Acknowledgements
Before getting into the what, when & where of RWS, I'd like to take a moment to address the who of RWS. While RWSworld.com and the related RWS Checklist strive to bring you the most current and accurate information available regarding RWS, it should be acknowledged that the prior work of others has contributed greatly to the information available here. Such is the case for most reference works - they draw upon the best of what research has come before, then push the boundaries of knowledge further, through original research, the addition of new information, the correction of errors and omissions, and the use of new methods of organizing and sharing information.
No discussion of the history of RWS would be complete without recognizing the work of Art Hyman and Rob Kutz, who together authored several versions of an RWS checklist from 1979 to 1996. Generally viewed as the standard reference on RWS at the time, the checklists were indispensable to RWS collectors. Because no reference work on RWS is ever complete ("new" issues are discovered each month), Rob Kutz also kept RWS collectors informed of new finds by reporting them in columns he wrote for two widely read collecting publications, the Scouting Collectors Quarterly and the American Scouting Traders Association Report. Rob even kept the column going several years after he stopped collecting RWS.
RWSworld.com hopes to continue this great tradition of presenting collectors with ever-improving information. The ability to use the Internet to reach collectors everywhere for sharing information on RWS, for presenting an image library, and for bringing collectors & traders together, is simply an extension of the type of work undertaken by those who first attempted to catalog known RWS issues. It is my sincere hope that RWSworld.com can last as long and contribute as much to the hobby.
The Basics
It's always best to start at the beginning, so I'll try to do just that. If you're already familiar with the basics, feel free to skip over this section. If you'd like a very brief primer on RWS collecting, the history of their use, plus a little more, read on.
"RWS" is a term commonly used to refer to more color combinations than just red & white. When someone says, "I collect RWS," they may also collect khaki & red strips, blue & white strips, white & blue strips, etc. When someone says, "RWS don't interest me," you know that they're missing out on an interesting segment of Scouting memorabilia collecting!!
In 1928, the Boy Scouts of America national headquarters authorized the use of community strips. Worn on the uniform just below the seam at the upper part of the left sleeve, these strips were originally red lettering on a khaki base material.
Shortly afterwards, in 1930, the use of council strips was authorized. These strips were first used only by professional Scouters and by those who held councilwide positions. These first council strips were khaki & red, though there were also some issues in tan & red, that matched the color of the uniform at the time.
In the early 1940's, the size of the strips increased from half-strips to full-sized strips. This provided enough room to add the state name. Around this time, other color combinations were also authorized: blue & white (Sea Scouts/Explorers, winter uniform), white & blue (Sea Scouts/Explorers, summer uniform), green & brown (Explorers), powder blue & dark blue (Air Scouts/Explorers), and blue & gold (Cub Scouts).
In the mid-1950's the colors were standardized to red & white, for all groups except Sea Scouts/Explorers, who continued to use blue & white and white & blue.
In 1970, the BSA national headquarters sent each council a letter, along with three now-famous samples, introducing an entirely new style of council shoulder patch (CSP). The multi-colored CSPs, with their interesting designs and varied colors, quickly gained popularity with councils, and the RWS was soon abandoned and went the way of the dinosaur.
Issues and Varieties
Just as with other types of Scouting patches, there were different issues and varieties among RWS produced by councils. The differences can be as obvious as different color combinations or wording, or as slight as whether the embroidery tags run between letters or from each letter to the border. Of course, the choice of what to collect is entirely up to you. Some collectors look for just one issue from each council, or one from each council that did not issue a CSP, or only those from their own council or state, while others chase after everything. Issues and varieties will both be discussed on this web site.
Identifying RWS Issues and Varieties
Identifying issues and varieties among RWS is generally a pretty straightforward task. Simply determine the color combination, the size of the strip (full or half), note the wording, and you're pretty much done. Following is a list of the commonly used abbreviations for the different types of strips:
Full Strips:
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Half-Strips:
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Where multiple lines of text are found on full-sized RWS, a slash mark is used in the listing to indicate a different line of text. For example, the two RWS to the right would be listed as:
GREATER NIAGARA / FRONTIER COUNCIL
ANDREW JACKSON / COUNCIL (95/64)
Values
One question that many collectors have regarding RWS concerns the values of different issues. To date, there has not, to my knowledge, been available a price guide specifically for RWS collectors. So, how to determine values/prices? As with any collectible item, the marketplace ultimately determines the price. During the past two years, only about 550 different issues have appeared on the major dealers' lists. Unfortunately, many of the less common issues may appear only infrequently, if ever, on dealers' sales lists. With over 1,600 different issues and varieties already identified, this leaves a big "unknown" when it comes to values. In addition, the price on a dealer's list is, after all, only an "asking" price. There's no way to know whether a piece ended up selling for the listed price, short of reviewing a "prices realized" list, and many dealers do not make this information available. Nonetheless, tracking sales list prices is probably the best method currently available to estimate values.
It has been suggested that one way to estimate the value of various issues would be to survey a handful of the top RWS collectors in the country to see which issues are present in their collections. Then, based on the how frequently the issues appear in these collections, assign a relative "scarcity" factor and value to each issue. While such an approach might provide a very rough idea as to the scarcity, it would not account for the fact that scarcity can vary significantly between different regions of the country, and prices can often be heavily influenced by local demand. Also, taking a look at the collections of the top ten RWS collections is certainly not a representative sample of RWS collections in general.
In addition, the fact that there may be a few collectors who are willing and able to pay $300+ for an issue does not mean that the majority of the market is willing or able to support such a price. In short, I recommend that you be skeptical of any price list that may come out claiming to "know" the values of all issues. Instead, do first-hand research by gathering price information from sales lists, TORs, and other collectors.
What's New in RWS?
Since the advent of the CSP, only a few councils have issued RWS. One of these was Twin Rivers Council (NY), which issued a standard RWS when the council was formed in 1990. It was issued as a temporary patch, while a contest was held to design the new CSP.
Similarly, Central New Jersey Council recently (March 1999) issued a patch that could be classified as either RWS or CSP. It is in the shape of a traditional full-sized RWS, with red twill and white letters and border, but with a rolled edge border and one small red fleur-de-lis on each side of the state name. It's a patch that could fit into either type of collection - RWS or CSP. The council name is considered to be a temporary choice, since a new name has already been proposed. The RWS/CSP was produced as an interim patch.
Be sure to check out the Hot Topics section of this web site for the latest news in the world of RWS.
Still Have Questions?
If you have any questions regarding RWS, or if there's a topic you'd like to see addressed, please email me. I'm always happy to hear from collectors.
GREATER NIAGARA FRONTIER / COUNCIL / NEW YORK
In some cases, RWS with the exact same wording on each line will have different-sized words. The most common way to distinguish between patches in such a case is to give the width of each line of text, in millimeters. For example, the two Andrew Jackson Council RWS pictured to the right have different word sizes and spacing, and would be listed as follows:
ANDREW JACKSON / COUNCIL (120/55)
One other potential variety difference to be aware of concerns the embroidery tags that link together different parts of the patch. There are several examples where the wording and letter spacing is identical but there are varieties in where the tags run. Take the two close-ups of Bay Lakes Council RWS to the right, for example. The tags on strip A run from each letter to the border, while the tags on strip B run between the letters near the bottom. While some collectors pay no attention to this difference, other collectors who are looking for a complete set of issues and varieties might be interested in knowing that two varieties exist. Similar tag varieties exist for a handful of other RWS as well.