It might not strike you how these two topics are related but they are. The national gallery has as special display that started July 4 for artist Winslow Homer. Wonderful art that is easy to connect with and stands the test of time.

In the museum store they had lots of printed items relating to this special exhibit. Books, calendars, note pads. You name it. Although these were all high quality printing, especially the books, the color replication wasn’t the same as the real thing. Close but still different. One would not know this without having experienced the real painting but the differences were real.

Now, how is this related to patches? Well, people are collecting digital images of patches. For example, see oaimages.com The pictures and color quality of these patches are good but its not the same as seeing and having the real things. I recently broke up my Wab issue collection and although I have color copies, seeing the Winslow Homer exhibit reminded me it will not be the same as the real item.