Description
PRUSSIA – PICKELHAUBE – GENERAL – FULL PARADE CONFIGURATION WITH TRICHTER, PARADE FEATHERS, DAILY SERVICE SPIKE AND TRICHTER STORAGE CASE
This is a consignment item for a Prussian Army General Officer, most likely a General der Infanterie. One thing about a spiked helmet such as this, any rank of General from Generalmajor to Generalfeldmarschall would have worn this helmet. What I find particularly exciting about this helmet is that it not only comes with its daily service spike, but the full trichter with its parade feathers for a parade/formal setting. Most of the time we find helmets with one of these two components, not both.
The pickelhaube’s leather body is in excellent condition. We treated it with a fine leather conditioner, and its overall appearance is astonishing. The leather is extremely smooth and supple. The helmet also sports a squared front visor, which is a key requirement for a General’s pickelhaube.
All of the helmet’s furniture is gold-toned, including the chin scales, the helmet base, officers’ stars, the cruciform base, the pearl ring, the VERY tall, fluted spike, as well as the front visor’s and the back strap’s trim. The wappen’s eagle has its wings spread so wide that they reach back to the two kokarden on either side. The one area that is silver-toned is the sunburst in the center of the eagle’s chest, which serves as the background to the helmet’s Garde-Star. The Garde Star is in excellent condition, sporting green, white, gold, and black enamel. Its Black Eagle is so beautifully formed and the enamel’s application is so perfect that it takes one’s breath away. [The Black Eagle is emblematic of the House of Hohenzollern. Every Prinz of the House was invested with one or more of the Order of the Black Eagle’s different levels. It was also awarded to those outside of the House at the pleasure of the King or (later) Kaiser]. The exterior’s final details are the two kokarden: one for the State of Prussia and one for the Reich (required on all headdresses AFTER 1897).
The interior boasts a very-well-cared-for brown leather sweatband. It barely exhibits any real wear. It is attached to a rust-colored silk liner that is in absolutely gorgeous condition. 100% original fittings and clips appear underneath the silk liner. Close inspection of the area where the wappen attaches to the helmet reveals that it is original to the helmet and NO double holes are present.
We have saved the best for last, i.e., the parade feathers and trichter. The spike is easily screwed off and replaced with the trichter. The black and white feathers are full and in lovely condition. They are housed in a circular black carton when not in use, which has kept them in their superior condition over the years.
This is a wonderful opportunity to acquire a 100% original Prussian General’s Pickelhaube, complete with spike, parade feathers and the latter’s storage case.
