Jerry B Posted 7 October , 2016 Share Posted 7 October , 2016 Great to see examples and read about the early and pre war Kepi's, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 14 October , 2016 Share Posted 14 October , 2016 You're welcome, Jerry... glad it's of interest. I've just managed to obtain a Capitaine's 'polo' for my collection, so can now post a direct comparison image of the two (main) types of officer's kepis that went to war in August 1914. As mentioned earlier, the 'foulard' was dying out anyway by the time of the outbreak and was pretty much 'dead' in combat units by the end of the first year. The 'polo' saw service throughout the war... Anyway, for comparison,... the 'Foulard' of a Lieutenant and the 'Polo' of a Capitaine ... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 20 January , 2017 Share Posted 20 January , 2017 To add to this thread and introduce another pattern of great war képi, my latest acquisition is the képi du commerce (or, in , British parlance, a 'private purchase' képi) of an N.C.O. of the 24e Régiment d'infanterie (though I'm not 100% totally convinced that another number didn't precede the '24' as there appears to be the very faint shadow of a '127' underneath the number). Generally following the pattern of the standard Mle.1884, the construction actually bears many similarities to the officer patterns. Below, are three images of this képi du commerce (on the left) alongside the replica Mle.1884 képi troupe for comparison... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 26 July , 2017 Share Posted 26 July , 2017 Might I ask the experts' opinions on this example which I just paid rather more than I hoped to for: (yes I know I should have asked BEFORE but....) My hope is it would be appropriate for an "early war" 1914/15 mannequin ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 26 July , 2017 Share Posted 26 July , 2017 Correct Hungarian(?) knot on the crown (dating it to be definitely pre-1920/21) and a typical 'polo' for an infantry Lieutenant of the post 1910 period (albeit with a raised crown which isn't typical for the period ... repaired perhaps?). The metal numerals (though they do appear pre-war... see my 'foulard' earlier in this thread) tend to appear more often on post-1914 polos. So far, so good.... now, the final hurdle... what is the height of the blue band (measured from the bottom of the kepi to bottom of the first gold braid)? 1910-1918 kepis polo were all under 7 to 7.5cm (the one I've illustrated earlier is 5.5cm). Any higher and it's a post-war (1918-21) manufactured Kepi. Assuming that the blue is less than the (absolute maximum!) 7.5cm, then, yes, it would be appropriate for an early war mannequin (though I'd be (a little) hesitant to use it with an August/September 1914 display). Hope that helps (and that it's shorter than 7.5!) Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 26 July , 2017 Share Posted 26 July , 2017 scurries into the other room with a ruler.... From the bottom of the kepi to the first gold braid is...under 7cm! (@65-7mm) .....Hurrah! Ca marche! I have been trying to piece together an early-war mannequin which is a bit of a challenge on this side of the Atlantic. I have been using Andre Joineau's two volume softback books (in the "officers and soldiers of..." series) as my main references but real expertise is much better! Thanks a lot, Dave. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans k. Posted 8 August , 2017 Share Posted 8 August , 2017 (edited) Here is an example of an Mle 1884 kepi issued to a soldier of the French Foreign Legion. The 1908 dated kepi has the Enlisted Ranks Foreign Legion bomb emblem sewn to the front, a 1er Régiment Etranger issue ink stamped lining and "Legion Etrangere" chinstrap buttons. Mle 1884 kepis are very hard to come by over here, but the wartime issued horizon blue examples are nearly impossible to find. The pictures aren't the best unfortunately. Edited 8 August , 2017 by Hans k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 21 December , 2017 Share Posted 21 December , 2017 On 08/08/2017 at 18:38, Hans k. said: ... Mle 1884 kepis are very hard to come by over here, but the wartime issued horizon blue examples are nearly impossible to find... Very nice cap, Hans! Decent '84s aren't exactly easy (or cheap!) to find over here in Europe either (and LE marked examples even less so!). Issue '14s and '15s are, likewise, also rarer, but 14/15 commercials seem a little easier to obtain for some reason (and are usually a little cheaper than the 84s). Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 21 December , 2017 Share Posted 21 December , 2017 The latest acquisition to my small but rapidly growing collection is this képi polo (circa 1910-1918) of a Médecin-aide-major de 1ère classe (equivalent of a Lieutenant) of the Service de Santé (Medical Corps) ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 22 December , 2017 Share Posted 22 December , 2017 Hi Chris (4th Gordons), The man that runs this private museum in Chassepierre (near Florenville) in Belgium has a great collection of early war pieces: http://musee50bornes.skyrock.com/1.html I have met him but his name escapes me at the moment (old age !). I am sure he would help with any queries you may have (and be delighted to see your collection too). Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoldatJV Posted 20 March , 2023 Share Posted 20 March , 2023 So it's WW1 for sure? The height of the blue band is exactly 7.5cm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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