Posted 8 years ago
rednoel94
(139 items)
My dad picked this up at a garage sale. He thinks it's an ashtray. Just looking for more information on it. Thanks! :)
Vintage Airplane Ashtray | ||
| Ashtrays584 of 1345 |  |  |
Vintage Airplane Ashtray | ||
| Ashtrays584 of 1345 | | |
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Posted 8 years ago
rednoel94
(139 items)
My dad picked this up at a garage sale. He thinks it's an ashtray. Just looking for more information on it. Thanks! :)
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Yes. It is an ashtray. Those little indents in the base are for cigarettes.
It is an ALUMINUM Model Boeing B-29 desk ashtray. Take out of figurines, Post in WWII.
Here is another:
http://picclick.ca/Vtg-ALUMINUM-Model-Boeing-B-29-AIRPLANE-ASHTRAY-Desk-122077562363.html
Apparently, these were made from the aluminium from scraped B29 Airplanes.
More accurate name: B-29 Superfortress.
Thanks Celiene for you help! :)
I commented on your other posting (may want to delete one of these):
It is an ashtray. The plane depicted is a B-29.
Looks to be trench art. These were popular souvenir items during WW2. I collect trench art and have many airplane pieces:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/24431-ww2-b-17-flying-fortress-trench-art-ash
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/21874-trench-art-p-38-and-aircraft-windshield
Your piece is cast (aircraft aluminum??) whereas most of my pieces are made from shells and bullets.
scott
No - it's not trench art. There are several online exactly the same, and were mass produced. Trench art would be one of a kind. One person said it was cast fro scrap aluminum from the actual B29, but I don't know for sure.
My experience with trench art extends for a good number of years and I have several hundred pieces. There is NO requirement that trench art is a "one of a kind" piece. The generally accepted definition of trench art is a decorative or utilitarian piece made from war refuse.
Here is a great book on trench art:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/82033-trench-art-an-illustrated-history-by-j
scott
I though individual people made trench art, not manufacturers.
Nope.
The generally accepted definition of trench art is a decorative or utilitarian item MADE FROM WAR REFUSE.
The maker (soldier, craftsman, manufacturing company, etc...) is just a way to categorize NOT to exclude.
Check your library for the referenced book. It is a great read and has some great pictures.
scott
These models were meant as ashtrays or coin trays and actually cast at the Boeing Wichita Plant during and after WW2 from scrap aluminum used in B-29 production and none are trench-art. Most of these were sent to US Army Air Force dignitaries first then offered to civilians during tours and promotions. Some were given as awards to personnel and parts suppliers.
Technically, this is pre-consumer recycling of materials so even in 1945, Boeing was way ahead of the curve. They came in these versions, as an ashtray with plexi-prop disks, model alone with wheels and plexi-prop disks and, the rarest, model alone with actual rotating props, no wheels but with a tapped hole for a model stand. A few found their way to the Navy who used the B-29 in X-plane program. I can post a sample in the future.
Tom (Sandman Overhaul)
Scott,
Thanks for your reply. Trench Art is usually something manufactured by military personnel. Manufacturers such as Douglas regularly made in-house cast models especially of the DC-4, 6 and 7. These were produced by their employees using scrap aluminum. Since the company was manufacturing the models, they are a company produced item and not be classified as Trench Art per se. Same should be true for the Boeing produced models.
"Maker" of an item is useful to classify trench art, but typically isn't used to exclude items from the trench art category.
The simple reason for not using this type of classification-- it is very hard to do in many cases and it would cause many SIMILAR items to be considered trench art/ others to not be considered trench art.
An EXAMPLE:
Trench art was produced during and after WW1 using spent artillery shells.
Some were produced by soldiers as personal souvenirs/ sold as souvenirs-- others were made by civilians. This continued into the post war years, where US makers (manufacturers) would decorate shells for veterans. In most cases it is impossible to discern when/ where the shells were made.
Take a look at the book cited above-- most libraries have it available.
scott
Wonderful WWII trench art! My late father-in-law flew a B-29 over Japan during the war... and I never saw him smile, so it wasn't child's play. Preserve this!
Thanks everyone for your info and stories!! My dad kept it & I think it's so cool! :)
These were manufactured and I have 2 or 3 of them on hand. They were made in signifigant numbers as I have seen quite a few over the last 7 years or so that I have had mine. A lot of people do think it is cool.
Some of the nicest pieces of trench art can be one of a kind pieces of which I have some great ones. The best appear to have been sold in fine jewellery shops during the war ! This I do not consider to be trench art however, and not regarded as trench art by most collectors of these, but simply an airplane ashtray.