----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Our Archivist here at Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library has just been given some rare Army Air Force Cloth Survival Charts. We'd like to know what kind of cloth these were printed on. It looks/feels like silk but expect that since 1944 they would be deteriorated; these are in excellent condition. They are folded several times to fit into a small letter-size envelope. Anyone familiar with these? They show surface currents for an area in the Pacific. They were actually developed right here at SIO during the latter part of WWII using what is now known to be poor data. They are each in two parts; one is the actual map in full color and the other is a smaller explanation sheet "use of cloth survival charts in the navigation of rubber rafts." The map is 1:1,000,000 and the item I looked at is C-800 Bintan Island currents. These were published by the Air Intelligence Group, Division of Naval Intelligence, Office of Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Dept., Wash. D.C., prepared by H.O. JUL 1944. Oh, and one advance note to Mary Larsgaard: No, we won't let you sew these into a coat. Thanks to anyone with knowledge of what kind of fabric these are printed on. - PML