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MODEL 1910 US MARINE CORPS WORLD WAR ONE CANTEENS – RARE MODIFICATIONS FOR USE BY THE US NAVY HOSPITAL CORPSMEN SERVING WITH THE MARINES – TWO VERSIONS – ONE RIMMED EAGLE & ANCHOR SNAP CANTEEN AND ONE LIFT THE DOT SNAP CANTEEN – BOTH IN EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH FULL LENGTH SHOULDER STRAPS - FROM AN OLD SIGNIFICANT WWI US MARINE CORPS COLLECTION:  This is the sort of wind fall that happens very rarely.  Offered here are two versions of World War One United States Marine Corps Canteens – one with the Rimmed Eagle and Anchor Snaps, and the other with the Lift The Dot Snaps – which were both modified in France for use by the U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsmen who accompanied the Marines into the field to tend to the wounded. 

This modification is known and recognized by experienced World War One USMC collectors, however these modified canteens in any condition are quite rare, and the two offered here are the only specimens which are known that have survived with the complete shoulder strap intact.  

This shoulder/neck strap enabled the Hospital Corpsman to carry several – one estimate is as many as twelve - canteens forward with the advancing Marines.  The Corpsman could then leave a canteen of water with each casualty after treating the wounds and continuing on to other cases needing attention.  The specific use of these shoulder strapped canteens by Corpsmen is further substantiated by the absence of the standard nested canteen cup in both of these specimens – as the canteen of water was specifically intended to be provided to the wounded at the scene of their wounding, there was no particular need for the cup and it only represented unnecessary weight.  Eliminating the weight of the cups from the canteens carried by the Corpsmen represented perhaps one or two more full canteens that could be added to the load he carried – a very real and practical consideration.   

This modification, which was fashioned in the same manner on all of the known specimens, is believed to have been executed in France after the arrival of the Marines on the Western Front, perhaps at a front line depot or field hospital where the Navy Corpsmen were marshaled and detailed out to the Marine regiments as they moved into the line.   

The modification involved attaching a small loop made of the cloth strapping material, which captured a wire box ring, to one side of the cover with two iron rivets.  A black japanned friction adjustment buckle was mounted with a single iron rivet on one end of a length of the same strapping material which would serve as the shoulder strap.  The other end of the shoulder strap was passed through the wire box ring, and through the friction buckle to form an adjustment loop, and then that raw end was riveted to the other side of the cover, again with two iron rivets.  So arranged, the length of the shoulder strap could be adjusted to fit the Corpsman, but the strap was “captured” on the cover and could not be removed without unseating the rivets attaching it to the cover.   No other modification was made to the cover and it is notable that the original wire belt hook sewn high on the rear of the cover in the manner of a standard USMC World War One Canteen Cover was left in place.   

The strapping is identical to the material used for straps on some French M2 gas mask bags, which suggests either the straps on these canteens were fashioned from material which was commonly available in France during the war, or the straps used for the modification were salvaged from discarded M2 gas mask bags.   

There is no doubt that very few specimens of this unique canteen arrangement have survived with the straps fully intact.  It is known that at one time a dealer back east had more than one example of these strapped canteens in his collection, however none of the canteens had survived with the straps intact, having either pulled away from the rivets or the strap was torn leaving only remnants of the strap.  There has been a rumor that a fully intact specimen is held in the collection of either the US Navy Museum at the Washington D.C. Navy Yard, or at the US Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, Virginia, but I have not been able to confirm this.  This is a rare opportunity to add a unique, and very historically important artifact to your World War One US Marine Corps collection.

 

NO. 1  MODEL 1910 US MARINE CORPS WORLD WAR ONE CANTEEN WITH THE RIMMED EAGLE & ANCHOR SNAPS:  A very nice, complete Model 1910 Rimmed Eagle and Anchor Snap Cover retaining the green color and showing only light signs of use and no wear or damage.  Both of the Eagle and Anchor snaps are intact and fully functional, with none of the tearing often found surrounding the snaps.  The canvas is lightly soiled with a small reddish stain on the reverse.  The insulation shows some wear, with approximately 85% of it intact and still in place. The original wire belt hanger is still intact, sewn high on the back of the cover and shows no wear.  The strap is full length with no wear, frays, or stringing, and the rivets are fully attached through the strap and to both sides of the cover.   The Model 1910 Canteen is stamped “US L F & C 1918” on the body, and retains its full form with some minor dents.  The cap is complete with the chain and ring – the cork liner is missing.  Overall, this is an excellent specimen of a very rare World War One USMC-USN Hospital Corpsman’s Canteen with the added value of having the Eagle and Anchor snaps.   (1006)  $775 PENDING   (SEE ADDITIONAL LISTING BELOW)

 

NO. 2  MODEL 1910 US MARINE CORPS WORLD WAR ONE LIFT THE DOT SNAP CANTEEN:  A very nice, complete Model 1910 Lift The Dot Cover showing only light signs of use and no wear or damage.  Of special value is a light, but legible ink stamped “USMC” surcharge on the inside of the left flap.  The insulation is fully intact, and both snaps are intact and fully functional.  There is a rub of forest green paint on the front of the cover which is the same shade of paint used by the Marines in the camouflage patterns on their helmets.  There is a hand inked Marine’s or Navy Corpsman’s name on the bottom of the cover, “H. Roh (?)”, and several ink drops left from his pen.  The original wire belt hanger is still intact, sewn high on the back of the cover and shows no wear.  The shoulder strap is full length with no the wear, frays, or stringing, and the rivets are fully attached through the strap and to both sides of the cover.   The Model 1910 Canteen is stamped “US 1918 B. A. CO.” on the body, and retains its full form with some minor dents around the shoulders.  The cap is complete with the chain and ring, and cork liner.  This is a very nice specimen of a very rare World War One USMC-USN Hospital Corpsman’s Canteen.  (1007)  $650   

 
 

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