Original German WWII Army Heer Cavalry Officer Schirmmütze Visor Cap by EREL – Double Marked Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Cavalry Officer Schirmmütze visor cap, made by the very desirable EREL company. It features the typical green wool gabardine construction with a forest green band and a traditional high forward crown. The crown stiffener has been removed, giving it a lovely “saddle form” crushed shape. It also 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 high end hand embroidered silver bullion eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silver bullion embroidered wreath surrounding a tri-color cockade on the band. 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. The brown leather sweatband is in very good condition, with with some light tears and deterioration around the rim. Size is approximately US 7 1/8 (57cm).

The cap is lined with cream rayon, though the entire celluloid sweatshield is gone, with some holes also where the cheesecloth under layer can still be seen. However, we can still make out the entire Erel trademark logo:

OFFICIER
KLEIDERKASSE
BERLIN
EREL
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.

Condition of the cap is very good, with the colors retained very well. There is however some moth damage to the outer shell, especially on the top, and also damage on the lower rim.

A very example of the 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.