| 5 The first part was already an overwhelming success, and the collecting community are anxiously awaiting this very special auction: Hermann Historica is proud to present the second part of four auctions featuring two of the finest SS collections in the world. Do not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to obtain now examples of the finest and rarest SS collectibles. David Lee Delich was born October 8, 1938, living his life in Kansas City, Kansas. Later in life, after marrying his childhood sweetheart, Sherry Gay, they moved to Lenexa, Kansas. Sadly, in February of 2022, David passed away after contracting Covid. Surviving him are his only sibling brother Craig, and his widow Sherry. Early in his childhood he developed rickets, eventually overcoming the disease and later attending Kansas City Kansas Junior College, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Kansas State Teacher’s College in Emporia. His professional career began in 1960 at Coronado Junior High, moving to Washington High School in 1982, where he retired in 1995 after teaching English and Social Science, with history being a favorite area of expertise for him. It was in the 1950’s when he became interested in German WW2 collectibles, after one of his uncles, who had served in the second world war, gifted him a couple of souvenirs he had brought home. These pieces laid the foundation for what would become one of the world’s finest collections. Primarily recognized as specializing in SS insignia and uniforms to include those of Heinrich Himmler, Karl Wolff and Joachim von Ribbentrop, the collection also includes items fromorganizations of the NSDAP and the Wehrmacht, containing one-of-a-kind items. During his lifetime he contributed to reference books and authored numerous articles for magazines on the subject along with providing items from his collection for inclusion. Considered an expert in this field, he evaluated and authenticated items for collectors and was happy to assist. Respected throughout the collecting community, this loss is significant for current and future collectors. Parallel to the world-famous David Delich collection, we are immensely proud to offer at the same time the second part of gentleman’s collection from California, who placed the focus of his collection on SS visor hats, kepis, and uniforms from early 1933 until 1939, the beginning of World War II. Many artifacts of this collection are also illustrated in the major US reference books, cf. “Uniforms of the Waffen-SS” by Michael D. Beaver, “The collector´s Guide to the distinctive cloth headgear of the Allgemeine and Waffen-SS” by Michael D. Beaver and William Shea, “SS Uniforms, insignia & accoutrements - a study in photographs” by A. Hayes and others. PREFACE
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