Collections record Beta

Collection Record Detail

Object Name

Shirt

Object Number

2018-51-1

Description

Khaki cotton uniform shirt, Boy Scouts of America. V-neck shirt with short sleeves, open down center-front with placket of three brown metal buttons and one tan plastic button. Two flap pockets at chest with metal buttons. Patch on left pocket and another above right pocket read "BOYS SCOUTS OF AMERICA"; also above right pocket is a circular patch of white wool with red, blue, and yellow star, image of the Washington monument, and lettering "WASHINGTON D.C./1937" and around edges "NATIONAL JAMBOREE/BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA." Left sleeve has a patch with "BANTAM" in red lettering and one with "29" in white numbers. Right sleeve has circular patch of red wool with image of black alligator and lettering "B.S.A." Embroidered initials at bottom-left of shirt, in light blue thread, "R.L." Straight back; rounded hem at center-front and sides, gussets at sides. Woven square label of tan cotton at center of neck with Boy Scouts logo and lettering "BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA/NATIONAL COUNCIL" and "BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA/OFFICIAL UNIFORM/SWEET-ORR/UNION MADE." Attached white cotton tag with printing: "17/AGE/14 1/4 NECK/687." Metal buttons with Boy Scouts logo and lettering "BE PREPARED." Lettering on back of uniform, "SWEET-ORR UNIFORMS."

Provenance

Reno Luzi attended the first National Scout Jamboree in 1937 at the age of 15. Held in Washington, D.C., the Jamboree was originally planned for 1935 but was postponed due to a polio outbreak. Luzi would progress to an Eagle Scout.

Comment

Luzi (1922-2016) was a first-generation American born to an Italian family in Bantam. He attended the Pratt Institute in 1941 to study architecture, and joined the Army Reserve in 1942 before being assigned to active duty in 1943. During his training, he took a course in blueprint creation, and after being deployed to Europe he was assigned to a unit tasked with creating blueprints to repair infrastructure in Northern France and the Rhineland. He was in Reims when the German command issued its surrender in the city in 1945, and was discharged in 1946.