Germany, Kriegsmarine. A Tropical Field Blouse for a Leutnant of Engineers, Owner-Attributed Example

(Kriegsmarine Tropen Feldbluse für einen Leutnant der ). A very well-preserved Kriegsmarine tropical field blouse for a Leutnant, constructed of khaki-tan cotton cloth. It features a turned-down collar which is reinforced on the reverse with machine-stitched darts. The shoulders are flanked by boards which are constructed of black wool with rigid card stock cores and topped by four bands of silver aluminum wire piping, in lieu of standard Kriegsmarine-issue boards with Engineer cyphers. Each measuring 30 mm (w) x 100 mm (l), the boards are secured in place with stitching at the seam of the shoulder, and with gilded buttons bearing fouled anchors on the inner edges. The cuff of each sleeve is rolled up to a depth of 14 cm and fixed in place with machine stitching around the outer circumference. Four pleated pockets are set into the breasts, each closed with a scalloped flap perforated with a reinforced buttonhole, in turn meeting a metal button bearing a fouled anchor. Three loops set into the upper right breast just above the corresponding pocket accommodate a metal breast eagle, constructed of gilded feinzink, retaining all original attachment hardware, and measuring 95 mm (w) x 35 mm (h). The interior collar retains a fully-intact Kiel Offizierkleiderkasse der Kriegsmarine (Kriegsmarine Officer clothing procurement depot) label bearing a handwritten rank and surname of “LT. ING CLASSEN”, with a service number of “23850”, and date of “1941 10”. Otherwise unmarked, the blouse measures approximately 42 cm across the shoulders, with an arm length of 50, and an overall length of 64 cm when folded on a flat surface. Demonstrating no notable damage or wear, this early-war Officer-grade Engineer’s blouse remains in an extremely fine condition.