Germany, Ordungspolizei. A Schutzpolizei Meister NCO Tunic, ca. 1940

(Schutzpolizei Waffenrock). This tunic is fabricated from a police-green wool exterior with a light-green cotton-blended interior lining. The breasts of the jacket close by eight reinforced button holes meeting an equal number of pebbled, silver-coloured metallic buttons, stamped on the reverse with “Heinr. Vogt, Pforzheim”. The tunic bears four breast pockets, with two on each side, each with reinforced buttonholes and pebbled, silvered zink buttons, stamped on the reverse with “Z.S. 38”. The collar, constructed of dark-brown wool, is neatly lined with green woven piping that continues down the length of the breast flap. The inside right collar has three metal hooks meeting an equal number of metal loops on the left allowing the collar to sit flush with the neck. The collar is flanked by tabs composed of green-coloured wool base, bordered by twisted silver aluminum bullion wire, bearing machine-embroidered twisted silver aluminum bullion wire columns, measuring 35 mm (w) x 95 mm (h).

The shoulders are flanked by boards, constructed of grey and brown threading that is densely looped around to meet a pebbled button, surrounded by a U-shape of silvered aluminum bullion wire and brown thread embroidered in a chevron formation, on a green-coloured wool backer, indicating the rank of Meister, measuring 40 mm (w) x 110 mm (h). The left upper arm bears a sleeve insignia in the form of a machine-embroidered silver aluminum bullion wire police-style German national eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika, within an oval wreath, on a field-grey, measuring 80 mm (w) x 80 mm (h). At the end of each sleeve is a brown cuff measuring approximately 100 mm, bordered by green thread, and adorned by two pebbled, silvered zink buttons. Striped off-white rayon-blended material lines the interior of the sleeves. The interior of the tunic contains a pocket on the upper left breast stamped with “E 22” and the date “1940”, along with a reinforced slit that opens into the left waist pocket. The maker’s label on the interior right side reads “Norddeutsch Uniform - Werkstätten Hannover” above the numbers “173 39 42 102 39 72 92 64”. The collar measures approximately 500 mm at the shoulders, 630 mm in the arms, with an overall length of 770 mm. The tunic is in extremely fine condition.