The Finest Infantry Erel Ever!

[stonemint]

Gents, here is a visual treat for the eyes--an Erel privat from an advanced collection Jody, Victor & I were given the honor of seeing in person.
Its not your ordinary privat--it is from Rgt. 17, and it has a PERFECTLY matched skull to the eagle and wreath:

[stonemint]

Close-up of skull & eagle--most skulls that you see for this Rgt are bare aluminum, and do not match the finish to the eagle and wreath:

[stonemint]

Wreath and skull--look at that frosting--as Craig Gottlieb is fond of saying, "jewel quality"!:

[stonemint]

The hat is unissued (note the tissue paper), but has this number in it--maybe a Feldpost #?

[stonemint]

Here is the kind of provenance/corroborating evidence you want for a #17 visor--the hat is Braunschweig distributor marked to George Kurz.

This, IMHO, is the pinnacle of any Infty visor, bar none:

[Kreager]

Very Nice

I bet you were like a kid in a candy store with that Minty cap!!

[stonemint]

Kreager, you bet I was....you can tell by the drool stains!

Here is more from this fine collection--unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic before we started pulling hats out of the case!:

[stonemint]

This collection is primarily geared towards the Hussaren Regiments of Imperial Germany--here is a visor for the Leib Hussars:

[stonemint]

And another beauty--these are both very rare:

[stonemint]

Busby for the Hussars, from which the 17th Regt of the WH gets their badge:

[stonemint]

The hat (of course) is an Erel Privat--are you doing OK, Nick?!

[stonemint]

RKT winners tunic. I forgot to take a pic of the soldier wearing this EXACT tunic (and believe me , we checked!):

[Dave Kane]

Chris, a lovely cap alright but, I think that Vaugh O. ownes THE finest 17th., if one considers wear, been there etc.!!

Taking nothing away from this beauty....as indeed it is!!!

[stonemint]

This is interesting--its is a Reichsheer Generals tunic made by Holters during the TR (1937)--the General had some anti-Nazi activity, and was not authorized to wear a TR tunic. The hat is also TR-era, but is set-up for the Imperial era. What is interesting about this is what are technically "replica" WWI visors--they were made by Pekuro, Alkero, and Erel during the TR era for WWI officers, but they are technically postwar. They have more of a sattelform, and the visors are bigger, and of course, they have TR logos.

[stonemint]

Last one for tonight--a little cavalry eye-candy: