[AVIATION]. Goodyear Zeppelin hatband. N.p.: [Ca 1920s].Approx. 3 5/8 x 2 1/2 in. couched embroidered "GZ" patch on blue cotton (losses to blue fabric backing, expected tarnishing of metal thread); 1 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. woven band (light discoloration). The letters "GZ" are embroidered on a bordered blue oval, flanked by couched embroidered stylized wings. The badge is worked on black felt and is attached to the woven hatband with a buttonhole on either end to attach to a hat.   Provenance: Jack Boettner, Goodyear's first pilot, and later Goodyear Zeppelin Airship Fleet Commander.A hatband relating to the partnership of the Goodyear Company Akron, Ohio, and the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Company of Friedrichshafen, Germany, started in the mid-1920s. The Zeppelin company worked closely with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to manufacture Zeppelins in the United States. To cement this relationship, a joint venture company, the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, was created to handle such activities. The first airship to be produced under this initiative, the Zeppelin LZ 126 called the ZR-3 USS Los Angeles that performed its first flight on 27 August 1924. RARE.

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