Garde Reserve Division?

[pjm]

This turned up. I can't find any reference with this arrangement of an Ersatz metal Pickelhaube with chinscales, guard Jäger style star, with reserve cross on a line eagle. Cockades are Prussian enlisted type.

Any thoughts? War bond composite or something period and correct.

Interestingly, the Jäger style guard star and cross are in a compatible size for the eagle so it seems like they could be correct and not a marriage. Guard Reserve Division perhaps? The Garde Reserve Divisions were formed in 1914 and totalled 30,000 men. It seems logical they would have been issued Ersatz Pickelhauben. Could they have used available line eagles as an expedient?

 

[b.loree]

Collector assembled fantasy piece in my opinion.

 

[JzPf]

I gotta go with Brian’s assessment

 

[KAGGR#1]

I gotta go with Brian’s assessment

I will make it 3
Steve

 

[pjm]

Of course, this could be assembled by a collector or theater or as a war bond piece.

My question is, where does the guard star in this size come from? Hussar?

 

[Steve Nick]

Back in the 90's I knew a very seasoned collector from the Montreal area who started collecting in the mid 60's. He had amazingly scarce helmets that he typically brought to shows stacked on top of each other in a shopping bag.

He also mixed and matched parts with total abandon and thought nothing of adding parts to a helmet if he thought it made the helmet look cooler.

Looks like this helmet came from someone who was like minded. Total fabrication.

 

[b.loree]

Last year at a show in Toronto I saw several M15 leather helmets that had repainted fittings. These all came from one old Quebec collection and included a Hessen M15 repainted in a horrible green version of "feldgrau". My impression was that the collector had enjoyed "playing" with his hats!

 

[pjm]

Here's a similar star but in grey shared by a colleague and also a Pickelhaube with a guard star on a line eagle marked to an Unteroffiziersschule.