Germany, HJ. An Officer’s Visor Cap by Karl Naubert, ca. 1941

(HJ Jugendmütze). Constructed of light brown doeskin wool. The crown of the cap is fully trimmed with a band of red piping, while the cap band is trimmed at both the top and bottom with bands of silver aluminum piping. Pinned into the peak of the cap is a silvered zink NSDAP-style German national eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika. The eagle retains all three reverse attachment prongs and measures 62 mm (w) x 32 mm (h). Pinned into the cap band underneath the eagle is a HJ insignia, constructed of silvered bronze with multi-coloured enamels, consisting of a black mobile swastika on a red and white checkered diamond. The insignia measures 14 mm (w) x 25 mm (h). The cap is flanked on each side by a pebbled magnetic metal button holding in place a decorative chinstrap, itself constructed of multiple rows of silver aluminum wire with slidable knots at each end. The chinstrap rests upon the visor, which is constructed of vulcanfibre and presents with a lacquered black obverse and light brown reverse. The interior features a 40 mm-wide brown leather sweatband securely held in place by a row of machine stitching. There is a complete off-white rayon liner, the crown of which formerly had a transparent moisture guard, with a silver maker’s mark reading “KARL NAUBERT, ERFURT”. The crown is also stamped with “ERFURT 11 41”. A Reichszeugmeisterei (RZM) tag is located underneath the sweatband, clearly bearing a manufacturer code of “173” and serial number of “B84957”. The cap measures approximately 245 mm (w) x 265 mm (l) x 148 mm (h). Moderate material fatigue is evident to the exterior, there is some soiling of the interior, and the moisture guard has mostly disintegrated. The cap is in an otherwise better than very fine condition.