Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very good example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Named Cavalry Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), made by Karl Schrempf of Pforzheim, a rare maker that we have not encountered before. The cap has a lovely "Crushed" or "saddle-form" shape that is highly desirable, accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "doe skin" weave wool construction, very popular with officers, with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap has matching Goldgelb (Golden Yellow) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Cavalry, as well as reconnaissance and armored reconnaissance units with cavalry traditions. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.
It is decorated with a well detailed silvered aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and an open aluminum bullion embroidered oak leaf and acorn wreath surrounding an embroidered tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia still look great, showing a bright and shiny finish on the eagle, and the wreath and cockade show just a bit of wear and out of place strands. The red felt insert in the cockade is still vibrant. The chin strap is attached with the standard silvered buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge, and is gray on the underside, showing some wear through to the brown under layer. It also has a lovely pattern of light crazing and checking on the black enamel finished top. The stitching holding it in place is sound, and it is firmly attached to the cap.
The cap is lined with light gray colored rayon faux silk, which shows overall staining from use in service. It still retains a partly intact celluloid diamond sweat shield in the crown with all of the stitching, and there is still a clear maker logo showing a man in formal dress holding a hat and shoes, which reads as follows underneath:-
DEUTSCHE
WERT-
ARBEIT
Karl Schrempf
Pforzheim
"Deutsche Wertarbeit" translates to "German Workmanship", a common phrase seen on high end caps. The leather sweatband is finished in gray, and is still in very good condition, showing light wear with no tears or major damage. The leather is still supple, and it has the initials R B punched into it, which would go with the Bachener in the name tag slot. Definitely some nice potential for future research!
Overall condition is very good, with the main condition issue being the staining to the interior. The exterior still retains the original colors very well, and there is only minor moth or other damage to the fabric. Size seems to be about a 58cm or U.S. 7 1/4.
A lovely example of a classic hat worn by German Cavalry Officers in WWII. Very impressive and ready to display!
The German Schirmmütze Visor Cap:
The visor cap (Schirmmütze) was an important part of the headgear worn by German uniformed military, civil, paramilitary and political organizations during the Third Reich. This was the standard cloth headgear worn as a part of the service uniform. Visor caps were worn outdoors as well as indoors, and were often required to be worn by all personnel on duty. Visor caps were made in versions specific to each organization and were often further differentiated through the use of insignia, colored piping, or style of chin cord, to indicate rank, role or branch. The insignia used on these caps ranged from simple stamped metal emblems, to elaborate hand embroidery. Visor caps were issued to enlisted soldiers and NCOs in the military and in some other organizations. Officers had to purchase their own hats, and lower ranks could choose to purchase caps that were of a higher quality than the rather basic, issue examples. The private purchase caps were generally made in very high quality, with fine materials. A wide variety of fabrics were used, from Trikot and doeskin, to heavy wool, or even lightweight white fabric for summer wear. In the military, issue of these caps was generally suspended shortly after the outbreak of the war, but they continued to be worn by some troops until the end of the war.
