Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a lovely photo album kept by Sergeant Robert E. O’Briant, Battery A, 17th Field Artillery, 2nd Division. The 2nd Division is considered the scarcest and most collectible of all American Expeditionary Force Divisions, and this photo album depicts a great deal of 2nd Division material. The scrapbook is missing one of its 4 metal cylinders that keeps the scrapbook together, so the first 10 pages are loose on the top ring. There are roughly 70 photographs total, with many being disconnected from the pages.
The photographs include time on the ship overseas and back, with some photos of men in front of the 17th Field Artillery Motor School sign, a very unique set. The second page has a gorgeous studio portrait photo of five men wearing patches for the 17th Field Artillery, 2nd Division. There are also many small photos of men bearing 2nd Division patches. These photographs on their own are very scarce, as many collectors rush towards anything bearing this sacred insignia. Most of the photos appear to be taken in Germany during Occupation in 1919. There are some photos of a captured German artillery piece with the 2nd Division insignia painted on. There are also some camouflaged vehicles pictured. One really great page has two photographs showing five soldiers wearing painted German M16 Stahlhelms, with phrases painted in German on the front of each helmet. A great research opportunity! There are also several tourist postcards pasted in of different locations in Germany.
Pasted onto one page is a great Vehicle Driver’s Permit named to O’Briant with the 3rd Army insignia. A great & scarce document. Many of the pages are blank and there are about 15-20 photographs which are loose and not pasted in, but this could be fixed with some paste.
Robert E. O’Briant was originally part of the 317th Field Artillery, 81st Division, but was transferred to the 17th Field Artillery in France. He served overseas from August 9th, 1918 until March 17th, 1919. He was from Durham, North Carolina. He likely saw combat in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
A fantastic photo album, only missing one of the four cylinders that holds it all together. It also appears that there is some small material loss on the back cover. Anything 2nd Division related is heavily sought-after, so don’t miss out on this example. Comes ready for further research and display.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
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