Original Item: Only one set available. Dating from the early part of 1914 this was the last of the Uhlan (light cavalry and lancers) regiments to give up their colorful uniforms in favor of the official “feld grau” color (field grey) officially adopted in 1910 and used throughout the remainder of the war.
The “UHLANS” were German Lancers but like the splendid eye catching uniforms it wasn’t long before horses were also obsoleted and like most cavalry of the day these specialized troops most often crossed over to mechanized transport.
This trooper’s set is of classic Lancer Uhlan style featuring a deep green “maternity” tunic with buttons down the sides with purple bib and facings. It retains the original impressive brass mounted epaulettes and the buttons on the collar bear the Lion Cypher of Bavaria and the single “V” chevron to the right sleeve has the Bavarian blue central ribbon. The purple and green brimless cap bears both the Bavarian circular badge with a blue center as well as the German Federation badge of red, white and black.
The interior of the cap shows the maker’s printed label in silver “Deutsche Industrie” and the continental cap size of 53 cm. The tunic shows some moth nips but not too serious, the set is, after all over 100 years of age.
One of the very last colorful uniform sets too see actual combat before the adoption of drab colors and camouflage making this a truly rare collectors set.