Description
PRUSSIAN – PICKELHAUBE – NCO – GARDE-GRENADIER-REGIMENT OR GARDE-REGIMENT ZU FUß – PRIVATELY-PURCHASED NOT DEPOT-ISSUED.
This is a high-quality, privately-purchased NCO’S pickelhaube from either a Garde-Grenadier or Garde zu Fuß-Regiment, which include the regiments listed below.
2. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß
Kaiser Alexander Grade-Grenadier-Regiment Nr 1
Kaiser Franz Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr 2
Königin Elisabeth Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr 3
Königin Augusta Garde-Grenadier-Regiment 4
Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr 5
As you can see, these are very elite regiments. Officers’ examples for these regiments can be quite expensive (we currently have one lovely example available for purchase). As a rule, I do not offer enlisted men/NCO’s pickelhauben unless they come from smaller states. I am quite pleased, however, to share this fine helmet with you.
The helmet’s leather body is exceptional, or even beyond that. It is smooth and amazingly clean and clear, not marred by damage due to age or other circumstances. Its condition far exceeds what we often see on officers’ helmets. The rear visor shows signs of shrinkage, which is common in a one-hundred-plus year-old helmet’s leather body.
The helmet’s furniture presents a lovely Garde wappen. Its brass eagle features ultra-wide, outspread wings. They are so wide, in fact, that each wingtip extends to the respective Reich’s and state’s kokarden center points. A silver Garde Star provides a fine contrast against the brass eagle’s chest. The remaining furniture is also brass, including the flat chin scales (remember, Infanterie pickelhauben should have flat rather than convex chin scales), the cruciform, the detachable spike, as well as the front and back visors’ trim. The obverse’s final details are the correct NCO’s state’s and Reich’s kokarden.
The helmet’s interior is every bit as clean inside as it is outside. The enlisted/NCO style leather liner is magnificent. Every tongue is in place and an extra-long sizing thong is present. Under the leather liner, ALL of the original hardware is present, with NO double holes. No depot marks show on the rear visor, confirming its status as a privately-purchased helmet rather than an army depot issue. This NCO had a lot of pride in his regiment. He took excellent care of his gear, as evidenced by this helmet’s condition.
The helmet is in amazing condition. If you want something a bit different for your collection, this will fill the bill. It would also make a fine companion piece to an officer’s helmet. [If you have an interest in the helmet, and our equally well conditioned officer’s example on offer, we can offer you a very attractive price on the pair].
At Der Rittmeister Militaria, we strive to bring you the best in spiked helmets, or pickelhauben (plural for pickelhaube), one of Imperial German Militaria’s most interesting areas for collecting. While ORIGINALITY and AUTHENTICITY are of prime importance, please do not forget Der Rittmeister’s commitment to CONDITION and QUALITY. In this regard, we take special pride in offering you spiked helmets whose condition is at least well above average, if not excellent. I examine hundreds of pickelhauben to find the very few that fulfill all four criteria mentioned above. Upon receiving their new treasure, collectors who have purchased one of our pickelhauben often exclaim that their helmet looks even better than the photos we had displayed on our website. [We do use a high-quality digital camera to photograph our items and upgrade cameras every two years, but enough with the Der Rittmeister Militaria commercial]! Just remember, dear friends, Der Rittmeister’s Four Critical Criteria for collecting pickelhauben: ORIGINALITY, AUTHENTICITY, CONDITION, and QUALITY.
The pickelhaube was designed in 1842 by Prussia’s König Frederick William IV for use in the Prussian Infanterie. [The Prussian king might have copied similar helmets adopted by Russia’s military during the same time period. It is not clear whether this was a case of imitation, parallel invention, or if both were based on Napoleonic cuirassiers’ helmets]. The helmet style was soon adopted by Germany’s other states and kingdoms during the mid-19th Century, with Bavaria being the final principality to implement it in 1886. [The Bavarians always seemed to go their own way! Interestingly, Bavaria was also the last to authorize kugelhelme for their Artillerie Regiments in 1913]. In addition to Russia, spiked helmets were adopted by many Latin American countries. They were even worn by the USA’s armed forces from the 1880’s until around 1910.
We also remind all pickelhaube enthusiasts about our good friend Jim Turinetti’s excellent reference books on the subject (click here to see DRM’s Imperial German Headdress Page Nr 3), available as spiral-bound paperbacks or on CD. You cannot go wrong with them. I can safely state that Jim is the USA’s foremost authority on pickelhauben. Please support him. Dollar for dollar, these books are the best on the market, and reward you with an immeasurable return in value! [Remember, Jim receives any and ALL the profits from his works, Der Rittmeister Militaria just promotes them to help educate the collecting community].
