World War II U.S. Military Matchcovers with Insignias

Webster's Dictionary defines an insignia as 1) a badge of authority or honor and 2) a distinguishing mark or sign. I have to think that similar to mascots, insignias are made to bring good luck as well. Military artists as well as several major cartoon studios produced these type of insignias for the U.S. military. These are a cousins of the typically voluptuous nose art seen on bombers during World War II and closely related to the current squadron insignias seen today in the Navy and Air Force.

Before the war had ended, Disney had created some 1,200 cartoon insignias for all of the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as for many Allied troops. Reflecting the esprit de corps and bravado of the unit, the cartoon character patches were worn with pride. With the exception of Bambi, virtually every Disney character appeared at least once on a logo.  

From http://www.atissuejournal.com/2010/08/10/wwii-military-logos-by-disney/ 

Here are some of the World War II insignia matchcovers I recently bought:

This is an early Schlesinger version of Bugs Bunny used in this insignia.

College Matchcovers with Mascots

Webster's Dictionary defines a mascot as a person, animal, or object used as a symbol to represent a group (such as a sports team) and to bring good luck. I was always more fascinated with the mascot than the sport, but that's just me. Here are some college matchcovers I recently got that all have great college mascots on them. Just look at that smug look on Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle...

Egry Registers

This older, Universal Match cover is a fine example of some of the products advertised that seem mundane now, but were considered pretty high tech for the time period, probably the late 1930's. Below, an example of a Egry Register from around the same time.

Car and Car Wash Matchcovers

Cars

Since it was a rainy weekend I spent some time going through some of the match covers I got at the 2015 RMS convention in Pennsylvania. Here's a few car related covers I found.

Workin' at the Car Wash

The 75th Rathkamp Matchcover Society Convention

111 miles outside of Arlington, Va is Wolfe's Diner in Dillsburg, PA. Check out their Facebook page!

Denise tries out a booth at Wolfe's Diner.

An amazing wintertime photo of the Wolfe's Diner sign from their Facebook page.

Perfect name.

The 75th RMS convention was held at the Best Western Plus Lehigh Valley.

We had perfect pool weather during the convention.

The proof sheet for the MARVA 2015 RMS matchbook that was available at the convention.

"Ain't no place, child."

I bought these these fantastic navy ships with cartoon characters from RMS President Carry Van Tol.

The two wolf covers are fantastic.

Matzo ball soup at the Carnegie Deli in the Sands Casino.

Enough sandwich to feed a couple people. The potato salad was great.

I won $100 on the quarter machine. I'm a degenerate gambler, now!

A few of the really nice, unstruck full length covers I found.

Weird room in our hotel where dirty, old phones and blankets live.

San Diego Zoo matchcovers.

Some great work clothes covers I found.

Senator Jack Barnes found this on the freebie table. If you've never seen one of these, they're very cool. Instead of matches, they're nude Kodachrome pin ups. He was nice enough to let me take a photo of it before he tucked it away in his pocket.

Best restaurant name, ever.

A pretty amazing collection of French matchboxes advertising videotapes of older movies.

Making faces at the Red Zone Lounge.

A convention isn't complete without my Matchbook Twin, Denise McKinney and I making a trip to the Waffle House. They pay employees in cash, did you know that?

The many faces of eating; trying to look upset while Pac Man comes to life on my plate.

Lenny Kaye stopped by to sell his father's matchbook collection. We're hoping to make a matchbook collector out of him.

Angelus President Denise McKinney and her badass rental car, a new Dodge Charger.

My convention mustache.

You can see downtown in the distance as Denise and I head to Philadelphia for her book signing of her new book Morrissey FAQ. Get your copy at Amazon.

We had excellent Chinese food at the Golden Bowl in Market East.

Huge scoops of ice cream at L.D. Bassett.

The Wanamaker Organ inside the Macy's in downtown Philadelphia.

"Meet the Angelus president at The Eagle"

"German sculptor August Gaul's 2,500 pound bronze bird came to America for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. When John Wanamaker purchased it for his famous department store, he had to strengthen the floor with extra girders. Soon "Meet me at the eagle" became a catchphrase for Philadelphians as well as suburbanites who came downtown to shop."

The historic Manayunk Bridge spans the Schuykill River between Bala Cynwyd and the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Angelus president Denise McKinney answers questions about Morrissey and her new book, Morrissey FAQ in the upstairs bar at Lucky's Last Chance.

At home, going through the thousands of covers picked up at the 75th RMS convention.