A potential new discovery from Tahgajute Lodge #247, several years ago Frank McClain showed me a photocopy of a Pie-shaped patch from Lodge #247. What was unique, was that the thunderbird had no eye, all of the other examples he had seen (and I had seen at the time) had a single yellow eye embroidered on the head of the Thunderbird.
A short primer on the P1a and P1b from Tahgajute.
If you click on the thumbnail, a larger image will open. You will note that there is no red embroidered between the lower yellow diamond and the Black Tail Feathers.
The Blue Book Describes it as:
P1a BLK R ORG YEL 165×215 mm; No RED border at bottom of YEL DIA on chest; QC .
The P1b has a thin red embroidered line between the lower yellow diamond and the Black Tail Feathers.
Also note in the detailed scan the positioning of the tags bbetween the various parts of the thunderbirds body.
The Blue Book describes it as follows:
P1b BLK R ORG YEL 165×215 mm; RED border at bottom of YEL DIA on chest QC
I recently acquired the neckerchief which appears below. There is no eye embroidered on the thunderbird head. Under bright light and magnification, there is no indication of needle punches in the patch which you would find in a threadbreak (Although this would not rule out a needlebreak). Also note the different locations of some of the tags in the Thunderbird’s body.
While not conclusive, does anyone else have any examples of the No-eye Thunderbird?
My initial inclination would be to classify this as the P1c.
Blue Book Stats:
P1c BLK R ORG YEL – 165×215 mm; RED border at bottom of YEL DIA on chest, No eye on thunderbird QC
Hi Bill-
My first thought was…”this is a needlebreak”…however, after examining the images, the tags are definitely different and cause me to lean more toward the new variety status. The question which comes to mind is, do the tags match those on the example Frank McClain owns? I believe this would be a fair determinant of the status.
My 2 cents-
-Ray
Back in the day……..there were a few of these neckerchiefs and pocket flap patches with less than perfect embroidering. These items were highly sought after by many of us that collected. Being a Vigil member and Chief of #247 I saw these from time to time and have some……….at least the ones I could get, in my possesion.