HG-001 General’s Pre-1943 Service Schirmmütze
(Visor Cap)
This cap is a real nice, light field grey doeskin fabric. The front
peak is quite high, and pointed, though the side slopes are fairly shallow, so
the point is not extreme. The light field grey shade contrasts very nicely with
the dark blue/green cap band. The cover material shows a fair bit of wear, with
some minor nap loss around the edges of the top panel, and some light surface
soiling overall, but no moth damage – this cap is quite a looker, in fact. The
piping is gold bullion mesh cord, which has a moderate patina – not too dark.
The cap has pre-1943 pattern insignia: i.e. a very nice nickel/silver
finished eagle, which is developing a handsome patina, and a thin profile wreath
finished with a frosted nickel finish, which is still a bit brighter than the
eagle. The wreath is positioned a bit low – overlapping the bottom piping on
the cap band – but this apparently, is how the General liked it. The cap has a
fine set of twisted gold bullion chin cords – lightly toned. The visor shows
some mild crazing, but still retains a gloss. The interior of this approximate
size 56 cap has a pale grey natural leather sweatband, which has some soiling
and a few moisture spots, but is in otherwise excellent condition and completely
secure. The reverse of the band is ink stamped “1938”. There are three oval
initial badges attached to the leather, the first being “Dr”, then “K”
and “R” – perhaps this general was a medical Officer – though a Ph.D.
would also cover “Dr” and Germans loved to use titles. The pale
silver/grey rayon lining once had a full moisture shield, but this is long gone.
The lining is intact, but heavily soiled and stained at the top, and along the
sides above the sweatband. Traces of verdigris mark the positioning of what once
was a gold-inked maker info and an emblem - but nothing legible remains. The
sweatband overlap at the rear is secured with a simple, tiny “X” stitch.
General’s caps are extremely scarce, and this fine example is the form before
the changeover to all gilt insignia. A premier piece for a headgear collection.
$6,800.00
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Item HG-001
