Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Militärverwaltung (Military Administration) Officer Schirmmütze visor cap, made by Robert Lubstein under their very desirable EREL brand, a top class maker of headwear during the war. It features the typical green wool "whipcord" weave gabardine construction with a forest green band and a traditional high forward crown. The crown stiffener has been removed, giving it that lovely saddle-form "crushed" shape that everyone loves.

The cap also has matching Dunkelgrün (Dark Green) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for the Wehrmacht Militärverwaltung (Military Administration) in general. The specific branch of the administration would be denoted by additional color piping on the uniform collar and shoulderboards. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer. There is a small piece of paper in the name slot on the crown, which looks to read Kauphaus or something similar.

The insignia on this cap are both the very early fully hand embroidered aluminum bullion type, and are both still in great shape, with very little oxidation. The peak eagle is woven onto a forest green background, and there are no loose strands we can see. The oak leaf wreath is also very well executed, woven onto the same green background, and surrounds an embroidered tri-color cockade, which has a red felt insert in the center. Really a great set of early pattern insignia.

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 tan on the underside. There is a bit of "checking and "melting" of the finish, confirming the age. It is still solidly attached to the body of the cap. The brown finished leather sweatband is in very good condition, showing just a bit of wear to the finish, and the stitching is just about fully intact. Size seems to be about a US 7 1/4 (58cm).

The cap is lined with lovely cream rayon faux silk, and still retains the full celluloid diamond sweat shield in the crown. At first we through it was unmarked, but looking at an angle shows that the EREL trademark logo is still there, just missing the paint, and reads:

EREL
Berlin
SonderKlasse
Extra

The cap also has an embossed stamp over the left ear on the sweatband: EREL PATENT / STIRNSCHUTZ, which refers to the "Forehead Protection" of the sweatband design. This means that the sweatband was never replaced, making this a "double marked" example.

The condition of the cap is really very good, with the colors very well retained and no major damage from wear or mothing. It's really still in solid condition, with the stitching still in great shape. Please consult the pictures for further condition details.

A very nice example of the classic hat worn by German Wehrmacht Administration 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.