Item Description
Original Grouping. One-of-a-Kind. This is the tremendous painted trunk & uniform grouping of Captain Ava Pauline Leatherman of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1942-1945. The grouping comes in a gorgeously painted trunk which is stenciled to Leatherman on the lid under a beautiful depiction of Pallas Athene, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare, and Handicraft, the official insignia of WAAC.
The grouping also includes Leatherman’s uniform, her stencil, some ephemera, and a collection of WWII Newspapers kept by Leatherman. The items in this tremendous grouping include:
- Leatherman’s trunk which is painted on the lid with Pallas Athene, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare, and Handicraft, the official insignia of WAAC. Under this is the stencil LT. A.P. LEATHERMAN / L 400753 / WOMEN’S ARMY CORPS. The trunk measures roughly 31 x 18 x 13” and still retains the original set of keys, which is almost NEVER present on these trunks. The keys are a bit rusted so we aren’t sure if they’ll still fully lock it. Both leather handles are intact but very weak, so we would caution against carrying the trunk by these handles. The trunk retains its insert shelf and has a label on the top for the American Hardware Company, Inc, with a CQMD date of July 18th, 1940.
- Leatherman’s Stencil which she used to stencil the trunk. Measures 4½ x 18½”.
- Leatherman’s officer’s uniform jacket with Captain’s bars, US & WAAC collar insignia, and a 3-place ribbon bar with the WAAC Ribbon, American Campaign Ribbon, and US Victory Medal. Her serial number, L400753, is stenciled inside. Size 12R.
- The matching skirt for her uniform.
- WWII Women’s M1943 Field Jacket with all buttons retained.
- Female Captain’s Overseas cap with Captain’s bars. LEATHERMAN stenciled inside.
- Tan skirt in the same style as the other one.
- Leatherman’s tan fatigue cap with a very worn tag inside.
- Leatherman’s scarf.
- Pack of American Red Cross playing cards dated 1943.
- Still-wrapped pack of writing paper and envelopes for writing letters, unused.
- Sewing kit with all contents.
- Army Tie by Botany.
- A couple of WAAC Individual Clothing Slips, unused but great reference info.
- Four Full WWII Newspapers from 1941, 1943, and 1945. Mentions of Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt’s funeral, etc.
- Several printed pages of research on Leatherman.
Ava Pauline Leatherman was born on April 19th, 1905 in Burlington, West Virginia to Walter & Sadie Leatherman. She graduated from the Florida State College for Women in 1926 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, also working in the school’s Fire Department. Later, she graduated as a medical technician from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Leatherman enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 23rd, 1942, enlisting in the Women’s Army Corps. After her training, she became Company Officer of the WAC Officer Candidate School at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Shortly after, she was transferred to the Air Corps at Montgomery, Alabama. In our research, we’ve found her signature at the bottom of Discharge certificates for lower ranking WAC workers as well as returning soldiers. Leatherman left the Army following the end of the war and opened a Floral shop, Hobby Hill Florist, as well as a director of the Sebring, Florida Chamber of Commerce. She passed away on March 12th, 1986 at the age of 80.
This is a tremendous trunk grouping to a Female Captain of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. It is extremely scarce to find anything from a female officer of the WAC, so don’t miss out on this great group. Comes ready for further research and display.
Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 8"
Shoulder to sleeve: 21”
Shoulder to shoulder: 14.5"
Chest width: 20.5”
Waist: 18.5"
Hip width: 21"
Front length: 27"
Pants:
Waist: 11.5"
Inseam: 25.5"
Brown Jacket and Skirt:
Approximate Measurements: 12R
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
