Germany, Heer. A Tropical Panzer EM/NCO’s M35 Field Cap, by M. Mertes Nachfolger

(Heer Tropen Schiffchen M35 für Männer der Panzertruppe). A well-preserved Heer tropical Panzer EM/NCO’s M35 field cap, constructed of olive-drab cotton twill. The cap is surrounded by fold-down side walls with slight frontal scalloping. The crown is flanked on each side by a ventilation hole reinforced with a brown-painted zink grommet. Stitch over the centre front of the side walls is a classic rose-pink Panzer personnel soutache. The peak bears the unmistakable remnants of an insignia consisting of a Wehrmacht eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika, while the void inside of the soutache demonstrates the outlines of a diamond-situated cockade, both lost to time. The interior is fully encompassed by a multi-piece red cotton liner. The crown bears a clear black ink maker’s mark of “M. MERTES NACHF., NÜRNBERG, 1941”, topped by a size mark of “59”. It measures approximately 285 mm (l) x 115 mm (h) when folded on a flat surface. In addition to the carefully removed insignia, some material fatigue is evident, and includes fraying of the stitching on the underside of the side walls, but the cap remains in a better than very fine condition.