My first tr cloth headgear. Attic fresh.

[Zk4298militaria]

I've had militaria wanted posters up locally for close to a year now and finally got the hit I was waiting for. The woman who contacted me lost her husband a few years ago and was cleaning out his things finding this collection tucked into the attic. She said he had bought them some time in the mid 80s to go with his collection of large radio controlled aircraft. The hat collection includes a Pioneer Em/Nco visor, a Veterans Association visor, a second model pith helmet, and a Luftwaffe cold weather flying helmet. Also included is a pair of leather Luftwaffe flying trousers. As these hats have been in less than perfect storage for at least 25 years they are quite flat and the pith is extremely misshaped. At least the moths didn't get to them. The woman didn't want anything to do with them but she wasn't about to give them away. I took the whole collection home for the grand total of 350 usd. Any tips you can offer on preservation and display would be great. If you want more pictures let me know.
- Zach

[christek]

Admittingly, I am not much of a TR collector these days, but it does seem strange to me that the insignias on the caps hang over the chinstrap so much. If that makes sense? Is that a result of poor storage? Must have scrapped up the leather a bit in regard to the metal insignia at least.

[BlackCat1982]

I think you got a great deal for your dollars. I'm not a visor collector but they both look fine. My only question would be regarding the chinstraps being behind the cockade, was this normal practice or have they been removed and reapplied over the straps? Great score though, patience rewarded.

[ErWeSa]

From what I can see the pioneer cap's bill is a replacement - presumably not even a German one.

There are period phots showing caps worn with the chinstrap behind the insignia so this did happen.

What does the leather breeches make them LW flying trousers? They seem more for a (post-war) motorcyle rider (e.g. police forces used these - I own one of these myself) - check for tags/stamps, perhaps these will help to authenticate the item. See here for LW-leather trousers: Luftwaffe 'Reichsverteidigung' jacket

[Zk4298militaria]

New hat form, little stuffing, some tlc and the pioneer cap is looking a lot better.