Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a fantastic example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Artillery Officer Schirmmütze visor cap, made by the very desirable J.A. Hierteis Söhne company. It looks to have seen very little use, and even retains the original crown support band "storage bracket", which even still has the instructions to remove it before wearing!

The cap features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "whipcord" weave wool construction with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The also has matching Hochrot (Deep Red) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a very nice early pattern plated metal eagle insignia on the peak and and an open cast aluminum oak leaf wreath surrounding a metal tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia are in great shape, with just a bit of oxidation on the eagle, and the red felt insert on the cockade is still present and vibrant. The chin strap is attached with the standard silvered buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is green on the underside. The sweatband is brown pressed paper, and is in very good condition, showing some wrinkles but no major wear or tears.

The cap is lined with brown oil cloth on the inside of the grown, while the sides are light brown "service cloth" type material. The celluloid sweat shield on the inner crown is about 75% present, with areas that have torn away, and the stitching is still fully intact. The complete maker logo is still visible under a what looks to be a German Imperial Crown logo:

Seit (Crown) 1864

J.A. Hierteis Söhne
Mützenfabrikation
u. Uniformeffekten
FÜRTH-NÜRNBERG

"Seit 1864" translates to "Since 1864", so this is a maker that probably previously sold items to the German empire. The "storage bracket" crown support is still present as well, with a complete label that reads:

Vor dem Tragen
ziehe man
an diesem
Band den
Lager-Bügel
heraus!
Die Form
bleibt
wetterfest!

This translates to "Before wearing, pull out the storage bracket using this strap!
The shape remains weatherproof!". We have never seen one of these with this label still intact on the crown support!

Condition of the cap is very good, with the colors retained very well. There is no major moth damage we can see, and this example would really be hard to improve upon.

A fantastic barely used example of the classic hat worn by German Artillery Officers in WWII. Very impressive and ready to display!

The German Schirmmütze Visor Cap:
The visor cap (Schirmmütze) was an important part of the headgear worn by German uniformed military, civil, paramilitary and political organizations during the Third Reich. This was the standard cloth headgear worn as a part of the service uniform. Visor caps were worn outdoors as well as indoors, and were often required to be worn by all personnel on duty. Visor caps were made in versions specific to each organization and were often further differentiated through the use of insignia, colored piping, or style of chin cord, to indicate rank, role or branch. The insignia used on these caps ranged from simple stamped metal emblems, to elaborate hand embroidery. Visor caps were issued to enlisted soldiers and NCOs in the military and in some other organizations. Officers had to purchase their own hats, and lower ranks could choose to purchase caps that were of a higher quality than the rather basic, issue examples. The private purchase caps were generally made in very high quality, with fine materials. A wide variety of fabrics were used, from Trikot and doeskin, to heavy wool, or even lightweight white fabric for summer wear. In the military, issue of these caps was generally suspended shortly after the outbreak of the war, but they continued to be worn by some troops until the end of the war.