Looking for opinions on the following tabs. And are these correctly attached? Any/all opinions welcome...and thank you in advance.
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Any opinions out there? -
A shot of what the stitching under the collar looks like would be helpful.Comment
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Look good to me ! Tom
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Tony & Tom, thank you for your comments. Here are shots of the back of the collar, the tabs are hand applied.Comment
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Researching photos I found these shots, the orientation of the tabs on all the portraits shows them in opposite configuration.Comment
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Everyone's seen shoulderboard put on backwards. Tailors made mistakes.
I wouldn't worry too much about that.
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Thank you Rick.Comment
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"Everyone's seen shoulderboard put on backwards. Tailors made mistakes."
Rick C is absolutely right! I've seen Gauleiter collar tabs mounted in reverse, where it seems that the tailor tried to match the upper surface of the PL tunic's lapel notch with the parallelogram design of the tabs. (It would certainly look very odd otherwise!) This does make sense, particularly when dealing with a custom-made PL tunic, but the result is that the Gauleiter tabs are backwards! The tab manufacturers tried to provide a clue to the tailors who would have to sew their products to lapels, by uniformly attaching the RZM label to the reverse of the same tab...was it the left one?...but that 'message' wasn't always understood!
An even more prevalent problem was found with the mounting of the M-39 PL armband: the designer intended that there be a uniform direction for the oakleaves on these brassards to run, and the manufacturers tried to provide guidance to tailors and others who were faced with attaching these armbands to the sleeves of PL tunics by indicating the 'top' of the armband with an arrow stamped to the end of the reverse of the band in white ink, but somehow some of those armbands were mounted upside-down anyway! The oakleaf design was intended to run left-to-right, with each leaf's stem appearing at it's own lower left, but that is not always the way it turned out!
The tailor's art is truly an ART!
Br. JamesComment
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Br. James, very interesting! As easy as it seemed the TR was incredibly strict and precise...it really wasn't. Thanks for the added information!
What do you think about the tabs themselves?Comment
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While I have never specifically studied RAD collar tabs over the decades of my collecting, my opinion is that this pair appears to be from the period. But I would certainly bow to opposing opinions from our colleagues here who have focused their studies and handled RAD uniforms specifically, were any to be offered.
I do agree that the impression that has come down to historians and collectors since the TR era has been that 'all things German / Nazi in origin are accurately detailed and uniform,' in some cases the reality is somewhat less or different than the desired origin! While the Nazis were certainly focused upon records and printed instructions, all human beings make mistakes and Nazi Germany was no exception. One obvious example is the regulation from the highest SA leadership that the inscription on all "Röhm Honor Daggers" received by SA, NSKK and SS members were to either be disposed of or they were to have Röhm's inscription removed and the blade repolished. We know today that various efforts were used in order to at least appear to comply with this order -- everything from the inscription being completely removed, either by individuals filing off the acid-etched inscription or sending their daggers back to the factory to have them professionally refinished, or by simply having the name "Ernst Röhm" removed from the blade while the rest of the inscription wording remained -- to a number of members who did nothing at all and left their daggers intact as they received them. Of course, in those cases it must be assumed that the owners ordered new daggers for wear in public, while the originals remained closeted at home!
Another obvious area of Nazi expertise is seen in printed records involving the spelling of names -- this is seen when researching and comparing different editions of the official lists off SS officers titled "Dienstaltersliste der Schutzstaffel der NSDAP," wherein you find not only spelling differences but also membership number differences -- both Party and SS -- among the various issues. Surprising but true!
Br. JamesComment
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Hello everyone,
this is my generals tunic with tabs for comparison.
Even though the ones from the thread starter look different, I also think they are original.
Best regards, ThomasComment
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Rick and Br. James, 2 examples found (attributed to the web) with the leaves turned out...to your point. Though begs the question if these were added post war or original? Both look good to me.
Thank you Thomas for your example, your tabs look like the examples here.Comment
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Here are period photos, one in particular showing the tabs both ways...again to your point Rick & Br. James. Thank you for the reinforcement.
Still looking for other opinions on the tabs I posted.Comment
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The photo in note #14 is an excellent one; it tells us that it was taken prior to the introduction of the RAD Officer Dagger, which took place in 1938. All of the senior RAD officers in this photo are still carrying the RAD Hewer, which all uniformed members of RAD carried, regardless of rank, until the introduction of the Officer Dagger, after which only the enlisted ranks of RAD carried the Hewer.
Br. JamesComment
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