Lw m43 black feldmutze for review and comments

[Horrido]

I think I sorta solved the adler's "black line" mistery.I was reluctant to handle this cap too much because it smells musty and...as if a family of rats has been using it as a loo for the past ten years !Whatever...I've carefully checked the eagle and it looks like the embroidering machine has "skipped" a few passes,in fact the black line on the left wing and the much thinner line on the right are but the base color (black) of the insigna!
I don't think it's a damaged caused by the man who wore this cap because the lack of embroidering is too even.Moths perhaps?Naaah....they'd have had a party with the whole cap and insigna...it could even be that that particular area wasn't impregnated with Mickey's fluids,even if it sounds rather unlikely!
Geez guys...you'd handle this cap for a minute and you'll see that the best inventions after sliced bread are hot tap water and anti-bacteric soap!
I think that mothballing it (literally) would be a partial solution to the problem...washing it would be too risky and the owner could kiss the patina goodbye!
More comments are HIGHLY encouraged and welcome!
Regards
Lou

[davejb]

A question, does the insignia stitching go all the way through to the lining material as its unclear in your photos

[Horrido]

A question, does the insignia stitching go all the way through to the lining material as its unclear in your photos

Hi Dave,
no it doesn't!I'd have turned the cap inside out as well but I was afraid to damage it and,as I wrote in my previous post,handling it isn't the most inviting thing at all!
Thank you for weighing in and for asking!
Best
Lou

[davejb]

OK thanks,I dont know if this is significant or not but this leads me to believe that as the insignias are machine stitched , the lining was'nt fitted at that time which worries me a little, as i understood it the entire cap was made en masse, including the lining before insignias were added, machine stitching would always go through into the lining as that was how the machine worked as per normal machining today, the only way that an insignia would fail to go through would be if it was hand stitched but this is not the case here, I wonder if Ben VK would comment, it may be that the lining is a later replacement

[Bochmann]

I also think that the cap is real and the insignia looks good too.

Just a pity that it is not in better condition.

Why not Heman Goring Div, at least it is in the right location.

[BOB COLEMAN]

I would buy this cap for my collection.

[Horrido]

Bochmann and Bob,
thank you so very much for stopping and commenting.
@Bochmann...yes...why couldn't it be a cap left by the retreating Germans?After all the HG units in Italy were rushed to Anzio the very same day of the first landings!
Bob,the more I look at it and the more I look at the "unfinished" adler the more I would like to have it in my collection too,but since it belongs to a friend,I'd feel obliged to offer him the right price,and even in these conditions such a cap could fetch several thousand quids,which thing I cannot afford at the moment!I'm happy for him though,since he's a man with a heart as big as a barn!
Cheers
Lou
Cheers
Lou

[Horrido]

I've given the cap a once over with a sticky lint roll and a baby hairbrush and put a former inside made of newspaper,after all it doesn't look bad at all,does it?Had I washed the cap the whitish mold and dust traces (which are not so evident vbut very highlighted by the flash ) would have gone but I was afraid to damage the cap and to loose its patina forever.I've even poushed myself to the limit brushing away the dust of time but I thought that it would have been a nice idea to get rid of part of the crud and put this cap back into its original shape before returning it to my friend.
Too bad for the tiny holes,the nap wear and the larger hole under the bill,but this cap remains a rare bird in its own right and perfectly collectable even in these condituions...a "keeper" as we'd call it!
Cheers
Lou

[BenVK]

This cap stands a very good chance of being an authentic HG item.

The eagle is interesting, I'm not 100% sure about it but have seen similar eagles with large gaps between the feathers. I agree that this one does seem to have a sewing defect as well though, one line being thicker than the other. Defects did happen all the time however.
The thing that worries me the most is just how clean and bright the insignia is compared to the cap itself which is filthy as you say. Maybe it's the camera though making them appear whiter than they are.

You could wash it in cold water with a bit of woolite. It won't harm the cap and will only remove the mildew and worst of the dirt/smell. The natural patina will remain. Just make sure it's cold water and don't rub the cap, swish the water around and through it. When you're done, place a white cotton T-shirt inside the cap to pad it out and to keep the shape and let it air dry. It will take a few days to dry. I personaly would clean it because the filth will eventualy eat the stitching and the mildew could contaminate other cloth items in your collection.

Dave, machine stitching of the insignia would be done before the lining was sewn in. Anytime you see machine sewing through the lining, that's very suspicious.

[BenVK]

Ok this one is the same pattern eagle more or less. Some of the stitches between wings are different but it's essentialy the same bird I think. Notice the unique eye and slopping neck.

Out of 72 pages of this thread below, this is the only other one I could find. A very rare eagle.
Luftwaffe Breast Eagles - Page 13 - Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums