Albert Wilhelm Heinrich von Preußen

Lost Skeleton

Lost Skeleton

Well-known member
Always looking to add to my modest collection of Kaiserliche Marine artifacts, I acquired this Schirmmütze from Herr Weitze at the 2015 MAX:

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It is one of the nicest white tops I have handled. The crown is a fine wool doeskin and the interior is silk.

HvPinterior_zpsjh1xyhkl.jpg


The calfskin sweatband is perforated along the visor and embossed with a manufacturer's name and patent number. Despite being German made, it is The "Wedge." This may refer exclusively to the sweatband itself. I have attempted to research the patent through the DPMA (Deutsches Patent und Markenamt) without success.

HvP3_zpsnrrgtdze.jpg


The Schirmmütze was represented by Herr Weitze as the property of Großadmiral Prinz Heinrich von Preußen (1862–1929), Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet during World War I. The Prince's cypher is embossed in gold leaf on the headliner.

HvP2_zpsnoabsyua.jpg


This framed photo of Prinz Heinrich standing beside his elder brother, Kaiser Wilhelm II, came with the cap — along with a hat box, which I believe is an unrelated accessory and not the property of the Prinz. Furthermore, the cap is not identical to the one worn by Prinz Heinrich in the photo, which has a stiffener in the Sattel

HvP4_zps9rrmqg0w.jpg


Another photo of the Kaiser and Prinz Heinrich in naval uniform:

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As with anything attributed to Hohenzollern royalty, I approached it with a high degree of caution. It would not be difficult to fake a gold leaf stamp, and, for example, the number of bogus shoulder boards I have seen attributed to Wilhelm II are legion. The cap had a corresponding Admiral's blue Jackett, which was being sold separately. This I could not afford, but what I paid for the Schirmmütze was no more than the going price for an unattributed Kaiserliche Marine visor. I have no doubts regarding the cap's authenticity. However, it wouldn't rock my world to learn it never belonged to Prinz Heinrich (despite the Certificate of Authenticity).

Chas
 
How does one respond to a Kaiserliche-Marine item of that quality, condition, and provenance?

Just an absolute pleasure to see, and superbly photographed. Interesting​ read. Nice work Chas. :thumbleft:
 
Thanks, Tony :)

Prior to Weitze, the Schirmmütze and Jackett surfaced as Lot 4953 in a 2012 Hermann Historica Auktion:

https://lot-tissimo.com/de/cmd/d/o/141.64m-4953/auk/64m/nl/1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Because I could not afford it, I was extremely skeptical about the Jackett when I examined it at Weitze's table in 2015. For one thing, the wide shoulders and overall cut appear better suited to a man with a huskier build than the trim Prinz Heinrich.

Hermann Historica also handled a different Schirmmütze and Großadmiral Jackett attributed to Prinz Heinrich in 2007 (Lot 2419):

http://www.hermann-historica-archiv.de/auktion/hhm53.pl?f=NR&c=61957&t=temartic_p_D&db=kat53_p.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This same ensemble was later offered by Der Rittmeister. Here, I am inclined to think the Jackett is legitimate, but consider the Schirmmütze to be rubbish. I have never, repeat never, seen an authentic Kaiserliche Marine cap with a green under visor panel. Furthermore, from the additional photos provided on Derr Rittmeister's website, the leather chinstrap was British Royal Navy. I suspect the entire cap was, too. Now, Prinz Heinrich would have been outfitted with a ceremonial RN uniform for prewar visits to England, and it is remotely possible the Prince's valet converted the cap to KM once hostilities began, but, as a simple collector, I don't venture into that territory.

The cap from Lot 4953 (mine) plus the Jackett from Lot 2419 would have made a far more tantalizing combo.
 
Hello Charles ;

You wrote ;

number of bogus shoulder boards I have seen attributed to Wilhelm II are legion.

as a collector of I G shoulder straps , I am interested in your comment .
Can you please share with me the regiments of the bogus shoulder straps that you
have seen in person ( or at auction , where you feel for sure that you can tell
that they are not correct ) that were said to be the straps of K W II ?

I have seen some at the S O S over the years that I felt were not correct
I think one was Bavarian Uhlan
I saw one in HH not long ago that I did not like .

However if you have even been to Haus Doorn or seen photos
of some of the Kaiser's military things , you know that he had many uniforms .
I was there in 2006 and the tour guide told us it took 53 railroad box cars
to bring his things to the Netherlands .
Circa 1980's I had a couple of collector friends visit there and took a lot of photos
of the Kaiser's Military displays . There were many items there at the time .
When I was there in 2006 most of the military display was not there .
There is a famous photo of a closet with his uniforms hanging from one end to the other .
I asked to see that closet . I was told that then it was no longer open .

For some reason they are allowing some things to leave the museum . How it is done
I don't know . Nor why . Perhaps money ; perhaps lack of interest
in Military in Europe by a lot of people .
There are photos of his straps in books that are no longer there .

I own a pair of his 2 Garde Dragoon straps that were shown in a photo
postcard . I also own a pair for the 4th Garde Grenadiers that have the
H D inventory control number on them .

I have seen four of K W II dress hats in private collections that
I feel are correct .

Your Prince H. hat sure looks good to me .
I think several good items of his have been offered.

There is a lot of bad out there
but there is also some good .

I will look forward to the list of K W II
that you have seen that are bad .

Thanks
Steve McFarland
 
I G Naval
Just checking the C Z auction results
I see this lot did not sell.
Steve


418: Messejacke


Description: für einen Großadmiral der Kaiserlichen Marine mit Weste. Dunkelblaues Tuch, goldenen Ärmelstreifen und handgestickte Kaiserkronen, vergoldete Knöpfe,...


Condition Report: II-



View additional info
 
KAGGR#1 said:
as a collector of I G shoulder straps , I am interested in your comment .
Can you please share with me the regiments of the bogus shoulder straps that you
have seen in person ( or at auction , where you feel for sure that you can tell
that they are not correct ) that were said to be the straps of K W II ?
Click to expand...
Hi Steve,

I apologize for taking so long to respond, but I was hospitalized recently and underwent surgery last Thursday. I'm afraid I can't provide details regarding specific regimental boards, but I seem to recall a lot of the questionable stuff passed through Manion's International Auction House and eBay back in the day. I have also seen some garments in cold storage at the Imperial War Museum (Duxford) attributed to S.M.W.II that failed to convince me. Sorry I can't be of more help. :(

One observation about my Schirmmütze that bodes well for its connection to Prinz Heinrich is that most white tops are convertibles — either a blue marine cap in which the white cotton cover slips over the crown, or a cap in which white and blue crowns are interchangeable and secured by snap closures. If one looks closely, this cap creates the faux appearance of being blue under white when it is, in fact, completely static. This, coupled with the fine doeskin crown, informs me the man who owned this Schirmmütze was a personage of means and prestige.

blau-welt_zpslaxm7qkj.jpg


Chas
 
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