M1842 Landwehr officer helmet

Sandmann

Sandmann

Well-known member
Dear fellow collectors,
I‘m very happy to present you my latest find, which I'm very proud about. It is a beautiful helmet M1842 of a Landwehr officer in an excellent and untouched condition. It has no double holes, all the squared bow nuts plus washers are present and there is even a paper strip under the liner with light signs of wear, most likely from the original owner. Considering that the helmet is about 180 years old or somewhat older, I find it particularly impressive that the paper strip has survived this long time in such excellent condition. All fittings of the helmet were fire-gilded, but the gilding is slightly rubbed. Only the fire gilding of the eagle plate is in good condition and shines brightly ✨

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a maker's mark or handwritten note inside, so I can't say anything about the former owner or the Landwehr regiment in which he served. However, I can give the following information about the helmet:
  • Total height of the pickelhaube: 37,0 cm
  • Height of the leather shell: 16,5 cm
  • Height of the spike: 14,0 cm
  • Width of the front visor: 6,0 cm
  • Width of the rear visor: 7,0 cm
  • The interior is made of Moroccan leather in finest private purchase quality. The front and rear visors are covered with green and red Moroccan leather and the liner is made of the finest officer quality black Moroccan leather with squared tongues
  • Dimensions of the eagle plate: 12,5 cm (H) x 14,0 cm (W)
  • Diameter of the leather cockade for officers: 7,4 cm
  • The curved chinscales are 3,5 cm wide at the back and tapers to 1,2 cm at the bottom. They don't have a knob/eyelet attachment, meaning the chinscales are from the first edition. The rosettes measure 3,5 cm x 4,0 cm.
  • Weight of the helmet: still 770 g
257E99EE-C26C-4A7D-89BA-EEE8CAFB9C9F.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Sandy:

That's an amazingly great helmet. The condition is superb given its age. In any collection looking to show the evolution of the Pickelhaube that would be the cornerstone piece.

Congratulations on finding it.
 
Thank you very much gentlemen, I appreciate your opinions 🥳
Hope I will have a helmet of all models one day, but it will still take years 😵🥲
 
Thank you! That is a remarkably well preserved helmet. It looks like someone put it away carefully.
 
Thank you very much guys. You are right Nacuaa, fortunately the helmet has been carefully stored 🙏😇🙏
@Frank: Of enlisted men helmets I already have a M60, M71, M87 and M91. Further some officer helmets around 1900 and this M42. Like I said, it will surely take a few years if I ever make it at all, but that's okay... if you could always get everything at once, collecting wouldn't be half as fun 🤩
 
Sandmann said:
Dear fellow collectors,
I‘m very happy to present you my latest find, which I'm very proud about. It is a beautiful helmet M1842 of a Landwehr officer in an excellent and untouched condition. It has no double holes, all the squared bow nuts plus washers are present and there is even a paper strip under the liner with light signs of wear, most likely from the original owner. Considering that the helmet is about 180 years old or somewhat older, I find it particularly impressive that the paper strip has survived this long time in such excellent condition. All fittings of the helmet were fire-gilded, but the gilding is slightly rubbed. Only the fire gilding of the eagle plate is in good condition and shines brightly ✨

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a maker's mark or handwritten note inside, so I can't say anything about the former owner or the Landwehr regiment in which he served. However, I can give the following information about the helmet:
  • Total height of the pickelhaube: 37,0 cm
  • Height of the leather shell: 16,5 cm
  • Height of the spike: 14,0 cm
  • Width of the front visor: 6,0 cm
  • Width of the rear visor: 7,0 cm
  • The interior is made of Moroccan leather in finest private purchase quality. The front and rear visors are covered with green and red Moroccan leather and the liner is made of the finest officer quality black Moroccan leather with squared tongues
  • Dimensions of the eagle plate: 12,5 cm (H) x 14,0 cm (W)
  • Diameter of the leather cockade for officers: 7,4 cm
  • The curved chinscales are 3,5 cm wide at the back and tapers to 1,2 cm at the bottom. They don't have a knob/eyelet attachment, meaning the chinscales are from the first edition. The rosettes measure 3,5 cm x 4,0 cm.
  • Weight of the helmet: still 770 g
View attachment 37426
View attachment 37417View attachment 37418View attachment 37419View attachment 37421View attachment 37420View attachment 37424View attachment 37427View attachment 37422View attachment 37423
Click to expand...
Excellent helmet
Thanks for the photos and the post
Steve
 
This helmet and its condition is an outstanding example of the discussion we had last year (?) that Tony initiated with his observations that since almost all of these surviving officer helmets are Landwehr, they were surely regular army originally but refitted with these plates following reassignment of the helmet's owner. Being essentially the symbol of the old Friederich Wilhelm IV army they would just be put away to be passed down as heirlooms. I can't imagine that anyone is going to have anything like this cut down or refitted in any way.... but then has anyone ever actually checked to see if their M57-60 officer helmets are cut down M42's though.
 
Nacuaa said:
This helmet and its condition is an outstanding example of the discussion we had last year (?) that Tony initiated with his observations that since almost all of these surviving officer helmets are Landwehr, they were surely regular army originally but refitted with these plates following reassignment of the helmet's owner. Being essentially the symbol of the old Friederich Wilhelm IV army they would just be put away to be passed down as heirlooms. I can't imagine that anyone is going to have anything like this cut down or refitted in any way.... but then has anyone ever actually checked to see if their M57-60 officer helmets are cut down M42's though.
Click to expand...
I don't know the early helmets
but I have 2 questions
It is an officer's helmet , so was it not his property since he paid for it ?
Or did the Landwehr have different rules back then ?
#2. it that kokard the correct style for an early helmet ?
Thanks
Steve
 
Congratulations on getting a Preussen 1842. Not many people can say they have one and your new example is pristine. Superb! Your new officer 1842 seems to have the same tall ovoid shape which is a very interesting thing about these early helmets.

I drink to your good fortune and health.

2788371C-A1FC-4FD7-AB41-368EC43B57D9.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Thank you Steve and Tony, I appreciate your opinions.

Tony, I love your collection and your M1842 too. I wish I could meet you one day and see your collection in person 🙏

Steve, you are right, it is a porperty helmet and because of the superb condition without double holes I think it was a new buy from the original owner when he switched to the inactictive service and not a modified helmet. Because of the chinscale without knob/eyelett fastening I think this happened in the very first years after introduction of the Pickelhaube. Concerning the cockade, it is a 7,4 mm leather cockade for officers in the best condition I have ever seen. It is already pressed like a sheet metal cockade and is correct from the introduction if the M1842 until the introduction of the sheet metal cockades. But the definition of the helmet design was not yet that detailed, which is why there were some different looks of the early helmets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top