This is a very light-weight, waterproof kepi with small US Navy buttons securing the chinstrap. The body of the cap is made of linen, tarred or painted on the outside, but showing its original checked pattern on the inside. The cap is a kepi in form, with inset top and band around the base marked by a seam. The rear of the inset top rises to about 4 ½ inches and the front to about 4 ¼ inches, giving it a stylish angle. The body is lined with a light brown polished cotton that has a few tears exposing the checked, uncoated side of the fabric making up the body. The sweatband is in place and is made of the same coated fabric as the body of the cap. The visor is flat, has a bound edge, black on the upper surface, green on the underside, and is firmly attached. The chinstrap uses a fixed friction buckle on one section and a raised loop on the other.

The condition is very good. The exterior has wear spots missing some of the waterproof coating and shows crackling from flexing and wear, but just one small hole at an L-shaped tear on the wearer’s upper right rear. This is not large- no more than ¼ inch either way and no fabric is missing.  The losses to the surface are not glaringly obvious since the underlying fabric shows as light brown.

As a lightweight and cooler alternative to wearing a waterproof cover over an issue cap, the kepi form would make this a good candidate for Marine Corps use aboard ship despite having USN buttons. The wearer may not have cared much what kind of buttons it had so long as it shed water. It has also been suggested by one of the more clever members of our staff that despite giving it the profile of an army or marine kepi, a navy officer might have preferred the sloped top and slanted back to the straight sides and flat top of the standard USN officer’s cap, with or without waterproof cover, simply because it was better at shedding water in foul weather. However that may be, it is a scarce private-purchase military cap clearly intended for shipboard use that would add to a naval display.  [sr] [ph:L]

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