BACKGROUND: The M35 dress tunic was introduced for wear by all ranks on June 29^TH 1935 as the walking out, parade and ceremonial dress with the piped, stone grey long pants. The design of the M35 dress tunic was based on the Imperial German army’s service tunic but was a different color and generally of much higher quality. Originally all personnel were issued two M35 dress tunics but manufacture was to be discontinued in late 1939 or early 1940 and was to be reinstated at the successful conclusion of the war although it appears they continued to be manufacture through most of the war. Regulations of March 21^ST 1940 stated that the M35 dress tunics that were no longer suitable for dress wear were to be modified and reissued to personnel of the replacement and reserve units for every day wear. Officers and certain Senior NCO ranks were responsible for purchasing their own uniforms and as a result were allotted a clothing allowance through the army’s Kleiderkasse, (Clothing Account), system. The Officers and certain Senior NCO’s could choose to purchase their uniforms from the armed forces clothing depots or to privately purchase garments of higher quality. Although enlisted personnel were issued their uniforms from government supplies they were also permitted to purchase privately tailored uniforms although the price may have been restrictive. The German army originally adopted a slightly modified version of the NSDAP’s, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), national eagle by order on February 17^TH 1934, with instructions to have it applied to all steel helmets, visor caps, and tunics by May 1^ST 1934. Generally officer’s ranks utilized hand or machine embroidered breast eagles while EM/NCO’s ranks utilized machine embroidered or machine woven breast eagles. The different branches of service within the army were allocated a specific, identifying, waffenfarbe, (Branch of Service Color), with white being chosen for Infanterie, (Infantry), personnel. On the M35 dress tunic the waffenfarbe was generally displayed on the edge of the front closure panels, the cuff and collar facings, the shoulder straps/boards and the collar tabs. NCO’s were further distinguished from enlisted ranks by the wear of NCO’s tress on the shoulder straps the forward collar edge of the M35 dress tunic.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Nice quality, slightly mottled, field-grey, wool construction, M35 dress tunic, features a vertical, eight button, front closure with dual, metal hooks and eyes positioned at the forward neckline and a lay down, blue/green badge cloth collar. The right breast has a nice quality, machine woven, national breast eagle with outstretched wings, clutching a wreathed, canted, swastika in it’s talons in bright, silver/aluminum, flat-wire threads with interwoven greenish/tan accent threads mounted on a cut-out, woven, greenish/tan rayon base which is machine stitched on a field-grey wool backing. The eagle’s backing is neatly handstitched to the tunic. The left breast has six horizontal thread loops for wear of awards. The tunic has no exterior pockets, as per it’s design. The tunic has ornamental, white wool waffenfarbe piping running down the full length of the left front closure panel edge, down the lower half of the right front closure edge, around the top edge of the simulated French cuffs, at the forward edge of the lay down collar and on either sides of the reverse tail skirt vent. The simulated French cuffs and the lay down collar are both constructed of dark, blue/green badge cloth and the top edges of both the cuffs and collar are also trimmed in bright, machine woven, silver/aluminum, diamond patterned NCO’s tress. The blue/green badge cloth cuffs feature dual, machine woven, vertical, litzen in bright, silver/aluminum, flat-wire threads, mounted on vertically rectangular, white wool bases with an ornamental button to the top of each. The reverse of the tunic has a central, vertical, tail skirt vent with vertical, scalloped, flaps piped in white wool waffenfarbe. The tail skirt vent has two sets, of dual, vertical, parallel, ornamental buttons to each side with two, belt ramp support buttons positioned at the top edge of the tail skirt vent. The tunic has the sewn on, early, second pattern, (Circa November 1938-May 1940), blue/green badge cloth construction, shoulder straps with bright, silver/aluminum, diamond patterned, NCO’s tress to all but the sewn on ends, and white wool waffenfarbe piping. The shoulder straps both show some minor scarring where it appears chain stitched unit numerals had been applied and removed. The shoulder strap’s retaining buttons with the embossed, Company numeral, "3", are intact. The tunic has a lay down, blue/green badge cloth collar with the typical zig-zag reinforcement stitching to the reverse. The collar features white wool waffenfarbe piping and diamond patterned, bright, silver/aluminum, NCO’s tress to the forward edge and machine woven, bright, silver/aluminum, flat-wire collar tab litzen with interwoven, regulation, "V" patterned, silver/aluminum wire "branch of service" stripes mounted on white wool bases. The white wool bases show through the litzen as the center stripe. The collar tabs are machine stitched in place. The interior of the tunic is fully lined, in ribbed, greyish/tan rayon with a brushed, greyish/tan, cotton/rayon lining to the sleeves. The lining has a horizontal, slash, pocket to the left breast panel and two, vertical, slash, "glove", pockets to the reverse of the tail skirt vent. Three, of the original five, collar liner retaining buttons are intact. The left breast lining is well marked with the black inkstamped size numerals, the manufacturer’s name, "Münch. Uniform-Fabrik" and, "M37", indicating the tunic passed through the army’s clothing depot in Munich in 1937. The left breast lining also has a slightly blurred, purple unit designation inkstamp, "4./M.G. Batl. 4", (4^TH Company 4^TH Machine Gun Battalion). Of Note: The Company numeral on the shoulder strap buttons and the inkstamped Company unit designation do not match but it was not uncommon to transfer from one Company to another within a given unit. The lower, central lining at the waistline has an additional, faint, unknown, black inkstamped numeral that appears to be, "216". The interior of the tunic has a few loose threads between the second and third, front closure button eyelets which would appear to indicate award ribbons had been applied at one time. The tunic is in overall very good condition with minor age and usage toning, light chafe wear to the cuff and collar edges, and some minor moth grazing resulting in some lost nap and a small hole to the upper right shoulder. The buttons, excluding the collar liner buttons, are all the bright, silver washed, pebbled, alloy type while the collar liner buttons are a combination of the molded grey bakelite and aluminum alloy dish types and all appear to have their original stitching. The tunic is roughly a size 36", (91.4cm), chest.

GRADE ****1/4                                 PRICE $1,099.00