Party Court Reichsleiter tabs

[Rick C]

Having noted these in the collection of another I had commented offhand on his being a lucky SOB for having such a rare set of insignia. He related that he believed they were fakes and if I wanted them he would happily part with them. Feeling, from what I could see, they were interesting, I snagged them for a ‘look-see’.

Did a little research on this tab type, interestingly, in searching “party court reichsleiter tab” I note we get exactly two threads on the WAF of which, only one (http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...30014#poststop) is really germane. Searching further for purported authentic examples I noted a couple threads on another military forum and, of course, Mike’s presentment over at Marshal’s Baton where he shows a nice example (http://themarshalsbaton.com/Political%20Ranks.htm) which, (based on this thread: http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/ss-uni...egions-291659/) belongs to Dave Delich. Overall however, there really seems to be very few references at all out there wherein detailed photos can be seen which isn’t surprising since these were worn, as pointed out by others, by only two or three guys depending on who you ask. Oddly, those few that are out there show some remarkable variation worth noting.

For sh-ts & giggles I present some imagery for your consideration. First, the subject tabs compared to a set of current fakes presumably made by someone wearing sandals and a turban. [image.tiff]

[Rick C]

The reverse of the subject tabs had buckram quite similar to the period pieces (below) and, having moistened the reverse, found it rehydrated and became tacky again almost immediately, as it should were it impregnated with mucilage versus made with contemporary glues.:

[Rick C]

So, on to the known originals. Mike has four (single) examples over at Marshal’s Baton; three for sale (October 2016) and one in a private collection (as noted) belonging to Dave Delich as last reported. The examples for sale are a Reichsleiter of Party Courts, a Retired Reichsleiter of Party Courts and a single Retired Reichsleiter thought to be one of Franz Xavier Schartz’s.

For what it’s worth, the examples presented below do NOT appear to be uniform, ‘cookie-cutter’ or even symmetrical. By that I mean the number of leaves in the wreaths differ and there’re even differences within the white background of the swastika i.e. some with a white ribbed material and others with white badgecloth or, perhaps, velvet. There’s quite a bit of variation as mentioned above.

On Dave Delich’s example, his example has ribbed material behind the swastika like the subject tabs. Looking at the leaves of the wreath, I note above the wings, there are three leaves to the inside of the stem - four leaves to the outside. Under the wings (on the left) five leaves to the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem. Under the wings (on the right) six leaves on the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem.

[Rick C]

Mike’s Party Court Reichsleiter tab (above with Dave's):
The background behind the swastika is a white cloth versus the ribbed material of either Delich’s example or the subject tabs. With regard to symmetry of the leaves - Above the wings - three leaves to the inside of the stem - four leaves to the outside. Under the wings (on the left) five leaves to the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem. Under the wings (on the right) six leaves on the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem.

[Rick C]

Mike’s Retired - Party Courts Reichsleiter:
Again, the background behind the swastika is a white cloth versus ribbed material of Delich’s example or the subject tabs. The leaves above the wings - three leaves to the inside of the stem - four leaves to the outside. Under the wings (on the left) five leaves to the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem. Under the wings (on the right) six leaves on the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem.

[Rick C]

Mike’s Retired Reichsleiter:
Once again features the ribbed white background to the swastika as in the Delich example and the subject tabs. This time the leaves are embroidered above the wings - three leaves to the inside of the stem - four leaves to the outside. Under the wings (on the left) the are now seven leaves to the inside of the stem and eight leaves to the outside of the stem. Under the wings (on the right) now seven leaves on the inside of the stem and seven leaves to the outside of the stem.
[image.tiff]

[Rick C]

Jeff Clark’s example:
He describes as follows: Featured here is a collar tab (pre-1939) for the Supreme Judge of the Party Court (Oberster Parteirichter), the highest position in the entire Party Court system.  The incarnation of this tab was worn prior to 1939 by one of only 2 men who held this exclusive position, Walter Buch and Wilhelm Grimm. After 1939, these men wore the same style collar tabs as the other Reichsleiters, making this style obsolete. http://www.nsdapuniforms.com/engine/...Filter=Archive

The background under the swastika is white cloth; again no ribbing. The leaf configuration - Above the wings - three leaves to the inside of the stem - four leaves to the outside. Under the wings (on the left) five leaves to the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem. Under the wings (on the right) six leaves on the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem.

[Rick C]

A WAF Example believed to be correct:
(http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...30014#poststop) Again, no ribbed material behind the swastika; as to the wings - three leaves to the inside of the stem - four leaves to the outside. Under the wings (on the left) six leaves to the inside of the stem and seven leaves to the outside of the stem. Under the wings (on the right) six leaves on the inside of the stem and six leaves to the outside of the stem. Howard Kelley’s comment: “SUPER PIECE! Appears to be 100% correct! Your friend has a nice jewel in his collection! ” Looks to me like the piping was stitched a whole lot more haphazardly than any of the others including the subject tabs…

[Rick C]

The only feature of commonality with these tabs is the goofy looking - thin, offset & non symmetrical, poorly executed - swastika. As Mark Costa (who seems to know the party court nuances better than many) related in the thread linked at the beginning here: “I have seen at least 5 Party Court Reichsleiter tabs and have scans of almost every one. All have the same "off set" swastika… The tab on the ruptured Duck Website came from the collection of Pete Bilheimer and is absolutely authentic. As stated above, it too has the same flawed swastika.”

VARIATIONS:
To summarize the asymmetrical outer wreath configurations seen on the period examples as well as the subject tabs numerically, it’s rendered below:

[Rick C]

As with the outer wreath/leaf configuration, as mentioned above, the white background of the wreathed swastika is not uniform across the accepted array of original examples. By that I mean some are made with a white ‘ribbed’ background or a white cloth material.

[Rick C]

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[Rick C]

The three with ribbed material:

[Rick C]

To sum up, apparently the Party Courts Reichsleiter insignia, worn by three guys, is almost as varied in nuances as the insignia of the rank of Reichsfuhrer (Himmler, Axmann, Lutze, below) even though the former insignia were for the same organization.

[Rick C]

So, in looking over the subject tabs and comparing them with the known originals I’ve found thus far, I don’t see a hell of a lot of differences which makes me wonder if the subject pair is yet again another variant. I would hazard that the subject pair certainly have far more in common with the period variations than with the reproduction Party Courts Reichleiter tabs being offered these days.

The subject set do, admittedly, have an uglier set of eagles who’s breast/head (regrettably) look like someone stepped on them compared to the period pieces. For the record, there is unterlagen present which can be seen (under magnification) at the wingtips of the birds.

From what I’ve surmised in observing the originals, considering the poorly executed swastikas and/or the lack of consistency or symmetry or the wreath’s leaves nothing can really be said about the quality of workmanship with the spectrum of Party Court Reichsleiter tabs. I mean, it’s not like the acknowledged period tabs exhibit ‘exacting’ embroidery from what I can see. So, the subjective question - Do the birds of the subject tabs s-ck in comparison to the other tabs enough to discount them. Are the subject pair sufficiently ‘untidy’ (considering how untidy all these tabs are) to effectively blow them out of the water as possible period pieces? I welcome your analysis, observations or thoughts.

[Tony T-S]

A very good summary, it will be interesting to see what people think. I note that one of the subject eagles has no eye. Are the eyes separately stitched or are the made via the way the head is embroidered?