Original Belgian WWI Inert 75mm Fuse Painted Trench Art As Featured In The Book “Trench Art, An Illustrated History” by Jane Kimball on Page 164 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely painted 75mm Inert fuse, personalized by a Belgian soldier during WWI. The paint is still mostly discernible with a lovely aged appearance to it. There is a crack about 3” long which looks to have been present when the fuse was painted.

Unloaded or dummy grenades, artillery shell casings, and similar devices, which are cut or drilled in an BATF-approved manner so that they cannot be used as ammunition components for destructive devices, are not considered NFA weapons. This example is in total compliance and is NOT AVAILABLE FOR EXPORT.

Trench art is any decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians where the manufacture is directly linked to armed conflict or its consequences. It offers an insight not only to their feelings and emotions about the war, but also their surroundings and the materials they had available to them.

Not limited to the World Wars, the history of trench art spans conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Although the practice flourished during World War I, the term ‘trench art’ is also used to describe souvenirs manufactured by service personnel during World War II. Some items manufactured by soldiers, prisoners of war or civilians during earlier conflicts have been retrospectively described as trench art.

Reference books are an essential part of any collector’s knowledge and growth in their particular field of interest. The 2004 book “Trench Art, An Illustrated History” by Jane Kimball is a comprehensive study of Trench Art and does a wonderful job in presenting the historical context of trench art throughout history. The book covers about 400 pages and includes hundreds of illustrations as well as mountains of primary source material and original photographs that document the evolution, styles and construction of the trench art genre. This fuse is found on page 164.

The page has a wonderful caption describing the fuse: “75mm projectile painted by a Belgian soldier with the Belgian lion on the obverse with the Belgian flag painted on the verso. Painted on the base “Aadenken van den oorlog in Belgie” [Memento of the war in Belgium]”.

A lovely item that comes more than ready for further research and display.