{"product_id":"imperial-german-prussian-leutnant-officer-shoulder-board-blue-velvet-single","title":"Imperial German Prussian Leutnant Officer Shoulder Board Blue Velvet Single","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a single officer's shoulder board (Schulterstück) for a Leutnant (second lieutenant) of the Imperial German Army, Prussian, mounted on a blue velvet underlay. The rank is fixed by the flat silver officer's braid worn without a rank star, which denotes the junior officer grade of Leutnant. The state is indicated by the black soul thread running through the braid, the state color of Prussia. The branch turns on the exact shade of the underlay, and this is the one point that cannot be settled from the images alone: a cornflower blue (kornblumenblau) underlay is the color of the Dragoons, the light cavalry, while a darker navy blue is the color of the medical service (Sanitätsoffiziere). The velvet here reads as a deep blue, which leans toward the darker medical shade, but velvet photographs darker than it appears in hand, and the shade should be matched against a reference before the branch is stated as fact.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eTwo absences bear on that question and are worth naming plainly. A Dragoon officer's board would normally carry the regimental number, and a medical officer's board would normally carry the gilt staff of Aesculapius (Äskulapstab), the serpent-entwined rod of the medical service; neither device is present here. The board is therefore plain, which leaves the branch resting on the underlay shade alone rather than on a confirming device.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe board is built of flat silver officer's braid (Tresse) laid in parallel runs and turned in a loop at the rounded head, worked in the herringbone weave with the black Prussian soul thread visible along the cords. It is mounted on a blue velvet underlay that frames the braid on the face. The reverse retains the standard removable-officer mounting: a dark cloth tongue running the length of the board, by which it tucked beneath the cloth bridge on the tunic, and a worked button slit at the head. The base shows the cut tuck ends of the braid in the normal manner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe German terms are limited to the rank, state, and possible branch. Schulterstück is the officer's shoulder board as opposed to the enlisted man's cloth strap (Schulterklappe); Leutnant translates as second lieutenant; kornblumenblau (cornflower blue) is the Dragoon color and the darker dunkelblau the medical color. No inscription, name, or maker's mark is present to attach the board to an individual officer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eIn condition the board is complete and displays well. The silver braid remains bright and full with the black soul thread legible and no unraveling of the weave, and the blue velvet underlay is rich in color with light handling wear and the expected flattening of the pile in places. The reverse tongue and button slit are intact. No braid element is missing; as noted, the board carries no regimental number or branch device, which is a matter of identification rather than of damage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eFor the collector, a single Prussian Leutnant's board on a blue branch underlay is an attractive and genuine example of Imperial officer insignia, and the blue velvet gives it more visual and branch interest than a plain infantry board, whether it resolves to the Dragoons or to the medical service once the shade is confirmed. The value is supported by the good condition and the branch-colored velvet underlay, and tempered by the absence of a regimental number or branch device to fix the unit precisely. Confirmation of the exact blue in hand would allow the branch to be stated with certainty and would firm the description.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50228136739055,"sku":"23-20","price":109.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/9169\/5855\/files\/23-20_1.jpg?v=1784852977","url":"https:\/\/derrittmeister.com\/products\/imperial-german-prussian-leutnant-officer-shoulder-board-blue-velvet-single","provider":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}