One of the ace pilots who flew with the Red Baron, a delightful youngster
named Kurt Wolff, had a nightcap with a black velvet band that he wore as a
lucky talisman. Somewhere I have a pic of him and another officer; the guy
is teasing him by holding up the tail of the nightcap. :) Lothar von
Richthofen remembered it as being made from "knitted blue silk". I read
somewhere a long, long time ago that the nightcap had belonged to Wolff's
late father, a minor politician who died when Wolff was a very young child.
Can't remember where I read it, alas... In the pics I've seen of Wolff in
the nightcap, the garment seems like the stereotypical one we see in old
illustrations: hangs off the head with a long tail, and possibly something
at the end like a tassel. The black velvet band was probably the part that
held it on the head.
The pilots of the Great War were a very superstitious lot. I know of one
who flew with a teddy bear in the open cockpit of his plane (though I'm sure
the bear was lashed down well!).
Cheers,
Meli/Sharon
Laurie asks:
Here's a suitably esoteric question for this group. Night caps. As in,
"Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap
had just settled down for a long winter's nap"
When were they worn? What were they made of ? How were they contructed?
How did they stay on?
I'm assuming they may have been worn any time that fires were the only
source of home heating, but I have only seen images from late 1800's and
early 1900's. I'd like to make some.
Anyone know?
Laurie
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