Imperial German Colonial Südwester Soft Hat for Enlisted and NCO

Imperial German Colonial “Sudwester” soft felt hat for Enlisted and NCO. The “Cowboy” style hat was made of grey felt and held up on the right hand side by a large metal imperial cockade in black/white/red. The hatband ribbon and edging are in blue ribbon for South West Africa. The hat has seen genuine use but is in overall very good shape.  The green color felt and ribbon is slighly sun bleached.  Slight surface insect damage (see photo).  

Single Reichs cockade that pins the right side of the hat to top (see photos).  The cockade seems to have been repainted,  Inside of hat is the leather sweatband.  It shows age and use and has been resewn to the hat body.  Inside is ink stamped with the Munich Costume Shop "Dirringer" maker. The Südwester was a source of pride to the Schutztruppe and also a practical piece of kit, shading the eyes from the sun during the day and rolling up into a pillow at night.  This is a rare and interesting piece of Imperial German colonial headgear.