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Full image - THIS ITEM IS SOLD

Incredible early Lubstein made M40 cap for a Heer officer in a Rifle Regiment, originally obtained by an Australian militaria collector and with chain of ownership established to the 1970s, cap is the style worn by officers both in the two MG Battalions of the 5th Light Division or the two Regiments of Motorized Infantry (Rifle Regiments) in the 15th Panzer Division that arrived in Libya in April-May 1941, the cap is a rare undated example made by the firm of Robert Lubstein in 1940, cap is made of olive green colored olive twill and has a red colored poplin cotton liner, the only visible marking is a large numeral 5 stamped in black, its meaning is not known but similar markings have been reported in other examples, a former owner's name (it is presumed) is inked to the inner side liner, there are two ventilation grommets per side, those on the cap's right side still have much of their enameled covering, as an officer version, crown and front scallop have factory installed silver metallic piping, the woven tropical pattern insignia are factory sewn, the national emblem is applied in the 'zip and flip' style being machine straight stitched across the top edge of the eagle's wing and then folded over and having the lower portions hand stitched, the rosette is completely machine straight stitched as is the soutache, the cap exhibits a great deal of wear, fading and abrading to the fabric, the silver metallic piping has areas of fraying, particularly at the crown, the fabric as the tip of the brim, the rear top of the cap and the rear lower edges have unraveled a bit, there is a small hole 1cm in diameter to the cap's top, a few small rust colored stains may be observed on the brim and there is a small dot of what looks to be green paint on the cap's left side, this particular cap is featured on page 118 of the book Afrikakorps: Tropical Uniforms, Insignia & Equipment of the German Soldier in World War II by Robert Kurtz, iconic example dating from the earliest days of the German campaign in North Africa, USD $9000 SOLD