Cav Officer Schirmmutze

[Friedrich-Berthold]

A further point is that the bestickt insignia of Hoheitsadler and Kranz/Kokarde in the army were forbidden after a certain point, but were worn nonetheless despite such a prohibition.

[BenVK]

Let us avoid the circular and ahistorical "debates" which have occurred elsewhere and cleave to the evidence. I have owned caps of this type, and though they are not especially poetic, they have their place, surely.
The black SS caps from the early 1930s are generally far superior in their quality from those of the late 1930s, i.e. from a time when the SS was much smaller versus the era of its rapid pre-war increase in size amid the rigors of the 4 year plan and its price and material controls, which are all described in great detail in the UM. However, this kind of evidence is more than bridge too far for other kinds of analysis, where the level of analysis is table side at the MAX or the SOS, where little light does penetrate in the course of things.

My problem with hats of this type is not whether they have a rightful place in the evolution of German hat makers craft that we are trying to study. Of course they do. I simply find them rather boring and devoid of much hand craftsmanship and character at all. Collecting is of course a totaly personal thing however and I would never wish to try and persuade anyone that these hats are of no collecting value. Rather. my preference would be towards the ratty, sweaty and holed garments that were, without question, worn during the period and in some cases, right on the front line and suffered accordingly. I was always of this nature though. Even when collecting classic cars, as soon as the work was done and they looked pristine again, my interest in them would disappear.

In reagards to the black caps with all the nomenclature, I was alluding to the fact that most owners of said caps have very little interest or knowledge of what the stencils and labels really represent. They merely know that "all the bells and whistles" are key things that make their purchase a worthwhile investment.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

My problem with hats of this type is not whether they have a rightful place in the evolution of German hat makers craft that we are trying to study. Of course they do. I simply find them rather boring and devoid of much hand craftsmanship and character at all. Collecting is of course a totaly personal thing however and I would never wish to try and persuade anyone that these hats are of no collecting value. Rather. my preference would be towards the ratty, sweaty and holed garments that were, without question, worn during the period and in some cases, right on the front line and suffered accordingly. I was always of this nature though. Even when collecting classic cars, as soon as the work was done and they looked pristine again, my interest in them would disappear.

In reagards to the black caps with all the nomenclature, I was alluding to the fact that most owners of said caps have very little interest or knowledge of what the stencils and labels really represent. They merely know that "all the bells and whistles" are key things that make their purchase a worthwhile investment.

I agree. When one actually wears a cap, it gets dirty. Even in peacetime. I spend a great deal of time with people in uniform, and it is striking how dirty their head wear becomes, even without a world war at hand. Personally I like things with some patina, but also with some garrison appearance, but suum cuique. You are surely right that many collectors have no idea what is on an RZM tag, or if it is real or not. The lack of real historical curiosity floors me each week, I can tell you. However, the human dimension cannot be gain said and to many these things are just a fetish object, the quality of which is determined by a glamor dealer 3d party or by the internet blow hard, of which Ben VK is the signal exception. And, as one observed here, I actually do not own a collection. I have, instead, marzipan black SS caps suitable for play with little action figures.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

What this phrase means is surely unknown to most, nicht wahr?

[BenVK]

The lack of real historical curiosity floors me each week, I can tell you.

Curiosity is the key word here and not just the curiosity of financial value. Gummipolster is such a marvelous word, I just had to find out what it meant many years ago.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Curiosity is the key word here and not just the curiosity of financial value. Gummipolster is such a marvelous word, I just had to find out what it meant many years ago.

How true. Gummipolster is a thing of subtle joy to us all, of course.

Historical curiosity of an honorable sort represents a real challenge for many untrained and easily confused contemporary minds. The multi tasking mindset does not well enable many nowadays to grapple with the needs of actual learning. The "millennial learner" as I have found him or her on these sites has a short attention span, is put off by detail, and responds to the needs for comprehensive study with on line tantrums.

[BenVK]

Returning to the economical Lubstein cap that started the thread though for a minute, when you actualy study it, is there really anything there of much value to study? I don't mean that in a derogatory way of course but there is very little to get excited about. I do feel the same way about the grey kleiderkasse ss visors or cheapo wartime ss caps as FB describes them! . The only real reason they create so much interest these days is because we have all placed such a high collecting value upon them. In actuality, they are probably a rather boring and not very well made product of trikot and leather, zinc and aluminium.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

As a contrast, as of yet unseen items from my non collection.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

The cap on the left is a Mueller Muenchen, and on the right is Lettel, Hannover. The Mueller Muenchen has been mine for almost forty years of ownership, and came with the heraldic crest, the meaning of which is unknown to me. The Mueller cap is of high quality, with a heavy leather peak. Neither is a field cap, but regular caps with leather peaks. They are more interesting than the cheapo things we have mentioned here. The Mueller cap has Silbergespinst insignia, not Alu. insignia.

The Waffenfarbe is Generalstaebler or Veteniaer, but I think in these cases the former.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

foetid woolens, in this case of a nice bluish hue of field grey.