165 - Emil Lüdke Jena, student cap Stürmer, white with gold-coloured cord and leather peak, studentica

Emil Lüdke Jena, student cap Stürmer, white with gold-coloured cord and leather peak, studentica Textile and leather, student cap in the form of the Stürmer, maker Emil Lüdke, Jena. Maker's print in the crown lining "Emil Lüdke vorm. Carl Hahn & Sohn G.m.b.H. Kunstgewerbliche Anstalt Studenten-Utensilien- & Couleurbandfabrik JENA i. Th.". Tall white crown, tilted forward, round top with piping, gold-coloured cord at the lower edge and as a loop ornament at the back, black leather peak with stitching, black leather strap above the peak with two gold-coloured buttons, inside beige lining and brownish sweatband. Condition commensurate with age, foxed, peak rubbed. 15x17x25.5 cm (HxWxD). The Stürmer is a distinct form of student cap which bears cord decoration instead of the band of colour around it. Most of these caps are white; some fraternities wear them only in the summer semester and a regular cap in winter. The Stürmer probably originated in Bonn in the 1840s. As part of the couleur, the student cap identifies the members of colour-wearing student fraternities, each fraternity determining colour and form itself. The university town of Jena, where the Urburschenschaft was founded in 1815, was home to the firm Emil Lüdke, which made couleur articles for students.