The man behind the collection

There was one person in my life who single-handedly influenced me to collect soldier bands.  Col. John R. Bourgeois was the Director of the United States Marine Band.  He was also a great friend of my father and a collector of soldier bands.  His office in Washington DC was a child's playground full of history and great bandsmen lined up in ranks on his desk and shelves.  I remember being enamored with his collection as a child and after first being exposed to it embarked in a life-long obsession with these figures.

The figure below is actually a custom figure of Col. Bourgeois I purchased from Le Petite Toy Soldier shop in New Orleans, LA.   John was from New Orleans and had befriended the owner of the shop.  I was so thrilled to find this figure and I remember saying to my mother "look- it's John"  and the shop keeper overheard me and said... "you know John?" ... a great long conversation followed and we shared how we knew our mutual friend...

This is one of my favorite figures... - Notice the distinctive uniform and compare it with the image above.  This is the only uniform like this in the US Armed Forces.  As director of the Marine Band, John designed his own uniform and it is truly one of a kind.  I believe he pulled from many of the images of John Philip Sousa's uniforms as well as other famous military figures' uniforms for the concept.  I think this may be the prettiest uniform in the history of uniforms... but then again- I am biased.

Origin: USA (New Orleans)
Purchased from Le Petite Toy Soldier
Year: 1990's