Description
SAXONY – PICKELHAUBE – RESERVE SENIOR NCO – INFANTERIE
This is a marvelous Saxon line-infantry regiment Senior NCO’s pickelhaube. Its fine leather body is of the highest-quality and condition. All of its furniture is brass, with the exception of the wappen’s center. The latter features a brass sunburst inset with a reserve cross on a silver-toned Saxon Coat-of-Arms. We can tell that this is not an officer’s wappen because the crown is closed, not open. The brass chin scales’ superior quality and condition are extremely impressive, as is the non removable spike (shorter than the ordinarily tall Saxon spikes). The rear brass fitting is not flush against the leather body, which causes it to stand out just a bit.
The exterior’s final features are lovely Officers’ Saxon-pattern Reich’s and State’s kokarden. Five Imperial German states (Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Württemberg, and Saxony) employed this particular kokarde pattern instead of the usual Prussian pattern.
The helmet’s interior displays a moderately-used dark-brown leather sweatband, and a rust-colored silk liner. The liner has seen more use and wear than the sweatband, exhibiting evidence of perspiration. The barest signs of shredding/running are also visible. Under the silk liner we see NO evidence of double holes. Nearly all of the original hardware is present, although one of the four clips at the top is missing. The latter does NOT affect the helmet’s integrity (that is why four of the clips are in place). This is a rock-solid, high-quality pickelhaube in first-rate condition. The fact that it is a reserve Senior NCO example makes it all the more attractive. It is a true value based on what you are receiving!
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].
