Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 373:
Description
Two Pairs of Unissued U.S. Trigger Finger Cold Weather Mitten Shells with Wool Liners, Illinois Glove Company, Men’s Type I, Contract No. W199-qm-3356 This lot presents two pairs of U.S. military trigger finger mittens, manufactured by the Illinois Glove Company under Quartermaster Contract No. W199-qm-3356, and dating to the Korean War era with continued use into the early Vietnam period. Each pair retains its heavy wool insert liners, and one pair remains joined together by its original factory metal clip, confirming the unissued, warehouse-fresh status of that set. Trigger finger mittens of this pattern trace their design lineage to lessons learned during winter fighting in the European Theater in the Second World War, where standard mittens left soldiers unable to operate triggers, bolts, and equipment in extreme cold. The split-finger construction, isolating the thumb and index finger while keeping the remaining digits together for warmth, was refined into the M-1948 and early M-1951 patterns and issued in quantity to troops facing the brutal winters of the Korean peninsula. The type remained standard cold-weather issue through the 1950s, with quartermaster depots continuing to draw on existing contract stock as later conflicts, including the early years of American involvement in Vietnam, brought renewed demand for cold-weather gear in northern and mountainous deployments. Unissued examples such as these, retaining their factory clips and warehouse pricing, occasionally surface from long-undisturbed surplus lots rather than from field use. Each of the four olive-drab canvas mitten shells is cut with a separate thumb and index-finger stall, faced with a tan leather palm for grip, and finished with a wind-resistant cotton sateen gauntlet cuff closed by an adjustable strap and metal buckle. Heavy wool insert liners remain fitted within all four shells. The interior stamp on the joined pair is crisp and fully legible, reading ‘MEN’S TYPE I / ILLINOIS GLOVE COMPANY / CONTRACT NO. W199 qm 3356’.
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