SkipperJohn
Well-known member
I recently found this jewel marked to Infanterie Regiment Freiherr von Sparr (3.Westfälisches) Nr.16 stationed in Köln and attached to the VII Armee Korps:
It is a Model 1891 in every way, probably upgraded from a previous Model 1887:
The leather is much thicker than that found on a Model 1895, and the brass is made of a heavier gauge. This helmet was obviously upgraded again in 1897 with the new Reichs Kokarde:
Like all M91's there is no vent on the rear spine:
The spike rotates to open and close the vent holes, common to all Pickelhauben until the Model 1895. Unfortunately this one is stuck in the closed position:
The liner is somewhat unusual. It is brown and shiny. There is no indication that is was polished or waxed and it is old leather. It reminds me of the calfskin liners seen in some officer helmets. I suppose it could have been dyed black at one time and all of the dye wore off. It is undoubtedly original but I have never seen another quite like it:
Most of the black dye has worn off of the chin strap and there were vast amounts of verdigris around the brass fittings. The Wappen is a heavier gauge brass than a Model 1895 Wappen and is held on with screw posts. The verdigris on the reverse of the Wappen was so bad that the threads were eaten on one of the retaining nuts:
One of the holes for the Wappen has been slightly elongated, probably to hold the Wappen from a previous unit. Initially this helmet was assigned to Infantry Regiment Nr. 96. This can be seen in scratched out red paint (JR96):
Infantry Regiment 96 used three different Wappen plates:
1st Bn - Prussian Gilt Line Eagle
2nd Bn - "FUERST" Gilt Line Eagle with a Reuss Wappen attachment.
3rd Bn - "FUERST" Gilt Line Eagle with a Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Wappen attachment.
A Roman numeral III can barely be seen in red paint:
The most current unit this helmet was assigned to was Infantry Regiment Nr. 16. This regiment used the Prussian Line Eagle for all battalions. The unit "16RJRJ" can be seen clearly stamped into the leather of the rear visor:
I am uncertain why the unit marking has a repetition "16 RJ RJ". There are no numbers prior to the second, repetitive, "RJ". The Battalion number is also marked "3 B". In the photo the "3" looks like an "8", but it is definitely a "3". There is another mark, "120" that looks to be done in written script. I have no idea what this would be.
This helmet came from a very humid area and when I first obtained this helmet it had a very bad problem with verdigris. It was the thick, wet, pasty type and it was between the spike base and skull, the ends of the visor trim, the underside of the spine, on the chin strap hardware, and on the Wappen. I carefully removed the grime and verdigris with a soft brush and vinegar. The chin strap is very dark, and I didn't notice how brown it was until I took photos with a flash. The black dye is almost completely gone. I hope I didn't contribute to this when I was cleaning. Now that the entire helmet has dried out, I am very pleased with the results.
John
It is a Model 1891 in every way, probably upgraded from a previous Model 1887:
The leather is much thicker than that found on a Model 1895, and the brass is made of a heavier gauge. This helmet was obviously upgraded again in 1897 with the new Reichs Kokarde:
Like all M91's there is no vent on the rear spine:
The spike rotates to open and close the vent holes, common to all Pickelhauben until the Model 1895. Unfortunately this one is stuck in the closed position:
The liner is somewhat unusual. It is brown and shiny. There is no indication that is was polished or waxed and it is old leather. It reminds me of the calfskin liners seen in some officer helmets. I suppose it could have been dyed black at one time and all of the dye wore off. It is undoubtedly original but I have never seen another quite like it:
Most of the black dye has worn off of the chin strap and there were vast amounts of verdigris around the brass fittings. The Wappen is a heavier gauge brass than a Model 1895 Wappen and is held on with screw posts. The verdigris on the reverse of the Wappen was so bad that the threads were eaten on one of the retaining nuts:
One of the holes for the Wappen has been slightly elongated, probably to hold the Wappen from a previous unit. Initially this helmet was assigned to Infantry Regiment Nr. 96. This can be seen in scratched out red paint (JR96):
Infantry Regiment 96 used three different Wappen plates:
1st Bn - Prussian Gilt Line Eagle
2nd Bn - "FUERST" Gilt Line Eagle with a Reuss Wappen attachment.
3rd Bn - "FUERST" Gilt Line Eagle with a Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Wappen attachment.
A Roman numeral III can barely be seen in red paint:
The most current unit this helmet was assigned to was Infantry Regiment Nr. 16. This regiment used the Prussian Line Eagle for all battalions. The unit "16RJRJ" can be seen clearly stamped into the leather of the rear visor:
I am uncertain why the unit marking has a repetition "16 RJ RJ". There are no numbers prior to the second, repetitive, "RJ". The Battalion number is also marked "3 B". In the photo the "3" looks like an "8", but it is definitely a "3". There is another mark, "120" that looks to be done in written script. I have no idea what this would be.
This helmet came from a very humid area and when I first obtained this helmet it had a very bad problem with verdigris. It was the thick, wet, pasty type and it was between the spike base and skull, the ends of the visor trim, the underside of the spine, on the chin strap hardware, and on the Wappen. I carefully removed the grime and verdigris with a soft brush and vinegar. The chin strap is very dark, and I didn't notice how brown it was until I took photos with a flash. The black dye is almost completely gone. I hope I didn't contribute to this when I was cleaning. Now that the entire helmet has dried out, I am very pleased with the results.
John
