SS m36 officer tunic

[Lloyd I.]

Ettiene,

Pardon me for being the pessimist but there are some things that seem odd to me about this piece. In the end this is just one opinion.

The upper breast pockets arent aligned with one another, the curves of the lapel as it descends, the bunching around the shoulder boards, the aging of the collar versus the rest of the tunic, what appears to be a difference in measurement in height of one French cuff to the other. A tailored piece from all appearances which could account for some of those descrepencies but privately tailored tunics, irregardless of branch tend to be of high caliber and this one appears to lack somewhat towards the higher degree of sharpness an officer would be after.

The collar shows evidence of SS tabs, not WH. I would remind everyone, Note the amount of collar wear versus the rest of this piece and the style of attachment of the collar to the tunic itself. While the collar may be legit, I dont think it was originally the one on this tunic. The buttons dont look to be missing paint and the rough wear to the collar and top portion of the liner by the neck dont mesh with the other aging in the tunic.

Again, this is opinion based on a few photos, I thinks its a WH tunic that has been altered to give the appearance of W-SS and that has been resewn with another collar and sewn in boards, both of which appear legit, and then an arm eagle was added and removed, leaving the threading in an attempt to lend further credence to the piece.

If the area above the right breast pocket, as it is worn, is aged more so than that would be another glaring red flag because fakers soak this area to close the wool around where the Eagle would have been.

Thanks and best regards. In the end it is your decision so I wish you well.

[Robert H]

I would say that nobody can judge this tunic from photos especially in this size and quality. For me it looks like a nice original tunic but as I said it would need hands on. I remember one tunic I got once offered where you really needed the right light and angle to find the old shadow from the WH breast eagle.

[John Pic]

I certainly cant see anything wrong with it judging from the available pictures here and on the site. I would like to have seen close ups of the sleeve linings wear the arms attach to see just how much wear they exhibit. Also a better picture above the right breast to clear the notion that the photo was possibly doctored.I like the look of the tunic.

To do it justice though one would need to wait for the proper good quality Collar tabs and eagle showing the correct amount of wear and also would need to find period thread in good condition and not weakened by time.This could cost nearly $3500. Dont just buy it and slap anything on it.

[Etienne B.]

thanks guys

Hi guys,

The seller reacted really fast,so I have two more to add.I personally think they look promising and I see no ''shadow'' of an eagle or ''messing'' with this area of the tunic.

thanks again,

Etienne

[Etienne B.]

another one

close up

[NTZ]

I am not an SS collector but I am a WH collector and I mainly collect officers’ tunics. I must say IMO something is not right here. I have a few examples with this type a wool. One exhibits a very heavy amount of wear. The nap on the wool can tell you a lot. The thing that sticks out on this tunic is the heavy loss of nap around the breast area where a bird might have been. I just looked at my heavily worn piece and I see no signs of nap loss around the breast area above either pocked. Now look at this tunic. There is a heavy amount of nap loss above one pocked but not the other with the ribbon loops. How can this be? What in the normal cycle of wearing a tunic would cause that type of wear above a pocket? It does not make any sense unless someone was trying to obscure the evidence that an eagle was there at one time. The other odd thing has already been mentioned. The pockets are not aligned

[bnz. 42]

 

[John Pic]

You could tell for sure with a UV and a high power loop.Sometimes these areas are shaved to deceive.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Wolften???!!!

Wolften go back to the hat Forum ! Regarding the tunic I agree looking for a breast eagle is important, but also you want to see how well the shoulder boards were sewn in and then the inside of the sleeves where the tailor went through to work on the boards. This tunic looks very promising and if truly SS very well worth restoring. Any thoughts Mr. Toncar?

[B. N. Singer]

Difficult with something like this, but if I HAD to make a determination based ONLY on these pictures, I would entertain doubts.

B. N. Singer

[Luca Ongaro]

Etienne, have you seen a close up of shoulder boards where are fixed?
If you have a picture I'd like to see it
Luca

[sturmbannfuhrer]

Wolften go back to the hat Forum ! Regarding the tunic I agree looking for a breast eagle is important, but also you want to see how well the shoulder boards were sewn in and then the inside of the sleeves where the tailor went through to work on the boards. This tunic looks very promising and if truly SS very well worth restoring. Any thoughts Mr. Toncar?

I agree with Wolften on this one, plus NTZ and Lloyd I's views. I personally do not like tunics that are claiming to be SS with those threads hanging on the arm where an eagle would have been. Too tantalizing for some to resist. We all mess up collecting, this one would not be of interest too me. Wolften, feel free to stay in any area you like. I like the pics of your recent Heer officer Visors. I am in the process of picking up an August Muller Admin visor that looks combat worn. No moth but a few period repairs. I will post it for you when I eventually get it.

[DonC]

From the one pic of the shoulderboard, I believe they may have already been replaced. That does not make it any more or less of a potential SS jacket, it's just my observation based onthe one photo provided.

Don

[Etienne B.]

Thanks guys for your opinion !
@Luca: when I have some more photos.I will put them here

regards,

Etienne

[John Pic]

Two things..how is the sleeve lining attached? Is it well tailored ?If not perfect thats not a good sign. Also the wear around the sleeve eagle. From pictures it looks as though ones never been there,but photos are tricky, still the area should be darker with so much tunic wear and exposure to the elements. Buying something like this is very difficult to say the least you relly dont know what youre in store for.A chance yes, it is a real period piece but was it SS ?