Mr. Potato Head Guard Pickelhaube

We should all have our own cyphers, right?
The cypher is from a German Count (Graf), which is a higher nobility. This would fit to a General of the cavalry or General à la Suite. The "S" should indicate the wearer's first name.
 
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Now to figure out the cypher on the inside to see what nobility owned it....
We have here a "Graf" crown with 9 spikes. It is the number 18 on this pict:

1642154942751.png

graf.jpg

So because there were only a very very few General à la Suite, it´s not very difficult to find the wearer.
There was a General à la Suite General Leutnant Burggraf und Graf Alfred zu Dohna-Schlobitten in the Ehrenranglisten 1911, 1913. (6.1.1852-16.12.1929).

graf1.jpg
Philippe
;)
 

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I‘m sorry Philippe, but I have to disagree. The cyper letter always refer to the first name, not to the last name. If it would indicate to the last name all nobles of a family would have the same.
 
The family castle in Schlobitten (East-Prussia), today mazurian area in Poland (Slobity).
Before and after 1945....


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1642156424781.png

A very interesting link about this lost place....


Philippe
;)
 
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I‘m sorry Philippe, but I have to disagree. The cyper letter always refer to the first name, not to the last name. If it would indicate to the last name all nobles of a family would have the same.
Sandy,
There is no other General à la Suite in the Ehrenranglisten between 1902 and 1914 who was a Graf and whose name or part of it begins with a "S"...
Philippe
;)
 
Graf Alfred zu Dohna-Schlobitten
Sandy,
There is no other General à la Suite in the Ehrenranglisten between 1902 and 1914 who was a Graf and whose name or part of it begins with a "S"...
Philippe
;)
Philippe: But the noble name is „zu Dohna-Schlobitten“. If the „S“ would really refer to the last name, it would contain the letters „D“ and „S“. That's also why I don't see that this crowned "S" refers to Count Alfred zu Dohna-Schlobitten.
 
All great information
thanks for the posts
I always thought that the letter under the crown was for the Last name
Jeff you are getting your money's worth on your question
very interesting thread
Thanks Sandy and Philippe
Steve
 
All great information
thanks for the posts
I always thought that the letter under the crown was for the Last name
Jeff you are getting your money's worth on your question
very interesting thread
Thanks Sandy and Philippe
Steve
No kidding.. talk about plugging into a wealth of knowledge! That's the fun part of the job, though - always learning new stuff. Now.. if only I could stop forgetting two things for every one new thing that comes in, we would have it made.
 
All great information
thanks for the posts
I always thought that the letter under the crown was for the Last name
Jeff you are getting your money's worth on your question
very interesting thread
Thanks Sandy and Philippe
Steve
Steve, when you search the internet for noble monograms, they always refer to the first name. They are the wearer's personal marks and should not be confused with a family crest. Such monograms were used on personal letterheads, gifts, tableware, and even clothing. The staff would probably not be able to identify the owner of a piece of clothing just by the last name.
 
An aside at this point... Long before the internet and before I had a lot of experience in collecting, I purchases a 'Garde' helmet similar to this one from Joe Walter's 'House of Swords'. The silver was removed from the front of the eagle at one point. I don't know why this was done, perhaps too much base metal showing through for somebody? I've since obtained an example similar to '911car's'.

:D Ron
 
Guy's I was able to buy this helmet, would love anyone feedback on the possible owner, is there any consensus...

James
 
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