Prussian M1915 Feldgrau Infantry Leutnant Shoulder Boards Pair Subdued Officer

This is a matched left-and-right pair of subdued field-grey officer's shoulder boards (Schulterstücke) of the M1915 pattern, for a Leutnant (second lieutenant), most likely of the Prussian infantry. The rank is fixed by the flat officer's braid worn without a rank star, which denotes the junior officer grade of Leutnant. The state is indicated by the dark soul threads of the braid, which read as black, the state color of Prussia. The underlay is plain white cotton, now stained to a yellow tone with age; white was the underlay of the line infantry, so the boards read as an infantry pair. These readings rest on the soul-thread color and the underlay and are worth confirming in hand, but black for Prussia and a white infantry underlay are the standard interpretations.

Each board is worked from flat officer's braid (Tresse) in field-grey, laid in parallel runs and turned in a loop at the rounded base, with black silk soul threads running through the weave in the herringbone pattern. The braid is mounted on a plain white cotton underlay that frames the braid on the face and is carried around to the reverse; across both faces and the reverse the cotton has aged and stained to an uneven yellow-buff, which is discoloration rather than an original color. The reverse retains a worked button slit near the head, by which the board buttoned to the tunic, and both boards carry faint markings that are not legible in the provided images. No numeral or cypher is present, so the specific regiment cannot be fixed from the boards alone.

The historical interest lies in the pattern and the moment it belongs to. The M1915 regulations replaced the bright silver and gold bullion of peacetime officer insignia with subdued field-grey braid, so that officers in the field no longer stood out to riflemen and machine-gunners; the state distinction formerly carried in shining metal was now carried quietly in the colored soul threads. On these boards that subdued braid is paired with the white of the line infantry, the arm that bore the greatest share of the fighting and the casualties on every front. A pair of feldgrau infantry officer boards is a direct artifact of the shift to camouflaged field dress worn by a serving front-line officer.

The German terms are limited to the rank and pattern. Schulterstück is the officer's shoulder board as opposed to the enlisted man's cloth strap (Schulterklappe); Leutnant translates as second lieutenant; feldgrau (field-grey) names the subdued wartime color. No inscription, name, or maker's mark is present to attach the pair to an individual officer.

In condition the pair is complete, matched, and honest. The field-grey braid is intact with the black soul threads legible and no unraveling of the weave. The white cotton underlay is sound but heavily aged, stained and toned to yellow-buff across its surface, most visibly on the reverse, with the expected soiling and handling from field wear and long storage. The reverse button slits are intact on both boards. No braid or backing element is missing, and the two correspond as a genuine left-and-right pair rather than a made-up match.

For the collector, a matched pair of M1915 subdued officer boards is a tangible piece of the front-line officer's field kit, more evocative of active service than the bright dress bullion of the parade uniform. Subdued feldgrau boards are more affordable than dress bullion, which makes a matched Prussian infantry pair an accessible but genuine example of Imperial officer insignia. The value is supported by the intact matched pairing and tempered by the aged, stained underlay and the absence of a regimental numeral or cypher.