HG-4 Army Wartime Official’s Visor Cap (Schirmmütze
für Wehrmachtbeamte auf Kriegsdauer), by EREL
A rarely encountered cap as worn by officials assigned to limited
duty with the Army for the duration of the war; the only significant difference
between these caps and those of an Army Administrative Official was the
blue-grey cap band (admin officials had the standard Army bluish-green badge
cloth band). This cap is made of a rather dark and noticeably green-hued
(almost olive green) wool of fair quality, with a soft “hand” (“feel” in
textile terminology) - but nothing exceptional. There is some light soiling to
the top panel, but the wool is in very good condition with only some tracking
below the overhangs just above the cap band (not readily visible). The cap’s
forest green Administration branch piping is untouched around the crown, while
the cap band piping has a few nibbles. The cap band is a very fine grade
Luftwaffe grey-blue Trikot wool (i.e. a ribbed fabric). The front crown has a
zinc eagle, matte grey where the silver finish has worn off – though the
swastika is still “polished”!. The wreath’s finish has toned nicely,
though there’s a little off white oxidate build up along the wreath’s bottom
edge here and there. The cockade has a red mesh screen at the center, indicating
the cap has the distinctive EREL-patented air vent system. The chin cords are
the thin diameter style and, over the years have left some marks on the
visor’s lacquered surface. The visor underside is dark tan, with some soiling.
The very bottom edge of the cap wool shows some large moth nips, but these are
not much of a distraction. The reddish-tan natural leather sweatband is quite
wide. It shows definite honest wear around the forehead area. At the rear, the
ends do not overlap, as the cap size (perhaps a 60!) was bigger than any
available band length - and the only means of making it big enough was to add an
additional “linking” piece of band behind and between the two ends. The left
side of the band is embossed with the Gothic font pattern “EREL Patent
Stirnschutz” mark (in silver). The lining is dark golden rayon; it shows a
number of moisture stains, but is otherwise intact. It has a full moisture
shield (great shape). The lining beneath is printed in silver ink with the
“Offizier Kleiderkasse Berlin” notation, below this the EREL-Sonderklasse
logo, and the EREL grade box, which notes the cap as an “Extra” model. The
celluloid material has drawn some of the silver transfer ink off the lining -
but the EREL-Sonderklasse mark remains immediately recognizable. A tag inserted
into the name slot reads “Breddin”. Up within the top, the cap’s
wire shaping ring has broken free of its clip, leaving the ends loose. Very
unique cap - and extremely scarce!
$2,250.00
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Item HG-4
