Germany, Luftwaffe. An Officer’s Visor Cap, by Deutsche Wertarbeit

(Luftwaffe Schirmmütze für Offiziere). A Luftwaffe Officer’s visor cap, constructed of dark grey whipcord wool. It features reinforced side walls, fully lined on the exterior by a ribbed black mohair cap band. Both the top and bottom edges of the cap band are trimmed with silver aluminum wire piping, with a band of additional piping trimming the outer edge of the crown. Stitched onto the peak is an insignia consisting of a grey wool base bearing a hand-embroidered silver aluminum wire Luftwaffe eagle clutching a mobile swastika, measuring 75 mm (w) x 35 mm (h). Also stitched onto the cap directly underneath the eagle is an insignia consisting of a padded black wool backer bearing a hand-embroidered tri-colour wire cockade, set within an oak leaf wreath of identical construction, in turn flanked by stylized wings. The cap band insignia measures 130 mm (l) x 35 mm (h). It is also flanked on each side by pebbled aluminum buttons securing in place a decorative chinstrap, constructed of multiple rows of twisted and rolled silver aluminum wire and featuring dual sliding knots. The chinstrap rests upon a protruding vulcanfibre visor, finished in a matte black on the obverse and in a matte green on the reverse. A light brown leatherette sweatband fully surrounds the interior of the side walls, while the interior is also encompassed by a beige rayon liner. Stitched onto the crown is an intact transparent plastic rhomboid moisture guard, bearing an intact maker’s mark of “DEUTSCHER WERTARBEIT”, with a paper tag displaying a size mark of “57”. The cap measures approximately 245 mm (w) x 255 mm (l) x 160 mm (h). Material fatigue consistent with age and field-use is evident throughout, and includes material fatigue of the wool and wire features, distortion of the cap band which has displaced the cap’s overall structure, and fatigue of the interior sweatband which has resulted in partial detachment. The cap is in an overall fair condition.