Waffen SS Officer Visor – EREL

Product Description: This Waffen SS Officer Visor by EREL is an extremely evocative and desirable piece of history. The body of this handsome cap is made of a fine feldgrau (field gray) doeskin wool, which is completely intact, with no moth holes, staining or other visible damage. The officer piping is a fine white cotton, and shows only very slight age toning and patina, with no mothing or other damage. The beautiful black velvet band is in near mint condition, and features the deluxe style venting behind the skull. This cap is complete with an outstanding set of matching original SS insignia. Both eagle and skull are desirable, Deschler-made examples, made of CupAl. These both appear to be the original insignia affixed to the cap, as there is no evidence of any tampering. A light green verdigris has developed on the top of the skull, attesting to the copper content over the aluminum core; when viewing the fabric under the insignia, both skull and eagle have made noticeable imprints on the fabric from being affixed for so long, as one would expect. The silver bullion officer chin cord is in near mint condition, with no damage. The black visor exhibits nice original luster, as well as light crazing throughout. The underside of the visor shows a very noticeable soiling thumbprint from the hand which removed the visor many times. Inside, this Waffen SS Officer Visor shows a nice even wear pattern throughout, while the fabric which was shielded by the folds still retains the very white silky color of its original condition. The leather sweatband is held in place with the original stitching, and is maker marked for the firm of “Erel” (Robert Lubstein), and shows light wear and some damage to the forehead area. The celluloid sweatshield is still intact, and features the name of “Friedrich Bender, Königsberg”, presumably the distributor who sold this cap. There is also an Erel “Sonderklasse” logo on the sweat shield. The gold leaf used to accent this lettering lettering has become detached from the fabric, and the gold lettering flakes remaining under the sweatshield have taken on a patina from age. This all-original cap is an outstanding, top shelf example, with tremendous visual appeal. The condition is excellent.

Historical Description: 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.

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