Here it is; "The Holy Grail"

Tony without Kaiser

Tony without Kaiser

Departed
Staff member
Well, here it is. Everyone has their own idea of what the "ultimate" Pickelhaube is, most based on rarity or aesthetics. In my opinion, however, the ultimate Pickelhaube has always been the first Pickelhaube; an issued M1842.
:love10:
Once or twice a year I see Officer examples, which is logical as these were property and would have survived in families. But based upon the Preußen habit of re-working helmets to conform to new regulations and modifications, theoretically no issued M1842 helmets should have survived. :crybaby:

I closed the deal with a very good friend of mine to obtain this last year, and spent a year paying it off. He mailed it so that it arrived the day before I graduated with my Master's of Education on 17 May. This was my graduation gift to myself. All those nights at university, I had to have a goal in mind, and this was it. Not the degree, a helmet! Now that's motivation folks. :joker:

Please see the link below for the full text and lots of photos that I hope you will all enjoy.

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/dunkelblau/helmets/dbh09.htm

dbh09.jpg
 
Well congrats! There can not be many of these around ...your article is great. Therer is a dated 1864 haube in the Kostel collection but yor picture is a much earlier helmet. A double grail for you!
 
It was my privilege to inspect the Grail at close quarters during my annual visit with the Schnurrs in June. The fire gilt Wappen is absolutely stunning. I held it in my hands and marveled at its state of preservation, its heft, and, of all things, the precision knurled chinscale retaining bolts. Compared to the proportions of later generations of Pickelhauben, the appearance, at first, seems extreme. Yet, when one recalls these tangentially evolved out of Mitres and Tschakos, the height seems perfectly logical.

Tony has it displayed as the centerpiece of his helmet collection, where it reposes in climate controlled splendor. It has to be one of the most historically significant pieces I have cradled in my arms.

Still in awe,

Chas.
 
Gustaf said:
// there is no way you can top this.
Click to expand...
I think for me, you are correct Gus. However, I know you like the Feldgrau, so I have three helmets for my Sept, Oct, Nov updates that I think will please you very much.

Lost Skeleton said:
//It has to be one of the most historically significant pieces I have cradled in my arms.
Click to expand...
Hmm...all the photos I have of you here, it's Kaiser who is cradled in your arms? He took a liking to you!

And Joe, there is your M42 period photo close-up. :toothy2:
 
Tony,
What a superb helmet. Congratulations on both counts…..a new helmet and a new degree. I did note that the line eagle wrappen was specifically made for the Landwehr cross as its position is incised directly on to the eagle’s breast and then the cross applied. Is this unique to the 1842 Landwehr wrappen? I have not seen this before. The fire gilding looks as good as the officer’s models. Am I correct or are my eyes playing tricks? Once again congratulations on this super helmet!!!! Bill
 
Tony,

Thats a stunning piece you have there, the very first haube. Is the leather much thicker compared to the later haubes? The superb condition of the haube surprises me, even the top part isnt sunken like most later haubes do, as the cruciform spike base usually weighted it down.

Double congrats!! :eek: :-?

Bambang
 
Buetiful Piece .I like Gus like the Feldgraue stuff but that is nice . It is reaaly in stunning shape .
Know you can move to central Canada and become a teacher .It's a good deal .Then we can see your collection and you can live where your nieghbors are not all related to each other .
Kudo's on the Degree That is an achievment .
Mark
PS i could not find the cxar chew toy for his majesty but will keep looking .
 
Bill, all issued eagle Wappen are specifically made for the Landwehr cross with an impressed place for the cross. This is the same on this M1842 as it is on an issued M1895 reserve Wappen. Only on officer chickens is the Landwehr cross plunked on top. And yes, the brass is quite bright.

Bambang, the shell is probably no thinker than say, an M1871, but the shape is so high, like a watermelon, that it has completely held it's shape. All early issued helmets seem to hold their shape very well. The sunken aspect seems to be a result of the later domed helmet shell shape.

Below are two large photos I took specifically for you guys to enjoy. They show the first Pickelhaube, (M42) to the last pre-war Pickelhaube (M95) to show the dramatic change in size as it evolved. Looks good eh? For some reason, we can no longer click the photo to resize to actual size. This makes no sense, as the photo is downloaded from another server, so who cares how big the photo is?

Any who, please click on the two links below to see the very large versions of the two photos below.

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/pe/1842_1895a.jpg

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/pe/1842_1895b.jpg

1842_1895a.jpg


1842_1895b.jpg
 
Don't have one. Can't afford one. Always wanted one. The very tops on my wish list. Absolutely fantastic !!!!! Congratulations, Corky
 
Absolutely Fantastic Tony!!!!!

No words can sufficiently describe this treasure, so I am just going to stare in awe.

Well done and thank you for sharing it with us.

John
 
Phenomenal, Tony.

I am really happy for you. Frankly, I don't know how you have the patience to own it for a while before posting pictures!

That helmet is just a joy to look at.

David
 
T.,

Congratulations. If this large helmet has taken too much space and you must make room by letting go of something, please let me know! :wave:

Do you have any idea when the Russian helmets that these were copied from were first introduced?

Chip
 
Tony:
One can merely echo what has already been said.....phenomenal, excellent, fantastic!!!! This is a true rarity which deserves to be in the hands of an exceptional afficianado of the pickelhaube. Brian
 
I was lucky enough to get a "hands on" with this helmet at Tony's one night. By far the most impressive haube I have ever seen... truely stunning!

Pete
 
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