WW1 French 39th Infantry Regiment M1884 Other Ranks Kepi

An M1884 other ranks kepi of the 39th infantry regiment as worn by the French army in the early 1914 period .
As with most French army attire upon its mobilisation in 1914 this model dated from the 1880s & was soon replaced by 1915 with other forms of less conspicuous headgear which continued to evolve as the war went on. Of red wool cloth with dark blue cord piping the cap band has the number of the regiment crudely stitched on in this case the 39th. When one examines the stitching of the patch onto the band it is quite apparent that this is very typical rough soldier applied sewing very similar to other examples encountered .The circular leather cutout patch in the leather crown has size markings & inspection stamp to reverse of '56' with a Paris maker & date ' 4 01 ' . The soldiers name is handwritten onto the canvas lining underneath. Chinstrap complete with two tombac c/s buttons bearing the flaming grenade of the infantry.
Heavily worn with one moth nip to the band & one repair also this really is a Kepi from a well fielded 'Poilu' .

Code: 11401