Very nice WWI trench art picture frame. AEF was the Allied Expeditionary Force. This unit was the 815 Pioneer Infantry which was a unit comprised of black enlisted men at a time before integration. I don't like digging at things so I even left the stickers on from when I acquired this. This is handmade so not a very complicated piece but it does have good history.

Very cool trench art ashtray. The match holder at the top is engraved on both sides. One side shows a crown and reads "NEDERLAND HERRUST". The other side reads "BEVRUDING SPEKH-HEIDE 17 SPETEMBER 1944". I belive "Bevruding" should be "Bevrijding" which means "Liberation". The date of Sept 17, 1945 coincides with the begginning of Operation Market Garden...

"Remember the Maine" became the battle cry for the United States during the Spanish American war in 1898. Hostilities broke out after the explosion of the Maine in Havana harbor. Apparently the old slogan "Remember the Alamo was deemed to have been successful enough for a retread. This change purse was a product of that time "fad". The buff leather is worn (As buff leather well over 100 years old tends to do) but there are no tears and the leather remains quite soft and pliant despite age...