Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 247:
Description
Named U.S. Navy Captain and Naval Aviator Evening Dress Uniform Grouping of Carl L. Helber – Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia Navy Yard, with Original Horstmann Uniform Co. Mailing Box Addressed to Lt. Comdr. C. L. Helber, USN Offered is an extensive and named U.S. Navy formal dress grouping firmly attributed to Carl L. Helber, a Naval Aviator who served in a technical capacity at the Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia Navy Yard, spanning the interwar years into World War II. The attribution rests on solid contemporary evidence rather than a published biography: an original Horstmann Uniform Co. mailing carton addressed in period typescript to "LT COMDR. C. L. HELBER, USN, NAVAL AIRCRAFT FACTORY, US NAVY YARD, PHILA, PA, " and monogrammed "C.L.H." tailor labels sewn into the lining of one of the two evening tailcoats included in the lot. No separate service record or citation accompanies the grouping; the story here is told through the surviving insignia, tailoring, and the addressed box itself. Evening dress was the U.S. Navy officer’s most formal uniform, worn at wardroom dinners, receptions, and diplomatic functions through the 1930s, and its wear was largely curtailed once the fleet mobilized for war in late 1941 – a fact that makes surviving, named examples with documented rank progression genuinely scarce on today’s market. This lot appears to capture Helber’s advancement from Lieutenant Commander, as recorded on the Horstmann box, to Commander and ultimately Captain, evidenced by the differing rank devices present: three-stripe Commander shoulder boards remain sewn to one tailcoat, while a separate pair of four-stripe Captain shoulder boards survive loose among the insignia, alongside bullion command stars in multiple metallic tones consistent with a career’s worth of reordered devices. The presence of bullion Naval Aviator wings ties the grouping directly to naval aviation service, likely connected to Helber’s posting at the Naval Aircraft Factory, the Navy’s principal aviation research, engineering, and manufacturing establishment during this period. The formal Navy evening dress tailcoat is a dark wool body with gilt Navy buttons and Commander-grade shoulder boards (three gold lace stripes and a star) sewn at the shoulders. A second, civilian-cut evening tailcoat with satin-faced peaked lapels bears an interior label reading "Kassan-Stein Inc., The Seal of Good Service, Washington, D.C." A separate coat interior, photographed apart from its body, carries a "Tailored by Haas, Baltimore" label alongside individual monogram tabs reading "C.L.H." The dark officer’s visor cap displays a gold bullion chin strap and "scrambled egg" bullion embroidery on the visor beneath a silver-and-gold officer’s cap device. Two loose shoulder boards show four gold lace stripes with a star, consistent with Captain’s rank, each retaining a small gilt button at the point. A dark cloth panel is mounted with a pair of gold bullion Naval Aviator wings. Additional items include three black elastic officer’s cap bands, each fitted with a silver eagle-and-anchor bullion device; a khaki garrison-style cap and an olive-drab garrison cap, both bearing small gilt rank devices; a tan rounded cap cover; an additional folded tan cap panel with dark piping; a bundle of gold bullion cord/fringe; and a substantial assortment of loose bullion and cloth rank stars in gold, silver, and subdued tones. The original Horstmann Uniform Co. box survives intact, retaining its typed shipping label, order and book numbers, and a canceled period postage stamp. Condition throughout is very good for the age and formality of the garments: the wool bodies retain good color with light surface dust, lint, and expected creasing; the linings show age toning, scattered handling wear, and minor underarm staining typical of worn formal dress; the bullion insignia and cap embroidery show light natural tarnish, and the elastic cap bands show some stretching and edge wear consistent with decades of storage. A rare, named U.S. Navy Captain and Naval Aviator dress grouping, anchored by an address-labeled Horstmann box that ties Carl L. Helber’s rank progression directly to his service at the Naval Aircraft Factory.
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