Mint Infantry Erel schirmmütze

[Friedrich-Berthold]

It is endless. In my cloth sample book, many different varieties of Kunstseide were sold. Once the war took hold, and scarcity began, I am sure one used what one had. The bulk of the Lw contract caps were from the pre war era, i.e. 1935-1939, and conform to said specification.
The seeker here wants a fundamentalist like certainty that reflects the spirit of the age, i.e. our age, and reflects, moreover, a profound mental laziness and sloth.

[KSH]

It is endless. In my cloth sample book, many different varieties of Kunstseide were sold. Once the war took hold, and scarcity began, I am sure one used what one had. The bulk of the Lw contract caps were from the pre war era, i.e. 1935-1939, and conform to said specification.
The seeker here wants a fundamentalist like certainty that reflects the spirit of the age, i.e. our age, and reflects, moreover, a profound mental laziness and sloth.

Well, I am glad that there are a few of us out there that are willing to challenge such dogmas to learn and experience more of the true context of these treasures/junk. And to be fair many elegant caps bearing one of Lubstein's logos were indeed made - the cap in question above is an example of that.

Regards,

Kenneth

[stonemint]

I agree--my good friend Ben described them as the "Ford" of the German hat-making industry. (I would use Cadillac, not that it is much of an improvement--Cadillac Cimarron, anyone?!). I prefer the Holters, Mullers, Kornackers, and most of all, the Welhausens--but unfortunately for us, they are nowhere near as plentiful as Erel. However, everyone on the "other" forum goes beserk over Erel, Hoffmann, CW, Pekuro--show a Welhausen, and the response is almost, "what else ya got?"

My realm is made all the more difficult by the fact that I prefer civil visors, and the smaller makers just did not produce these in any volume, if at all.

[stonemint]

As most know, I am not an organisational collector (ie, I do not specialize in a specific organisation--ie, SS, DAF, SA, etc). However, for reasons unknown even to me, I have always had an interest in the Postschutz. As most of us headgear junkies do not get out of this forum, I would like to recommend what is probably the best thread I have read in a long time on this site, courtesy of our own KSH:

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/photo...-reich-130516/

Make sure you read the narrative, not just look at the pictures!

[KSH]

I agree--my good friend Ben described them as the "Ford" of the German hat-making industry. (I would use Cadillac, not that it is much of an improvement--Cadillac Cimarron, anyone?!). I prefer the Holters, Mullers, Kornackers, and most of all, the Welhausens--but unfortunately for us, they are nowhere near as plentiful as Erel. However, everyone on the "other" forum goes beserk over Erel, Hoffmann, CW, Pekuro--show a Welhausen, and the response is almost, "what else ya got?"
My realm is made all the more difficult by the fact that I prefer civil visors, and the smaller makers just did not produce these in any volume, if at all.

I always really enjoy seeing your obscure civil visors, Chris - and as you say they are hard to come by. Funny you and F-B should mention Welhausen (my favorite maker I think) as I have just fulfilled a dream of mine and have acquired a Heer prewar made Welhausen with all bullion insignia and a soft leather visor - I shall post it in due time as I think it will be appreciated. It is one of the most awesome Welhausens out there IMO.

P.S. Thank you Chris for your praise of my album thread - I appreciate it very much!

Regards,

Kenneth

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I wish I had bought back the Jaeger cap that was once mine, but it is one of many that went aglimmering more than forty years ago. Please do not misunderstand me, the cap here from Lubstein is a marvelous piece, with a high crown, and in fine condition. A very desirable and pleasing object.
My critique concerns the odd designer label fetish that is ahistorical and at times, down right strange.
Thanks to you all.

[Koguryo9]

ERELs are nice, I think people like them not without a good reason: Not just because most ERELs are well-made (as are most WWII German visors), most of them retain a very nice shape. The stirnshutz and the vented cockade are just some added bells and whistles that might attract some collectors (Nick? hehe), I don't think they are the defining factors of what makes most of us attracted to EREL visor caps. Sure, the fact that EREL was one of the biggest cap makers explains why they are popular among collectors: People like what they can get, right? The smaller, more obscure cap makers did not leave that many samples behind, therefore people just don't realize how good (or bad) they are, right? I am a perfect example of that ignorance, hehe.

Don't know where "Ford" comes from, to me EREL stands for top quality in every way. I know Holters are preferred by the top echelon, however the very few (granted, very few) that I have seen so far don't really look that special, from materials used to construction techniques. Same goes for Paul Kaps caps. I think I have yet to see a Welhausen, perhaps Chris and Ken can post a few pictures of the Welhausens you have? :-)

[Friedrich-Berthold]

The issue here is the Kleiderkasse bargain basement product versus the tailored item at much greater expense. Do let me point out that such issues of economy and internal function of the officer corps in Germany are hardly understood on the other site. In any case, I find this comparison of makers of such caps to be very odd.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Here is the statement of purpose of the Kleiderkasse SS. That of the army was not significantly different.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Once again, Germany had thousand of cap makers either as an industrial concern or a traditional artisan's basis. Look here, and see just some of them.

A1 = industrial concerns
A2 =artisans.