Germany, SS. An Allgemeine SS Visor Cap for Enlisted Ranks

(Allgemeine SS/SS-Verfügungstruppe schwarze Schirmmütze für Führer). A well-worn Allgemeine SS Enlisted ranks visor cap, constructed of black wool with a pronounced whipcord weave. It features reinforced sidewalls lined with a cap band construction of identical wool. Both the top and bottom edges of the of the band are trimmed with white wool piping, while an additional length of identical piping trims the outer edge of the crown. Pinned onto the peak is a silvered zink alloy insignia consisting of an SS-style German national eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika, with the reverse retaining two attachment prongs on atypical mounts, and marked with a Reichszeugmeisterei (RZM) logo and maker code of “M1/72” for Fritz Zimmermann, Stuttgart. The eagle has been hand-vaulted to sit flush with the base material and measures 65.66 mm (w) x 32.55 mm (h). Flattened and black-painted magnetic metal studs flank the lower edge of the cap band for the accommodation of a chinstrap which has been lost to time. A protruding vulcanfibre visor completes the exterior features, and is painted in a glossy black on the obverse and in a matte brown on the reverse. The interior is fully encompassed by a multi-piece beige satin liner, with the crown demonstrating the remnants of a transparent rhomboid moisture guard, under which the outline of an SS insignia remains visible. Otherwise unmasked, the cap measures approximately 24 cm (w) x 26 cm (l) x 15 cm (h). In addition to the missing chinstrap the cap demonstrates issues consistent with both period wear and post-war storage are evident, and include the loss of its Totenkopf device, minor material fatigue throughout the wool elements (which includes some mothing), distortion of the core resulting in some mis-shapening, loss of finish to the visor, and significant material fatigue to the interior which includes the loss of its sweatband. A storied and untouched example which shows all of the hallmarks of extensive service, this cap remains in a fair condition.