This is one of those not-a-stunner-but-one-I-really-like kind of helmet. Some of you probably saw it on ebay. Neat story behind it: the seller lives only 20 minutes from me, so I went and picked it up from him. Turns out he's a retired physician who happens to know my father (also a physician). He got the helmet, and several others, from a former patient of his: Col. Robert Rankin who wrote HELMETS AND HEADDRESS OF THE IMPERIAL GERMAN ARMY 1870-1918. He showed me a picture of Rankin in his living room with this and other helmets. The physician is not a collector himself, so he sold this one and a Prussian M15. He's keeping a couple of very nice ones, including a tin ersatz Wuerttemberg and an unbelievable British lancer helmet from the 1880s, I believe.
Anyway, this helmet is very well preserved, stitching very tight, and stamped to IR 170. Chinstrap is broken and repaired, and a couple of liner tongues have ripped through, but overall, I'm very pleased.
David
Anyway, this helmet is very well preserved, stitching very tight, and stamped to IR 170. Chinstrap is broken and repaired, and a couple of liner tongues have ripped through, but overall, I'm very pleased.
David