Description
This is an amazing Füsilier-Regiment Generalfeldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Hannoversches) Nr 73 officer’s pickelhaube. The regiment, commonly referred to as Füsilier-Regiment Nr 73, was originally founded by the Kingdom of Hannover in1803. The Kingdom’s senior Infanterie regiment, it was garrisoned in the capital city of Hannover and assigned to the X. Armeekorps. The regiment was sent to Spain, where it fought with Great Britain’s Field Marshal Wellington. It later joined other Hanoverian regiments in the penultimate Battle of Waterloo, which defeated Napoleon for the final time. Five Hanoverian Infanterie regiments fought at the Battle of Waterloo, along with one Jäger-Bataillon, two Dragoner-Regiments, two Ulanen-Regiments, two Artillerie Regiments, and one Pionier-Bataillon. Years later, Hannover sided with Austria in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, a very brief, sharp war in which Prussia and its allies ROLLED over Austria and hers. Hannover paid a huge price for its poor choice of allegiance when her territory was annexed by Prussia. This included the complete takeover of all Hanoverian military units, whose regiments were required to display Prussian wappens on their headdresses. In 1897, Kaiser Wilhelm II honored the former Hanoverian units by allowing them to once more display their battle honors (bandeaux) on their headdresses. The gesture was warmly received by these regiments/Bataillons, as it distinguished them from other Prussian line-units.
The pickelhaube’s leather body is in excellent condition, overall. It has an unusual, matte-black finish that I see every once in a while. This finish’s benefit is that it provides an impeccable background that highlights the wappen and other helmet sections. The wappen is an absolute jewel. (My eyes constantly are drawn to it as I write this description). The wappen’s finish sports a fine frosted effect, EXCEPT for the “FR” located below the crown and “Koenig.” It remains quite bright even though the helmet has not been cleaned for decades. It lights up like a headlight piercing the darkness. All of the other furniture is gilt-toned, including the chin scales, spike, trim, officers stars, etc. The exterior’s final details are the two officers kokarden, one for the state of Prussia and the other for the Reich.
Its interior boasts a fine brown leather sweatband in good condition. A gold silk liner is attached to it. Stamped on one half of the liner is “101597-1.” [I believe it is simply an inventory number, probably for a European museum. Such marks are quite common. I obtained the helmet from a longtime German collector. I know for a fact that he does not mark his helmets in this manner]. We see three things under the silk liner. First, all of the original hardware is in place. Second, NO double holes appear where the wappen is attached. Finally, we see the number “56.” This is its size, which is a bit larger than average. [I find the most common size to be “54.” “56″ is at the beginning of significantly larger sizes. When one reaches “59″ or above, it is VERY large. Over the years, I have seen two helmets that were over “60.” One was for a regimental commander and the other was for a general].
This is an exceptional pickelhaube from Füsilier-Regiment Generalfeldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Hannoversches) Nr 73. You will have to look long and hard to find a better officer’s pickelhaube from this regiment. While it is NOT an inexpensive helmet, its amazing condition and elegant details justify the price.
