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What an awful way to start my day. I'd been wondering why Steve hadn't been posting as regularly as he had been. I never had the opportunity to meet Steve in person though I wish I had. It would have been such a treat to spend a day with him and his amazing collection. He and I had a...

Nice display. I particularly like seeing the Kaiser Prize for artillery.

Dane: That was a deliberately misleading "click bait" sort of title. :D I immediately fell for it. Can't say it was disappointing though. Nice Tschapska!

Perhaps mistakenly, I've always been under the impression that Bavaria and the Southern German states were predominantly Catholic and the Northern states like Prussia were mostly Protestant.

What makes you think that? The pictures quality could be better, but as is they look fine to me.

I'm in Portugal (Algarve) at the moment. No interest in doing Winter in Canada anymore. Interesting helmet. I had no idea that these existed, although I shouldn't be surprised. There's a monthly community garage sale event this Sunday. Who knows? One might turn up.

I can understand your puzzlement. It is quite well made and the parts appear to be original. Doesn't look like it was ever worn. Not something I'd be prepared to drop 10 grand on though.

Bruno: Not a problem at all. Nick is a contraction of my last name. So I hear that a lot as does your friend Nicholas.

Actually, to be a bit pedantic, the helmet is wearing a pattern 1886 Wappen (frontplate). You can tell by the incorporation of the laurel leaves on the Wappen. In February of 1914, the officers Wappens were simplified by the elimination of the laurel leaves.

Bruno: That describes Andy. He was a real gentleman with no intent to deceive. In fact, he freely admitted that he was swapping parts for fun. He never sold a helmet, in spite of our attempts to buy/rescue some of them.

Yes indeed! I had the privilege of knowing and dealing with Jim, Carol and their sons over the years. Jim and I would on occasion put on a joint display of Imperial headgear that would take up four or five tables. I miss those days.

Tony: Funny that you should post this. Just a few minutes ago, I posted a story re. "old Collections" that you may relate to in the original thread on this topic. I know that you put in an appearance at one or two of the Ottawa shows and, you were friends with Jim G of Montreal. He may have...

I couldn’t resist providing my perspective on the “it came out of an old collection so it must be good” claim. Back in the late 80’s when I was co-running the Ottawa Militaria Show myself and a Montreal collector were undoubtedly the most recognized pickelhaube collectors at the shows. One day...

James: You've done very well! Gotta love helmets with parade bushes.

It's a shame that the quest for money has driven many of these photos out of reach. A few years ago, I was buying any photos of Kaiser/King's Prize winners I came across. Not now. I just can't rationalize the cost.

Thanks for that information which confirms what I was thinking. The crucifix I bid on appeared to be a high quality item, but I was able to find several pictures of similar crosses on the internet, so I stopped bidding at $150 Cdn. How much higher it went, I don't know.

It's good to have you with us. I think that cap is quite special, and this one is in very good condition. I also like that picture. I recently bid on a crucifix that was advertised as an Imperial German Chaplin's, but I dropped out of the bidding as I had no way of knowing if it was...

A seemingly insignificant and little remembered life now memorialized. Good on you,

Looking good Dane! A nice "time lapse" photography session.

Dane: It's nice to see your collection developing and that it incorporates both the military and the civil elements of Imperial Germany. That Tschapska is a great example.