Everyone enjoys a boxed mystery, so we begin with this case. What could it be?
Oooh!
And here we have an absolutely superb Line-Regt Preußen officer's Tschapka for Regiments Nr. 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 with bullion officer's Fangschnur.
The very scarce case is in excellent condition and has a VzW (Vizewachtmeister?) written on the top interior. The Preußen officer's Tschapka is by far the nicest example I have seen for a Line Regt. It has the elegant thin neck, and retains the shape very well not being "pinched" at the rear as most are. The eagle Wappen is full size of course and retains almost all of the mercury gilding. The bullion wire Feldzeichen is one of the nicest I have seen and it is a monster; almost a half-size larger than any of my other officer examples. The cotton skull-cap has one insignificant little rip, and is otherwise as good as could be hoped for. Postwar, the Tschapka spent some time in the property department of a German State Theatre, which is reflected by the ink stamp on the sweatband. Thank you German State Theatre. The Ulanen officer's Preußen Fangschnur is an absolutely mint perfect original (very heavy) with no damage or ageing whatsoever. The back of the knots have blue cloth sewn on to keep the bullion from rubbing on the Ulanka.
This is not a grouping, but now an ensemble thanks to a "team effort". My esteemed friend of 40 years Roy (RoyA) sent me the Tschapka case as a gift for my 50th birthday, and it languished for years without a suitable Tschapka, as the eight Tschapka I have are all issued.
Then unexpectedly Chas (Lost Skeleton) offered me this wonderful Tschapka in trade for a Royal Flying Corps tunic.
And finally, a perfect officer's Fangschnur popped on De-Bay with a "buy now" but the seller would not sell to a scary foreigner. I was blocked. AARRGGHH!! In desperation I reached out to Sander van Zanten; a dealer I know in the Netherlands (a great guy who I highly recommend) who runs http://www.treasure-hunt.nl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and asked if he could buy it for me, and he did. It was mailed to Sander, and then he mailed to Gael's sister in the UK, where I took possession of it this month during our visit to England.
And that now leaves only one officer's helmet I wish to still find: an officer's Line Husaren Pelzmütze. Tony
Oooh!
And here we have an absolutely superb Line-Regt Preußen officer's Tschapka for Regiments Nr. 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 with bullion officer's Fangschnur.
The very scarce case is in excellent condition and has a VzW (Vizewachtmeister?) written on the top interior. The Preußen officer's Tschapka is by far the nicest example I have seen for a Line Regt. It has the elegant thin neck, and retains the shape very well not being "pinched" at the rear as most are. The eagle Wappen is full size of course and retains almost all of the mercury gilding. The bullion wire Feldzeichen is one of the nicest I have seen and it is a monster; almost a half-size larger than any of my other officer examples. The cotton skull-cap has one insignificant little rip, and is otherwise as good as could be hoped for. Postwar, the Tschapka spent some time in the property department of a German State Theatre, which is reflected by the ink stamp on the sweatband. Thank you German State Theatre. The Ulanen officer's Preußen Fangschnur is an absolutely mint perfect original (very heavy) with no damage or ageing whatsoever. The back of the knots have blue cloth sewn on to keep the bullion from rubbing on the Ulanka.
This is not a grouping, but now an ensemble thanks to a "team effort". My esteemed friend of 40 years Roy (RoyA) sent me the Tschapka case as a gift for my 50th birthday, and it languished for years without a suitable Tschapka, as the eight Tschapka I have are all issued.
Then unexpectedly Chas (Lost Skeleton) offered me this wonderful Tschapka in trade for a Royal Flying Corps tunic.
And finally, a perfect officer's Fangschnur popped on De-Bay with a "buy now" but the seller would not sell to a scary foreigner. I was blocked. AARRGGHH!! In desperation I reached out to Sander van Zanten; a dealer I know in the Netherlands (a great guy who I highly recommend) who runs http://www.treasure-hunt.nl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and asked if he could buy it for me, and he did. It was mailed to Sander, and then he mailed to Gael's sister in the UK, where I took possession of it this month during our visit to England.
And that now leaves only one officer's helmet I wish to still find: an officer's Line Husaren Pelzmütze. Tony
