-piece
interlocking US Navy Belt Plate – are present and all
the pieces are full form. All of the fittings still
retain some of the original Mills darkened finish.
Overall, given the scarcity
of these Mills US Navy Holster and Belt sets, finding
such a well preserved example of this key set is
remarkable in and of itself, and this is an excellent
example which would be difficult to upgrade. (0135)
$1550
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NO.
2
ca. 1905 US NAVY MILLS WOVEN POCKETED
CARTRIDGE BELT AND HOLSTER: This holster and
belt set is in very good condition, showing little
indication of issue or use.
The holster presents in full form and still retains a
strong dark blue color. All of the metal fittings are
present, firmly attached, and the snap closure functions
properly. The webbing is overall very clean and has
only one point of wear as identified with arrows in the
photograph below. The point of wear is located on the
reverse side of the holster along the lower arc where
the woven webbing would have worn between the trigger
guard of the revolver and the sailor’s leg as the
holster swung back and forth. There is no fraying, the
short separation is not readily noticeable, and the
integrity of the holster is not compromised.
The eight pocket Revolver Cartridge Belt was
manufactured by the Mills Woven Belt Co. - as with the
holster, Mills was the sole maker of this belt – however
as with all of these Navy belts, none of the belt tips
or the interlocking plate bear the Mills Co. information
as seen on the US Army Mills pocketed cartridge belts.
The even dark blue body of the belt shows no evidence of
wear or soiling, and all of the rimless eagle snaps are
functional, solidly attached, and none show any signs of
the tearing that is common to find around these snaps.
All of the grommets are intact and solidly mounted in
the webbing. All eight pockets are intact and the
bottoms have none of the wear caused by the friction
against the bullet tips. Likewise, there is no wear or
fraying on the corners of the pocket flaps where they
would have come in contact with the rims of the
cartridge bases.
All of the belt hardware – the belt tips, sliding
keepers and the two-piece interlocking US Navy Belt
Plate – are present and all the pieces are full form.
Overall, given the scarcity of these Mills US Navy
Holster and Belt sets, finding such a well preserved
example of this key set is remarkable in and of itself,
and this is a very nice example. (0134) $1350
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NO. 3
ca. 1905 US NAVY MILLS WOVEN POCKETED CARTRIDGE
BELT: This belt exhibits evidence of issue and
use, but still presents in full form and in respectable
condition.
This eight pocket Revolver Cartridge Belt was
manufactured by the Mills Woven Belt Co. - as with the
holster, Mills was the sole maker of this belt – however
as with all of these Navy belts, none of the belt tips
or the interlocking plate bear the Mills Co. information
as seen on the US Army Mills pocketed cartridge belts.
The dark blue woven body retains an even color
throughout. All of the rimless eagle snaps are
functional, solidly attached, and none show any signs of
the tearing that is common to find around these snaps.
All of the grommets are intact and solidly mounted in
the webbing. All eight pockets are intact and the
bottoms have none of the wear caused by the friction
against the bullet tips.
One section of the top edge of the belt over the third
pocket from the right end is frayed, likely from wear
from a holster worn over the belt rather than suspended
from the grommets.
The belt is neither weakened nor compromised by this
fraying, and it is primarily a cosmetic issue.
This fraying is very localized to
this one area, again consistent with regular abrasion
from a holster belt loop. The flaps of the second and
third pockets from the right end have wear holes caused
by the rim of the cartridges. Limited to these two
pocket flaps, here again the wear was likely caused by
the material being abraded between the edge of the
cartridges and the holster belt loop. Other than these
specific wear points, the remainder of the belt,
including the pockets and flaps, has survived in very
good condition.
While this belt was designed expressly for the .30
caliber revolvers, it is possible this belt was used to
carry a .45 caliber revolver, hence the need to wear a
larger holster and one that was not fitted with the wire
hanger. If the larger and heavier holstered .45 caliber
revolver was worn over the belt, and the pockets
overfilled with the larger .45 caliber cartridges, this
additional stress on the belt would account for the wear
pattern as it presents.
All of the belt hardware – the belt tips, sliding
keepers and the two-piece interlocking US Navy Belt
Plate – are present and all the pieces are full form.
Overall, given the scarcity of these Mills US Navy
Pocketed Cartridge Belts, a belt retaining its full form
and all of its unique fittings, even one showing the
wear present on this specimen, is still a worthy
addition to your collection, and one that can be had for
a very attractive price. (0132) $475
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