I've got some questions about Luftwaffe collar tabs:
First off, obviously there were variations in the construction techniques used on Luft collar tabs. Some are made with a buckram backing others more like a card-stock looking material. Even the gulls are different some have long needle like pins and others have short stubby spikes. Some are constructed by the cloth looking glued to their backing others look sewn only and still others look both sewn & glued. Also the way the fabric is folded over the edges of the backing, some tabs I've seen have very little fabric folding over and others almost cover the entire reverse of the tab with their overlapping folds.
Ok so now for the confusing part.... Many dealers seem to somehow have many different collar tabs but a good percentage of them will all be of the same variation of construction (the cloth is cut short - leaving the reverse wide-open, gulls with spikes instead of needles, etc). Then the next dealer will have a variety of collar tabs with a slightly different construction technique (gulls with the needle like attachment pins, slightly different looking buckram then the other dealer, visible glue around the reverse, etc) but the same situation with many different tabs all with this similar construction technique. Now I don't know what is going on exactly, I don't mean to imply that the collar tabs these dealers are selling are somehow not legit. It just seems odd that will all the variations somehow dealers end up with a variety of different tabs (different ranks, waffenfarbe, etc) but all with that similar construction type. And the new tabs being added to the inventory (at least being listed on their websites) also are of the similar construction type.
Do you think dealers just buy a large amount of period tabs at once and just continue to stock from these? And that those tabs happened to all be period made by the same maker using similar techniqe and materials? Were tabs normally made by a tailor? Were they made individually by soldiers? Or did they buy them from uniform outfitters? Or were they issued pieces?
As always your insight would be greatly appreciated.
First off, obviously there were variations in the construction techniques used on Luft collar tabs. Some are made with a buckram backing others more like a card-stock looking material. Even the gulls are different some have long needle like pins and others have short stubby spikes. Some are constructed by the cloth looking glued to their backing others look sewn only and still others look both sewn & glued. Also the way the fabric is folded over the edges of the backing, some tabs I've seen have very little fabric folding over and others almost cover the entire reverse of the tab with their overlapping folds.
Ok so now for the confusing part.... Many dealers seem to somehow have many different collar tabs but a good percentage of them will all be of the same variation of construction (the cloth is cut short - leaving the reverse wide-open, gulls with spikes instead of needles, etc). Then the next dealer will have a variety of collar tabs with a slightly different construction technique (gulls with the needle like attachment pins, slightly different looking buckram then the other dealer, visible glue around the reverse, etc) but the same situation with many different tabs all with this similar construction technique. Now I don't know what is going on exactly, I don't mean to imply that the collar tabs these dealers are selling are somehow not legit. It just seems odd that will all the variations somehow dealers end up with a variety of different tabs (different ranks, waffenfarbe, etc) but all with that similar construction type. And the new tabs being added to the inventory (at least being listed on their websites) also are of the similar construction type.
Do you think dealers just buy a large amount of period tabs at once and just continue to stock from these? And that those tabs happened to all be period made by the same maker using similar techniqe and materials? Were tabs normally made by a tailor? Were they made individually by soldiers? Or did they buy them from uniform outfitters? Or were they issued pieces?
As always your insight would be greatly appreciated.
Alex
Comment