Braunschweig Infanterie-Regt. Nr.92 Schrimmutze

[weirdpyramid]

I need some opinions on this one. This cap is being offered in a upcoming auction(won't say who to protect my neck) and I am interested but a little unsure.

The cap itself looks to be authentic with obvious wear and tear to it as you can see in the photos. A good example of a later Schrimmutze. My problem is that the color combination of the fabric is the same as almost all infantry caps except that this one has the tradition Totenkopf for Infanterie-Regt. Nr.92 with the Braunschweig officers kokarde making it more desirable to me. The again its seems pretty easy to throw a skull and Braunschweig kokarde on any infantry cap and sell it for more.

The Totenkopf looks to be original. The pattern version seems to be the "one nostril" skull as opposed to the "two nostril" version, I have seen both out there in the marketplace. Also seems to be a cheaper looking skull without the silver frosting.

The kokarde, which these go for pretty cheap for originals looks to be a little "sloopy" as you can see some paint on the gold rings. I am not so sure about it.

What do you guys think? skip it? or does it look good?

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

Show me an original period photograph of an Braunschweig Totenkopf that does not have the center bone in the nose. That is a fake skull. There are two a week on German ebay. I bought one just to have an example.

 

[weirdpyramid]

Show me an original period photograph of an Braunschweig Totenkopf that does not have the center bone in the nose

Thanks for the reply Tony!

But thats the thing, period photos tend to never show enough detail to consider buying anything, I guess unless you were fortunate enough to own a negative of a photograph, especially these small little tradition skulls. They are always too blurry or just plan to small to really see. What I meant was I have seen skulls without the center bone for sale but not in period photos just in the forums and on the online marketplace.

I think I give up on the skulls, just toooo much "grey area" to be confident on purchasing one.

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

I collect period photographs of Totenkopf, zeroing in on ones that I can scan at 1200 dpi until I can see the nose hairs in the man wearing the cap. Never EVER is there a big gaping hole for a nose on a Braunschweig Totenkopf.

 

[weirdpyramid]

Never EVER is there a big gaping hole for a nose on a Braunschweig Totenkopf.

I totally trust your opinion on the skull, looking at a couple photos that I have I do not see a "gaping hole" version of one.

I just started collecting period photos but there is a limit to what a scanner can actually scan. I work in the print industry and you can submit me a photo taken with a 18 megapixel camera but depending if you want it blown up on a billboard or just a small shot in a catalogue you are very limited to what the eye can actually see. There is no human being that can see the detail that a camera or scanner can see. A typical CDV photo is around 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches and that is at its most raw photographic quality. Meaning the higher resolution I scan it the more dots or bitmap pattern I am ultimately scanning and going to see. I have a scanner at my work that will scan 9600 dpi but that is only useful if the scan is of a photographic negative/ or the original digital raw data. A photograph will not adjust its resolution according to how powerful the scanner because the photo is only as detailed as it was printed or developed original.

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

Absolutely agree. Completely depends on the quality of the studio. Some of the period studio photos have mind-numbing quality and scan beautifully at high dpi. Yea, they get pixilated, but at some point with a good photo you can (with luck) see the details you want. Having a good eye for period photos is far more important than a scanner that will penetrate the fourth dimension. :tard:

 

[weirdpyramid]

Some of the period studio photos have mind-numbing quality and scan beautifully at high dpi.

Yes, and those are the best. Period photos for me provide a little bit of a "uniform history hunt". The helmet, the buttons, the shoulder boards and uniform cut. Then I break out the books and lose hours upon hours of my life trying to figure out the date, regiment and rank. Thats fun!! Where a great helmet will sit on my shelf for a good stare, a good photo will provide a week or so of lots of research fun!