First issue of this scarce military title...
Item # 698280
May 15, 1919
THE HOUR GLASS "Of the Seventh Division - United States Army", France, May 15, 1919
* Rare "Hourglass Division" camp publication
This is the volume 1, number 1 issue for the American forces still in France from just after the end of World War I.
Headlines include: "Germans Told Terms Of Peace By Victorious Allied Nations" "General Pershing Inspects Seventh And Finds It Fit" with much more.
Four pages, folio size, a hand-penned note is above the masthead, minor wear, good condition.
background: By May 15, 1919, the 7th Division—known as the "Hourglass Division"—was stationed in the Ancy-le-Franc area of France, serving as part of the Second Army during the restless post-Armistice period. This premiere issue of The Hour Glass served as a vital morale booster for soldiers who had transitioned from the chemical attacks and heavy shelling of the Saint-Mihiel sector to the tedious routine of "occupation duties" and equipment overhauls while awaiting orders to return home. The headlines you mentioned reflect a pivotal moment in global history: the Division was undergoing a rigorous "final polish" under the watchful eye of General John J. Pershing, just as the Allied powers were presenting the daunting terms of the Treaty of Versailles to a defeated Germany. For the average "doughboy" reading those four pages in a French camp, the paper represented the first official voice of a unit that had suffered over 1,700 casualties and was now looking toward a future that included a long voyage back to the United States on ships like the SS Leviathan.
* Rare "Hourglass Division" camp publication
This is the volume 1, number 1 issue for the American forces still in France from just after the end of World War I.
Headlines include: "Germans Told Terms Of Peace By Victorious Allied Nations" "General Pershing Inspects Seventh And Finds It Fit" with much more.
Four pages, folio size, a hand-penned note is above the masthead, minor wear, good condition.
background: By May 15, 1919, the 7th Division—known as the "Hourglass Division"—was stationed in the Ancy-le-Franc area of France, serving as part of the Second Army during the restless post-Armistice period. This premiere issue of The Hour Glass served as a vital morale booster for soldiers who had transitioned from the chemical attacks and heavy shelling of the Saint-Mihiel sector to the tedious routine of "occupation duties" and equipment overhauls while awaiting orders to return home. The headlines you mentioned reflect a pivotal moment in global history: the Division was undergoing a rigorous "final polish" under the watchful eye of General John J. Pershing, just as the Allied powers were presenting the daunting terms of the Treaty of Versailles to a defeated Germany. For the average "doughboy" reading those four pages in a French camp, the paper represented the first official voice of a unit that had suffered over 1,700 casualties and was now looking toward a future that included a long voyage back to the United States on ships like the SS Leviathan.
Category: The 20th Century
