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Reppy, Alison, First Lt. (compiler).

[Scrapbook of WWI Intelligence Officer and Author.] World War Scrap Book [cover-title].

France, England, Germany, America, and elsewhere, mainly 1917–1919. 4to (12.5” x 11”), full pebbled brown cloth, gilt title at front-cover. 54 original photos, 14 postcards, 4 manuscript maps (2 identical and on printed forms), 7 printed maps, 3 issues of the Ohio Rainbow Reveille, 4 intelligence reports, 1 ms. and watercolor chart, 14 ms. and typescript letters, numerous newspaper clippings and photo-illustrations, and other military orders and documents, mounted on 172 pp. Many of these materials bear ms. captions or annotations. 17 blank pp. Additional laid-in clippings and papers.

A fascinating, carefully organized album of original photos, maps, official military documents, letters, and other materials compiled by Intelligence Officer and later New York University Law School dean and professor Alison Reppy, the author of the regimental history Rainbow Memories (1919).

Born in Hillsboro, Missouri, Lieut. Alison Reppy (1893–1958) served as an Intelligence Officer in France in the 1st Battalion, Company C of the 166th Infantry, 42nd “Rainbow” Division, commanded by Col. Benson W. Hough. Reppy saw conflict in the attacks and counter-attacks at Lorraine, Champagne, Aisnel, the Muse-Argonne Offensive, and the advance on Sedan. After the Armistice was signed, he was appointed First Lieutenant in the Officers’ Reserve Corps and served as an officer in charge of civil affairs in the Army of Occupation on the Rhine, during which he wrote Rainbow Memories: Character Sketches and History of the First Battalion 166th Infantry, 42nd Division, American Expeditionary Force. Reppy’s service as an intelligence officer furnished him with technical and other information, enabling him to write an unusual and authentic history.

The scrapbook offered here spans from Reppy’s enrollment in officer training camp at Fort Riley, Kansas in May of 1917 to his discharge in May of 1919 and his appointment as First Lieutenant in the Officers’ Reserve Corps in June of 1919. It opens with John McCrae’s famous WWI poem In Flanders Fields (here entitled We Shall Not Sleep and printed on what appears to be a bookmark) and features original photographs and postcards as well as intelligence reports, maps, letters, and numerous photomechanical illustrations, some of them possibly proof-copies of images that were included in Rainbow Memories. Many of the images are accompanied by manuscript annotations and inscriptions. Organized more or less in chronological order, the scrapbook chronicles the progress made by Reppy and his regiment and has a strong narrative flow. Being the first Atchison County, Kansas army officer to ship out to France, Reppy was quite the sensation back home, as evidenced by the numerous newspaper clippings included here.

Following the War, Reppy became Dean of the New York University Law School, and authored numerous scholarly articles and books, including Civil Rights in the United States (1951), which at the time constituted one of the most extensive legal works on the development of civil rights in America. Reppy also wrote Law: A Century of Progress, 1835–1935, written on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the NYU School of Law. He edited the New York University Law Review; founded and edited the Air Law Review, and served as President of the American Academy of Air Law.

CONTENTS:

54 original photographs (3” x 2” to 6” x 8”). Numerous photos feature Reppy. Other images show some of the following subjects: Fort Riley, Kansas; army baracks; 2 shots of the “Suicide Squad” (of which Reppy was part), reading: “This group was designated the ‘suicide squad…assigned to duty in France immediately, & it was tho[ugh]t their chances of returning were not very good”; “Our boys sharpening their bayonets before a night raid”; the Intelligence Section of the 166th Inf. (“a group of Ohio boys”); 2 aerial photographs (6.75” x 9”) of St. Mihiel, France. Bearing red-ink annotations, e.g., “Within our line”; “Enemy Front line Destroyed by Shell Fire,” etc. These photos were likely produced in the lead-up to the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, a major battle fought between 12 and 15 Sept. 1918; Original photograph of General Paul von Hindenburg (6” x 8.5”), bearing caption explaining the photo was “captured September 12, 1918, in a German officer's dugout, by my scout group at St. Mihiel.” CONDITION: Some wear; a shot of the 166th’s band; shots of Reppy with Princess Radziwill of Russia (who was formerly held a prisoner in Germany); a photo of Reppy seated with a copy of Rainbow Memories; a shot of 166th Inf. Co. C.’s officers; the location where Reppy stayed on the Rhine River in France after WWI and wrote Rainbow Memories; and so on. CONDITION: Generally good. Also 2 identical photos of Reppy as NYU Professor working at his desk (9” x 7”). CONDITION: One copy very good, the other good with some wear to upper-right. 1 photo of Reppy as Professor seated at his desk (7 x 9) CONDITION: Ink staining at upper-left margin, light damage to photo itself.

[with]

Proof[?] copies (thick paper) of half-tone illustrations of military leaders and company officers, with typed captions, used in Rainbow Memories. 7 pp. of photomechanical illustrations of U.S. officers; 1 p. of “French Political & Military Leaders.”

[with]

Numerous photomechanical illustrations of Companies A–D, First Battalion, 166th Infantry.

[with]

4 original “Compte-Rendu” maps of Haumont-Les-Lachaussée vicinity (Battle of Verdun) (approx. 9” x 8.5”). Sept. 1918. Partly printed, partly manuscript maps of Haumont region, with annotations, two showing the routes of patrols. 30 Sept–15 Oct. 1918. 1 copy filled-in by Pvt. R. Cullen.

[with]

3 issues of the Ohio Rainbow Reveille (13 July ‘18; 10 Aug. ‘18; 30 Nov. ‘18), a rare newsletter for the 166th Infantry, 42nd Rainbow Division. 4 pp.

[with]

Airplane & Balloon Insignia Chart (7” x 9.5”), Manuscript and watercolor. 1 p. Denoting French, American, English and German insignias.

[with]

Typed letter certifying that Reppy “did most gallantly and effectively conduct a patrol” to determine if the enemy’s wire had been cut. Signed by Brigadier General Henry J. Reilly.

[with]

Document appointing Reppy First Lieut. in the Officers’ Reserve Corps, 18 June ‘19. 1 p., signed by the Adjutant General.

[with]

7 printed maps of areas of France (approx. 3.5” x 6.25” to 8” x 6”), some bearing ms. annotations.

[with]

7 letters from Reppy to his father. 1917–1918. 8 pp. of typescript and manuscript.

[with]

Numerous newspaper clippings, some in “local” papers (Kansas City area), concerning Reppy or based on Reppy’s reports and letters, others regarding the actions of the Rainbow Division, in The Daily News and other papers.

[with]

Headquarters 42d Division, Second Section, 16 June 1918, Program of Instruction for Personnel of the Infantry Regimental and Battalion Intelligence Services of the 42nd Division for the ensuing training period. 4 pp. of typescript. [with] Memorandum to Intelligence Officers concerning Enemy Identifications. 3 pp. [with] Summary of Intelligence. 13–14 Dec. 1918. 2 pp. [with] Report of Patrol of Co. C. and Intelligence Section. 23 Oct. 1918. 1 p. These are typescript and mimeograph intelligence reports, which include an interrogation of a captured German farmer, Aloys Hansen. [with] Reppy’s The True Story of Sedan. 4 pp. of typescript. [with] Dinner menu for the 1st Battalion 166th Infantry. 2 pp. of typescript. [with] Zeru Hour 12. M. 0–3 Preparatory Bombardment [dinner menu]. [with] Order assignment from Colonel Hough. 1 p.

[with]

5 letters of recommendation for Reppy’s application to officer’s training camp at Fort Riley. 5 pp. [with] 1917 typescript letter congratulating Reppy on his admission to the Officer’s Reserve training camp, Fort Riley, Kansas. 2 pp. [with] Organization of Battalion Intelligence. 4 pp. of manuscript charts (9.25” x 7”). [with] 14 postcards (3.5” x 5.5” to 5.5” x 3.5”) collected during his service. [with] 1917 Cablegram from Reppy (6.75” x 7”), bearing inscription: “This telegram in code informed my friends of my arrival on the other side.” 1 p. [with] Typed translation of Gustave Babin’s article “On the Champagne Battle Field.” 1918. 11 pp. [with] Reppy’s Certificate of American Bar Association Membership (8.5” x 11”). [with] Mimeograph of 1917 physical examination for Army. 1 p.

All in all, a rich scrapbook documenting the World War I service of Alison Reppy and the Rainbow Division.

CONDITION: Good, cloth worn through at hinges but covers still securely attached; contents generally quite good.

Item #5471

Price: $3,950.00