My Heer Mantel (Greatcoat) collection
Hello. A nice day here today so I thought I would get out my Heer Mantel which are normally stored away in boxes. From Left to right - M36, M40 (A late production with split seem at the back, just before they changed over to the M42), M42, another M42 with collar slightly smaller than the previous example, and M42 UberMantel (fully lined inside with fur and attached hood). Kind regards, Colin
Impressive collection! I'd love to get a 36 one day, really like the look of those. Thanks for sharing!
What a beautiful collection ME 110.
Can I ask how the quality of the fabric compares between the early and late examples?
I have a single M42 which is very damaged but still something I enjoy.
I hope other members can unpack some boxes to show off some more.
Thanks for posting!
Hello Kateri, yes the material on the M36 is of much higher quality. The cloth is uniform in shade, length and texture. Very similar in appearance to a Waffenrock dated 1938 that I own. My example of an M36 is stamped 1940. The cloth on the M40 is a slightly ‘greyer’ shade and is more ‘shoddy’ in terms of cloth length. The M42’s are where things really start to deteriorate in terms of quality. Both of my examples are slightly more brown/grey in shade as opposed to early war field grey. Lots of man made rayon fibres which crease very easily and are more of a ‘rough’ texture compared to the ‘smooth’ M36. Cheers, Colin.
Thanks for the reply,that's really interesting.
Nice to be able to see these.
Hi Colin,
Great series of various mantels. I'm a fan of coats, though many say they are too hard to display. I own five tropical coats currently (one a tropical wachmantel), and am a sucker for them. Without hijacking your thread (and moderators, please remove if inappropriate) I would like to hear your thoughts on a mantel I got a year or two back. The colour is olive/brown, and I will include an image of field grey and RAD cloth for comparison, as well as placing it directly beside a 1941 dated tropical coat.. I have little experience with Continental wool colours and an informed opinion would be helpful? Is this just mid-war olive/brown blended wool (certainly too early to be a Russian pulped, example)? Thanks for your time, Mark.
Hello Mark. A nice Mantel you have. Although to be exact, you have a UberMantel - often referred to as a Guard Coat. These differed from normal Mantels by being fully lined in a heavy blanket material, having an integral hood and 2 vertical ‘muff’ pockets on the chest. You can often tell from wartime photos if a soldier is wearing a normal Mantel or UberMantel by the external double hemline sewn into the area above the skirt which holds the blanket material inside on the UberMantel, not present on a normal Mantel. Your example was issued by the Frankfurt Clothing Depot in 1943. Ubermantels were not supposed to be issued to individuals, only to units, however soldiers often ‘obtained’ them due to their better insulating qualities. With regards to the colour of the material on your example, it is always slightly difficult to distinguish without the piece in hand. Late war examples certainly took on a more ‘brownish’ hue compared to earlier examples. Your example is not too dissimilar in colour to an M42 that I own. The field grey colour is more indicative of early war M36 and M40 Mantels. Kind regards, Colin.
Thank You Colin, I appreciate your taking time to answer my query.
I've been able to identify the difference in period photos between quilt lined Ubermantel and blanket lined in period photos from North Africa, which is the area of collecting I mainly concentrate on. Thanks Again - you have a fantastic collection of coats.
Regards,
Mark
NZ
One creepy display! Thanks for taking the time to show.
I agree Rene, a visitation from the headless wraiths.
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