What do people make of these boots?

[Collectinsteve]

I just won what appears to be a pair of 1957 Polizei boots.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ht_6053wt_1143

Any feelings as to who used these?

Steve

[Klaus1989]

These are early Polizei Schaftstiefel, I think for officers. Very early had officers taller boots than Mannschaften, but these were not common by late 1950s. I have seen some early photos of West German Polizei with these, both Landespolizei and Bahnpolizei. The date on these appear to read 1954, not 1957.

regards
Klaus

[Collectinsteve]

Thanks Klaus. Yeah, I suspect these are mismatched set. Oh well, it was fairly cheap.

(edit, I slightly misread Klaus' post) I purchased a NRW grouping from early 1970s (IIRC) and a set of boots came with it. I have another set as well. Both look to be later than 1950s. They were designed to "crush" at the ankles, which this set I just won appears to be equally ridged from ankle up just like early BW boots from the 1950s and early 1960s.

Steve

[Gordon Craig]

Steve,

Interesting boots. I don't remember seeing German boots that were not straight across at the top. Looking down the shafts of these boots brought tears to my eyes!
I'd like to see a picture of these in wear Klaus.

Regards,

Gordon

[Klaus1989]

Gordon,
Here is one of Schaftstiefel worn by Berlin Schutzpolizei from Bavarian M1 Carbines site (I hope this ok). I thought you had these type boots with your 1950s Bahnpolizei uniform. You can see they are taller than Knobelbecher. The Polizist is not officer (see Tschako strap), so I was wrong - lower ranks of Schupo also wore them in early years.



regards
Klaus

[Collectinsteve]

Nice picture Klaus! Interesting carbine pouch he has there.

Gordon,

The boots look like they will clean up nicely. For the price I paid I don't think I can complain!

I have two other sets of boots like this, both Polizei. One is NRW and I don't know what the other is. Both have the uneven top like the set pictured on eBay. Interestingly enough, one set (very well worn) has US boot size on the sole! No idea what the deal is with that. The other set used to have steel at the toe, BTW.

Steve

[Gordon Craig]

Klaus,

Thanks for the foto. Yes I have a pair of boots for a Bahnpolizei officer but boots in a picture like this could be almost anything. My queery had to do with the shape of the boots at the top not the fact that they were marchstieffel. The problem with assigning boots to any organization in almost any country is trying to find a pair with markings or makings that can be decyphered. I display my Bahnpolizei boots with the uniform they came with which came complete froma police museum in Germany including the plastic display sign they used when they displayed the uniform. The boots are not marked so on their own there is nothing to tell you who or what organization wore them.

Steve,

Do your other two pairs of boots have any markings in them? If so, can we see pictures please and how do they compare to the markings in your latest set of boots? It would be great reference material if we could assign specific markings to the NRW boots for instance. At least for one period of their existance.

Regards,

Gordon

[Collectinsteve]

Hi Gordon,

Like you I am presuming that the NRW boots are NRW boots simply because they came with a full uniform from a seller that was not a dealer (i.e. it was likely a "Dachbodenfund"). There are no markings other than some tiny illegible numbers on the inside. The leather used inside is all black and the grain is highly polished smooth.

The other set was bought solo, therefore I have no idea of its origin or date. It has an elaborate manufacture's logo type stamp from a company called HELIX. This one has a row of numbers that do not contain a date but do contain a US boot size ("9 1/2"). The boot size is on the sole between the heal and front sections. The interior is tan colored leather, the outside does not appear to have been as polished as the other set.

The construction of the two sets is nearly identical, which is different than the set I just purchased. The older styles of BW/BGS boots are made of a single layer of thick leather tanned and smoothed on both sides. You can see that clearly in the eBay pictures.

The two pairs I have in hand are made from thinner leather with the upper half of the boot shaft reinforced by a second layer on the inside. The outer portion is not smoothed or tanned on the inside of the boot. The upper portion is smoothed and tanned.

The different construction methods lead to a different overall behavior of the boot. With the single, thicker type the boot stands tall all on its own. The other type is floppy and can't stand on its own because the leather is not stiff due to being thin and not hardened.

I've got to take a bunch of pictures tonight for some other stuff so I'll try to post pics to compliment the descriptions.

Steve

[Gordon Craig]

Steve,

Boots are one of those areas where we never have markings. Either they were never marked, the marks make no sense or the marks have been worn away or are too faint to read due to having been worn. I have two copies of Militaria magazine in French that concentrate on identifying boots from many different countries. Both war time and post war. Despite that reference I have numerous boots, bought years ago as German WWII, that I can not identify for sure. One these days I must post them on the International forum. Looking forward to more pictures of your boots.

Regards,

Gordon

[Collectinsteve]

As promised, here are pics of the two sets I have. First set is the probable NRW pair, the second is unknown. You can see the obvious similarity between the two sets despite superficial differences.

Steve

[Gordon Craig]

Steve,

Nice comparison shots of your boots but screwnails in the instep of the soles? I wouldn't want to walk too far in those boots!

Regards,

Gordon

[Collectinsteve]

heh, notice that one is missing.

It is interesting to note that both pairs of boots had steel on the tip of the toes at one point. In my experience a high proportion of BW boots are also missing their steel toe plates. Even on boots where the soles are brand new. I wonder if at some point it was decided that the steel was a negative thing?

Steve