NATIONAL GUARD PENNSYLVANIA SOUVENIR ENCAMPENT 1912

[slackastar]

I found this inside an old trunk I bought at an auction but really know idea what it is. It's a piece of cloth with a bunch of pictures on it, with soldiers and camps and such. Obviously it's the Pennsylvania National Guard, but what is the signifigance of this item...any ideas on value? It's condition is pristine.

[ironlord1963]

     Early photos on cloth would be a rare and very unique item, if from the era in which the original was taken.  Early printing on cloth took applying photo sensitive material to the cloth and making a direct copy from the negitive, Contact Printing.  It was possible but not very common.   Modern day we can do this with Dye sub techinques, and we at our shop have done this many times with old photo, and printed on Aged canvas, making it look old.   It would be really hard to date such a item but I would say that it also lacks the sepia color tone of something close to 100 years old, espically on cloth.   If you can prove it date to something pre-war era, it would be very unique, and have some value, espically to the Pennsylvania National Guard, which may be a great source of information on the item. 

[slackastar]

I know no way to actually date it, other than I was at an auction and everything was old haha, I know this provides no evidence. Along with this in the trunk were old newspapers dated 1872, as well as letters from camp dated 1900. The colors of the photos are not sepia, but a blue color. Thank you very much for your information.

[slackastar]

Can anyone give me an approximate value of this item? I have someone interested in it and they want to know a price, but I have no idea. Thanks in advance.

[waywardangler]

No idea on price.  I think this is a souvenir item that the soldiers could buy at the camp to take home or send to their family such as the many WWII pillow cases that you see.  Beyond that, I do not believe there is any significance to it.  This probably was commonly framed to hang on the wall.  I assume the cloth is silk?  I also assume it could be personalized to some extent by having the unit or name in the blank keystone logo.  I do believe it is old and original because what monetary gain would one expect from a cloth of a National Guard encampment?  A G.A.R. cloth would fetch more $$$ for the same amount of work.  The newspapers may also be of historical value as well as the personal camp letters.  The Mt. Gretna historical society may be interested in the letters as well as the National Guard in Pennsylvania.