Unknown Zeppelin badge

[GlennAgain]

It's a cap badge from the Zeppelin Reederei/Shipping Line...Not Fake...

[Chopperman]

That's interesting.
All of the period photos that I have seen show a completely different looking badge.

[GlennAgain]

I'm also seeing it identified as a "Marine Luftschiffer-Abzeichen" - Naval Airship/Dirigible...

[Chopperman]

I'm also seeing it identified as a "Marine Luftschiffer-Abzeichen" - Naval Airship/Dirigible...

I've looked at the images that dealers have of this award using both names
but I still have not seen a period image of this exact badge on a cap or uniform.

I still think that this could be a fantasy item that dealers fell for.

[GlennAgain]

I speculate it could be for a child's sailor-cap...Der Rittmeister identifies it as an "Unofficial Luftschiffer Badge"... But I don't think it's necessarily a fake...

[Wolf]

I searched through historical photos again but couldn't find an image of this badge. I have summarized the detectable badges here:






German Empire: Kaiserlicher Aero Club Berlin (such a badge was worn by Graf Zeppelin himself)






First World War: Normal badges of the Imperial Navy






Weimar Republic: Zeppelin behind Z






Time in between (1930s): LZ






Third Reich: Zeppelin in front of globe with eagle and swastika

(Sorry for the bad picture quality, I only had my smartphone...)

PS: The badges shown above in this post are reproductions.

Best regards
Wolf

[Wolf]

Based on Glenn's suspicion that the badge might have come from a child's uniform, I did a long search for Zeppelin children's uniforms and Zeppelin memorabilia in general. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the badge anywhere here either.

This was the only type of Zeppelin kids uniform I could find and it had no badge but a cap band:




Additionally, I (virtually) searched the exhibition at the "Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen" in Germany, as it houses the world's largest collection of airship history and technology, including a faithful reconstruction of part of the airship "LZ 129 Hindenburg". But that too was unsuccessful. Even in their "Wunderkammer/cabinet of curiosities", which contains more than 350 Zeppelin pins, medals, toys, crockery and other memorabilia, there was no trace of the badge. The only thing I discovered among the exhibits from the museum is that there was apparently also a cap badge made of fabric for the "Erinnerungsabzeichen für Besatzungen der Heeres-Luftschiffe/Marine-Luftschiffe / Commemorative Badge for Crews of Army Airships/Naval Airships" of the Weimar Republic:




Having no other ideas of where else to look, I suspect Greg is correct in his assessment that it's a fantasy item that the dealers fell for. But still strange...

If anyone finds out anything else about it, I'm very interested to hear it.

Thank you all again for your efforts.

Best regards
Wolf

[Chopperman]

I am impressed with all of the research that you have done.
Good on you.

[VtwinVince]

I've seen these around, and believe that it was originally a civilian company badge from the postwar period that the fakers have decided to reproduce. I can't say whether the shown badges are real or fake, but certainly it did exist.