A Political Leader's Brocade Dress Belt with Buckle by Friedrich Linden, Lüdenscheid

Buckle in gilt die-stamped aluminum on the right end, illustrating an eagle with its head facing to its left, clenching a wreathed swastika in its talons, backed by a full-wreath of oak leaves, marked with the RZM (Reichszeugmeisterei) insignia and maker marked "M4/24" (Friedrich Linden, Lüdenscheid) on the reverse, the buckle measuring 50.5 mm. Upper of the belt fabricated from a machine-woven gold-coloured threading, with a row of brown embroidered piping running along the length of the belt at the top and bottom near the edge, the sides and underside in dark brown velvet, leather tab with a smooth finished reddish-brown upper stitched in place on the underside at the right end, the tab with seven rows of two holes each for length adjustment, emboss stamped "115" on the tip, with paper tag printed in light blue ink and glued to the end of the tab where it is stitched in place to the body of the belt, the label marked with a large "M', the RZM insignia, inscribed "Hersteller" (Manufacturer) and "A4", stamped "21", inscribed "Reichszeugmeisterei der NSDAP" marked "A" and numbered "No 034747", gilt aluminum receiving clip on the left end is also marked with the RZM insignia and maker marked "M4/24" (Friedrich Linden, Lüdenscheid) on its reverse, the clip secured in place where the belt folds over and is stitched in place on the reverse, two sliders with matching uppers and reverses to that of the belt, the one slider with a dark brown velvet tab, the belt measuring 43 mm x 1,280 mm. Scattered gilt wear on the buckle, slight undulation evident on both the upper and reverse, crazing evident on the leather tab. Extremely fine. Footnote: From the collection of approximately 900 German buckles accumulated by John R. Angolia, who start collecting buckles, belts and brocades from 1944 until around 1990; most of the buckles were obtained from the American and German veterans; most of these buckles present a core of Angolia’s book “Belt Buckles & Brocades of the Third Reich”, published in 2001.