Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Heer Army Cavalry EM/NCO Schirmmütze visor cap by Gebrüder Gerst of St. Goar am Rhein, dated 1937 and measuring approximately size 56. The cap is constructed from Feldgrau whipcord wool with a dark Flaschengrün bottle green badge cloth band, a high forward crown, and matching Goldgelb golden yellow piping around the crown and flanking the band.

The golden yellow Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) is associated with Cavalry, as well as reconnaissance and armored reconnaissance units with cavalry traditions. The cap retains its crown stiffener ring, giving it the correct structured profile.

The front is fitted with a silvered stamped zinc alloy Heer eagle on the crown and an open silvered wreath surrounding a metal tricolor cockade on the band. The wreath retains much of its bright silver wash, while the cockade shows some oxidation along the sides and the eagle has darkened considerably from age. The red felt insert in the cockade remains present and retains strong and vibrant color.

A black leather double buckle EM/NCO chinstrap is secured by black lacquered side buttons. The leather shows age related checking and deterioration to the surface finish but remains complete. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather look upper surface with light edge wear and a brown crosshatched underside. The visor finish shows some age deterioration, and the peak is somewhat loose where the attachment stitching has weakened.

The interior is lined in light brown service cloth. The original plastic or celluloid sweat shield diamond is completely missing, though remnants of its stitching remain. The light brown leather sweatband is still supple and free of major cracks or tears and is embossed with a logo reading:

DEUTSCHES LEDER

, or "German Leather". On the underside is a faint black ink maker marking with the date:

Gebr. Gerst
G.m.b.H.
St. Goar a Rh.

1937

Overall condition is very good, with the exterior colors well retained and only light general wear. There is scattered moth damage on the underside of the crown, some age related misshaping from storage, and separation of the stitching on the left side where the visor meets the liner. The missing sweat shield and weakened visor stitching are the main interior condition issues.

With its 1937 Gebrüder Gerst maker mark, golden yellow Cavalry piping, structured high crown, complete EM/NCO chinstrap, period insignia, and measured size 56, this is a strong example of a prewar Heer Cavalry visor cap. It would display especially well in a Heer Cavalry, reconnaissance, EM/NCO headgear, 1937 dated uniform, or advanced German WWII visor cap collection.

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.