THE YEAR WAS 1965 during the American Civil War Centennial (1961-1965), when Mrs. Kaufman made an important buying trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to visit Stokes Kirk, the famed purveyor of antique militaria, just a few years before their company closed.

While there she purchased from Mrs. Kirk herself, their last remaining unopened wooden crate of 15 genuine U.S. Army (Union Army) Civil War issue enlisted navy blue wool artillery shell jackets in brand new condition! It was an outstanding find! 

When the crate arrived at Kaufman’s warehouse on Broadway in New York City, Mrs. Kaufman carefully unpacked the shell jackets herself and chose the one she felt was the nicest. She then carefully squirreled it away with dozens of other exceptional military uniforms that Kaufman’s purchased on a weekly basis. Today, many of those same uniforms constitute the KAUFMAN Military Uniform Reference Collection, our extensive military uniform collection assembled over 80 years in business.

Afterwards, all the remaining shell jackets were set aside to go to the cleaners…

During the 1960’s, genuine military surplus from past wars still existed in great abundance, so together with hundreds of other new and used uniform items of all types, these exceptionally rare Civil War gems were included in the cleaning for that week to prevent any moth damage.

Sadly, the 100 year old shell jackets were no match for the modern chemicals used in the cleaning process and they were all completely destroyed. All 14 jackets were returned to us in tatters on separate wire hangers; each one a collection of shredded navy blue wool, interspersed with an occasional American Eagle brass button
clearly visible.

This beautiful specimen was the sole survivor!