Epaulettes and Buttons, International Merchantile Marine - United States Lines, Officer.

Ca. 1930s. The epaulettes and buttons were removed from an old set of whites; in total there were five 40 ligne and two 28 ligne buttons. This catalog item shows only one of each button, as many are heavily tarnished. The buttons were affixed to the uniform with circular button toggles.  Each button has the backmark "S. Appel & Co. * New York *."  This backmark definitely dates the buttons to the mid-1930s.  The VanCourt catalog number for these buttons is 84-11.

The uniform itself lacked pin holes on the chest for a USNR badge. This could mean the individual that wore this uniform was not a member of USNR or the uniform is pre-1938 - this being the year when the pin was authorized for wear by the U.S. Navy for U.S. Naval Reserve Merchant Marine Auxilliary members. Most deck and engineering officers of USL were members of the USNR.

The epaulettes are of the flat interwar style with slightly rounded edges.  Of particular interest are the strap keeper button. Both interwar and most wartime straps were affixed using cap screws - the screw-construction used to affix chin straps to a cap. These use brass nuts (pre-war) and the star-anchor-star pattern. This point to a few assumptions:

1. IMM/USL did not have cap screws based on VC18-11.
2. IMM/USL adhered to period U.S. Navy prohibitions against wearing its insignia by non-Navy officers.
3. Appel & Co. - which also supplied quality insignia items to yacht clubs - was the preferred supplier of uniform insignia to USL. Most marked USL insignia bears Appel & Co. tags.

The last point is of interest as among future U.S. Merchant Marine Academy midshipmen-cadets, their buttons were also of the star-anchor-star design and were known as "yacht club" buttons.