Early Gebirgsjager Bergmutze Cap

Product Description: Here is an Early Gebirgsjager Bergmutze Cap in very good condition. The cap is constructed of a fine feldgrau wool typically seen on prewar items made before the recycling of products with synthetic material. The exterior wool shows an even distributed wear indicating the cap was worn daily by its owner during the war. Small hand repairs showing correct age can be seen in a few areas. The exterior also shows a slight amount of staining and fading. The area under the folds of the ear pull-downs shows a considerable amount of nap remaining, which is most likely due to the soldier customizing his cap by tacking the ear pull downs in place with simple stitching. The lack of ventilation eyelets indicate the cap is truly of pre 1938 construction. The Bergmutze Cap insignia is the very early “T-Trap” style using a white national eagle on the stone grey background. This style of insignia was introduced in 1936 and replaced by 1937 with the white eagle on a grey-green background. The insignia is neatly and originally hand stitched to the front of the cap. The caps pebbled aluminum type buttons are securely fastened. On the caps left side rests the famous Edelweiss which is attached by simple hand stitching. The metal Edelweiss appears to remain originally attached to the cap as evidence of wear to both the device and attachment thread match the features on the rest of the cap. The presence of a heavier nap under the edelweiss when gently lifting it for inspection also indicates this insignia is originally attached. The pull-down ear flaps have been hand sewn in place and appear to have been altered this way by the original wearer. The interior of the cap shows evidence of daily wear. The leather sweat band shows slight staining from sweat and oil, although has become dry over the last 80 years and has begun to crack in places. The interior of the cap is lined with a simple grey cotton twill fabric. This lining shows wear, cobwebs, and light staining. Overall, this is a rare and extremely early true Bergmutze cap which was worn by one of the men in the highly respected Gebirgsjager units. It would make a fantastic addition to any cap collection, or to finish a historical mannequin.

Historical Description: Introduced in the early 1930’s, the Bergmutze cap was worn by all ranks of mountain and ski personnel. The Bergmutze Cap were highly coveted by their owners, and envied by those did not rate. After the seizure of power by the Third Reich, the Bergmutze cap continued to be worn by members of the Gebirgsjager. The cap then went through various changes over the next several years. Beginning in 1936, the most notable change was the addition of a “T-Trap” national insignia was added to the front of the cap. The first style of “T-Trap” insignia was a white national eagle over a light grey background, followed shortly by he same white eagle over a grey-green background. Officer versions of the same style exist with the eagle being made of a silver wire or bullion rather than the embroidered white cotton twill. In 1938, the addition of the ventilation eyelet to the side of the cap was introduced. In 1939 the famous Edelweiss insignia was introduced and issued to members of the Gebirgsjager. Later examples of the Bergmutze were introduced with the commonly seen Trapezoid insignia featuring the national eagle over the traditional cockade.

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