This is likely the first equipment “catalog” for the Boy Scouts of America circa 1910. Actually it is a small eight page pamphlet. What is interesting is that it shows the first rank badges that are very much modeled off of the English ranks. This was before star, life or eagle ranks even existed.

Now adjusting for inflation, a uniform shirt that cost a $1.35 back in 1910 would be $43.20 today. Today’s shirts cost $40 so uniforming for Scouts has increased basically in line with inflation. (We won’t go into quality differences between the shirts though and that the shirts were USA made.)

All of the rank badges were pins and not cloth. Also, the leader insignia was hat plumes to be worn with the campaign-style hat.

We did an interview with senior collector Michael Feigenbaum who researched and documented the differences in these badges from their British counter parts. The video can be seen on YouTube here.

• » Comments (0)

This is an article I wrote for the current issue of ISCA’s quarterly journal. Since the publication, I have come across additional fun and interesting jamboree collecting from local councils over the years. Here’s the article with more pictures.

The 2023 Scouts/BSA National Jamboree is coming up this summer. The Scouts delayed the jamboree for two years due to Covid lock-downs. A similar situation happened in 1935 with a polio epidemic in the Washington, DC area, the host site. It will be the second national Scouts/BSA event after last year’s highly successful National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC).

At this time last year, that the jamboree would even be held was in doubt among some national leaders. The Scouts had scaled back the attendance target which affected the revenue side. Attempts to raise several millions in donations had not been productive. Sign-up was in the low thousands. Even by the time of NOAC there were nearly twice as many attendees at that event as compared to those who had signed up for the jamboree. With the fall and Scout membership on the rise, the jamboree though has exceeded its registration goals!

Jamboree shoulder patches (JSPs) have become the main trading and collecting item at recent jamborees. With the exception of 1985 when hat pins were all the rage, JSPs have been the main focus for jamborees since the late 1970s. I remember having discussions with senior JSP collectors post the 1993 jamboree when we thought that would be the high point on the number of JSPs issued due to a series of council mergers across the country that year. Wrong!

In a recent Paul Myers post on Facebook, he noted that there were over 2,000 issues (JSPs and other patches) at the 2010 jamboree. The patch companies love us as they sell by the embroidered inch. For collectors, these can be fun but collecting a complete jamboree may be a mountain top collection or a fool’s errand. The designs are often quite creative but most have minimal connection to the home territory of the council they represent. Not long after the jamboree many fade in value. (But not all.)

The prevalence of all these JSPs does encourage trading. Although they can be budget busters just to keep a set for one’s home council. I do not recall the first year councils came out with a center backpatch to their JSP set but again it makes the patch companies love us. Collectors though, I am less sure. They do likely make for a nice framed set on one’s wall but they are hard to fit in a binder laid out to full design.

Nostalgia

It did not used to be this way. In the early jamborees, participants had items with much smaller production runs or items from local nationally recognized companies or even hand made items. Here are a few other ways to collect a jamboree that might be more manageable. Although with JSPs everywhere, arguably more challenging.

Some Non-JSP Jambo Collecting themes

Local Jamboree Memorabilia

This is the area that first came to mind when thinking about this article. It is little known and pursued yet create some of the most interesting discussion in our office when pieces, usually quite old now, come through our hands. There is no complete list of these. They might indicate some iconic item from the territory of the home council. They may be made by a nationally recognized company headquartered in the council. They may be hand made items that were swapped by individual scouts. They exist, I believe, for every jamboree where we had attendees even in the present. Just finding them though as JSPs crowd out folks’ attention is part of the challenge. And the fun.

Jamboree Contingent Neckerchiefs

A number of councils continue to issue Jamboree contingent neckerchiefs. These first appeared with the 1950 jamboree. Although neckerchiefs are fading from regular uniform wear in the USA, overseas Scouts often have their neckerchief as the only part of their “uniform” indicating they are Scouts. I am not aware of a compiled checklist of contingent neckerchiefs which could make for a fun challenge for collectors. These are often made in lower production quantities and less often traded than JSPs. Actually acquiring them at the jamboree can be hard as most may only have one and are expected to wear it throughout the event.

Jamboree Contingent Patches

This is a collecting theme related to JSPs but are non-shoulder wear patches. These actually were more common during the early jamborees than JSPs. Some councils still make them with arguably the backpatch centers to JSP groups, without the JSPs, being in this collecting theme.

Jamboree Region Patches

Regions are now a thing of the past. Today we have sixteen National Service Territories (NST). I do not know if any or all will be issuing patches. It is likely. They might make a more manageable collection number of pieces-wise while still having some challenge of the hunt. They could then be paired up with region patches from prior jamborees that date back to the 1950s. One could even argue that the shoulder arcs from 1935 and the shoulder flashes from 1937 could fit into this collection as each had a region designation.

Staff Patches

There used to be very few staff items for jamborees even into the 1970s. Certain armbands were issued for different staff with many organized as service troops. Starting in the late 1960s a select number of staff groups, aquatic staff and health service staff come to mind, issued patches. The OA Service troops went beyond armbands starting in 1973 adding pocket patches, pocket flaps and hat patches.

This area though has gone crazy in recent years. I remember getting in some staff patches from a person who was turned down for a staff position but had already made patches for the staff! Still, staff patches do exist and can be collected.

Jamboree ephemera

References:

Aldridge, Ron; Patches and Memorabilia of the Order of the Arrow at National Events, Volume 2; 1998

Hice, John; BSA National Jamboree Shoulder Insignia; 1998

Hoogeveen, Alburtus; A History of Council and Jamboree Insignia; 1981

More, Roy; Scouting History Through Memorabilia, volumes 1 and 2; 1997

On-line reference sites:

NationalBoyScoutJamboree.com

ScoutTrader.org

• » Comments (0)