Navy insignia catalog

[Claude Bertin]

N°11

[Claude Bertin]

N°12

[Norm F]

title?

Does the book not have a title page, name of manufacturer, etc.?
Why would it be in such great condition but lack a cover?
Best regards,
---Norm

[Richard P]

I actually think this stuff is probably good. It is not high quality bullion embroidery, kind of a middle grade perhaps. I know a lot of it looks Pakistani, but I don't think it is. There are enough common items to compare and they look like standard bullion and embroidered items. The heavy thread embroidered items look good, even though they are not top of the line either.

If these pages were stored properly the bullion could remain pristine and the paper can age quite differently through chemical breakdown, various gasses and even air will cause all kinds of paper reactions, sometimes the paper content itself will age from the inside out.

I'm no expert or even a novice on KM insignia, but I think these are O.K. and price to value would be the next consideration. Hopefully some KM guys will weigh in on these and I could be full of it.

Richard

[Peppe864]

now when I have seen the other pictures I would say that some insignia looks good, but some others don´t.

I feel very ambivalent to the whole thing. Needs to examined very carefully.

Now let´s hear what others have to say.

[billbert]

Geez I thought the whole thing believable.. Billbert

[Luciusdegeer]

Gentlemen,
Manufacturer could be French, not German, hence the poor quality of some of these insignia (unfortunately similar to present-day moronic attempts at faking rare pieces...). Look at the last picture (nr. 11): near the soutaches in Waffenfarbe is written 'ganses', a French word which loosely translates to 'laces' or piping in English. Is it possible that this "catalogue' is rejected as a fake just because it's the victim of it's own lack of quality? Would a faker write Frech words in this "catalogue'? No, he wouldn't...
I reminds me of the somewhat poorely manufactured SS eagles, made in Belgium during the occupation. Noone would touch these untill some years ago these were 'rehabilitated' to genuine pieces (I don't own one of these, perhaps another Flemish collector could comment on this). I have in my collection some Wehrmacht specialist and trade badges that came from an old stock of a military tailor in a Belgian garrison town (with a large Wehrmacht presence during the war). Most of the WAF-members would reject these I think...

Just my two cents...

Greetings,

Lucius

[Norm F]

provenance?

Hello,
I received an offer to buy this insignia catolg and have only pictures at the moment. As you can see, insignia are hand-sewn on the paper. The catalog is composed of 12 pages, mainly with navy insignia.
What do you think from the badges(mine, submarine, battle-ship)?
Thanks for opinions, Claude.
N°1

Claude,
Could we ask if you were provided with any provenance or place of origin or manufacturer's name for the catalog? Any other clues on the cover?
Regards,
---Norm

[GFM]

I'd have to agree with RichardP...probably foreign made, maybe a sample board presented in an attempt to get a contract from the fatherland back in the day. There is absolutely no logic at all in a "faker" going to the trouble of only making one each of these insignia just to sew on a handful of presentation boards, that is worth a laugh in itself. If these were common fakes we would've already seen them numerous times in the past.

If these indeed are foreign made during the period, it is what it is....and of no major value, considering the quality level, except to an eccentric collector, and certainly not worth arguing over for multiple pages.

[Luciusdegeer]

Gentlemen,
I have to disagree with GFM on this. It IS worth arguing over, at least for us living in the countries that once were occupied by the Wehrmacht. Non German-made, locally produced insignia (and uniforms!) are to be found at almost every show over here. Sometimes only natural ageing can separate these from 'moronic' fakes from the Far East, sometimes even not at all. Unfortunately, because they represent an important aspect of our war history (i.e. the 'small' collaborationist economy). These kind of insignia are original, not so much as an 'attempt to get a contract from the Fatherland', but more as a local attempt at making some money at the expence of the numerous Germans garrisoned in French cities. Everybody knows that not only NCO's, but even simple soldiers liked to 'decorate' their Feldbluses with bullion insignia, green collars etc. Too often these pieces are rejected as 'fakes' or as inferior because 'not textbook'. They range from high-ranking officer's collar tabs and shoulder boards over SS-eagles to simple Gefreiter's rank insignia.
This catalogue is IMO original, but -like GFM said- not very valuable (at least in money), and certainly very interesting. Could anyone add some comment on these kind of 'locally produced' insignia?

Greetings,

Lucius

[Claude Bertin]

Hello,
Thanks everybody for your comments, The owner of the book told he get it from an ex quarter master-sergeant in the city of Lyon (France). I try actually to get the book for precise examination. So long, Claude

[frank savage]

A question:
who would buy lw, wh and ss eagles, ss rune tab or panzerschiff or U-boote embroired badge from this catalogue ?

Cheers!

[Dmv]

Was it even allowed? I mean some insignia could only be purchased through the RZM. The Third Reich had strickt regulations concerning the manufacturers, form/design of insignia and their wear.
Or was it made for ww2 period collectors?!

[kenneth wolfe]

Hi

Is it possible that this is some one's collection that lived in France? I would look at the string sewn through the insignia. There should be a small piece you could do the burn test on.


Kenneth