Jeff Shrader
Member
Hello Pickelhaube friends!
Working on cataloging a client's collection, and as pretty as this one is, I don't like it. Out of obligation to the client, though, I thought I should seek a second opinion. I am not finding any unit for which helmet with a Guard eagle would have a fluted spike on a cruciform base. Stars are gilt, scales are silver. My diagnosis is that this is a Mr. Potato Head helmet - something that was collector-assembled because all of the parts fit together well, and it looks awesome, but has no basis in prescribed reality. I am second-guessing myself, though, since that Guard eagle has been on that helmet for a LONG time, sunk down into the finish on the leather. One side is properly attached; the other missing the nut and washer, but it does appear to be original to this helmet. Annoyingly, though, that is the same for the cruciform base, though the stars do not fit it well two of them barely make it through the leather on the interior and are without nuts or washers. So those are quite easy to label as collector-replaced... but the fluted spike matches this base beautifully and does not have the look or feel of something that was added on just for fun. I would be interested to hear what you all think.
Working on cataloging a client's collection, and as pretty as this one is, I don't like it. Out of obligation to the client, though, I thought I should seek a second opinion. I am not finding any unit for which helmet with a Guard eagle would have a fluted spike on a cruciform base. Stars are gilt, scales are silver. My diagnosis is that this is a Mr. Potato Head helmet - something that was collector-assembled because all of the parts fit together well, and it looks awesome, but has no basis in prescribed reality. I am second-guessing myself, though, since that Guard eagle has been on that helmet for a LONG time, sunk down into the finish on the leather. One side is properly attached; the other missing the nut and washer, but it does appear to be original to this helmet. Annoyingly, though, that is the same for the cruciform base, though the stars do not fit it well two of them barely make it through the leather on the interior and are without nuts or washers. So those are quite easy to label as collector-replaced... but the fluted spike matches this base beautifully and does not have the look or feel of something that was added on just for fun. I would be interested to hear what you all think.