Original U.S. WWI Trench Art M1910 Mess Kit by T.U.S.A. Personalized by Sergeant Arthur Rapp, 11th Infantry Division, As Featured In The Book “Trench Art, An Illustrated History” by Jane Kimball on Page 226

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a wonderful example of a named M1910 “Meat Tin” mess kit. It is decorated with a partially nude woman along with his rank, name and unit. The writing states that he was with the 11th Infantry Division, making this a wonderful research opportunity.

The 11th Division was first formed as a National Guard division in early 1917 consisting of units of the Michigan and Wisconsin National Guards. By the end of that same year, the 11th Division became the 32nd Division (later 32nd Infantry Division).

The 11th Division was reformed as a National Army division in August 1918, and was commanded briefly by Joseph Alfred Gaston before Jesse McI. Carter took over. The division was nicknamed the Lafayette Division, and its shoulder sleeve insignia included a silhouette of Lafayette. The 17th Infantry Regiment, and the 63rd Infantry Regiment were the two units chosen as the cadre around which the division would be formed. The 71st and 72nd Infantry Regiments were formed from cadres from the 17th and 63rd Regiments. The division's field artillery brigade was trained at West Point, Kentucky, and never actually joined the division at Camp Meade. The division's advanced schools detachment started for England on 25 October 1918, arriving 8 November 1918. With the Armistice, further activities were halted and the division disbanded on 29 November 1918 at Camp Meade, Maryland.

Trench art is any decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians where the manufacture is directly linked to armed conflict or its consequences. It offers an insight not only to their feelings and emotions about the war, but also their surroundings and the materials they had available to them.

Not limited to the World Wars, the history of trench art spans conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Although the practice flourished during World War I, the term 'trench art' is also used to describe souvenirs manufactured by service personnel during World War II. Some items manufactured by soldiers, prisoners of war or civilians during earlier conflicts have been retrospectively described as trench art.

The 1909 Infantry Board recommended a new “meat can” mess kit that became standard issue in 1910. The 1910 mess kit was similar to previous models but larger, 8 ½” long by 6 ¾” wide by approximately 1 ½” deep and was made of aluminum. Like the earlier covers, which doubled as a plate, it fit into the top of the “frying pan” portion and was secured by a folding galvanized iron handle.

Early in 1918 the American Expeditionary Force reported that the 1910 pattern top plate was too shallow and recommended a deeper configuration. A new mess kit with a lid one half inch deeper, and an appropriately corresponding folding handle quickly went into production as the model 1918.

Prior to 1918, the M1910 meat can was manufactured exclusively by Rock Island Arsenal. Known manufacturers for the M1910 and M1918 meat cans during WWI included: Aluminum Company of America, Landers, Frary & Clark, The J.W. Brown Manufacturing Co.. Wheeling Stamping Co, Edmund & Jones Co and Rock Island Arsenal. This example is stamped on the folding handle with T.U.S.A. / 1917 and is a manufacturer we do not know but have seen this marking in the past.

A welcomed addition into any trench art collection! Comes more than ready for further research and display.