Newly Acquired Tschapka Info Wanted

S

saywhat

New member
Hi I am new here. I just picked up this helmet. Never had this style. Can anyone tell me anything about it. Prussian Officers Tschapka? The chinstrap is fragile and missing a little on the right side.
Thanks
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Hello saywhat, and welcome.

Your helmet is an officer's private purchase Tschapka representing Ulanen Regiments 1 – 3. Ulans were cavalry lancers. You found a rare one.

Chas
 
Alte Regimenter Wappen with the FWR cypher.
Private purchase (for field use). The parade version was far too exclusive (and expensive) for daily/field use!

Great helmet!
Rgds,
Francis
 
Khukri said:
Alte Regimenter Wappen with the FWR cypher.
Private purchase (for field use). The parade version was far too exclusive (and expensive) for daily/field use!
Click to expand...

Sorry Francis, I did not quite get your point. Officer helmets were all, by definition, private purchases. A field Tschapka is just a parade Tschapka without the removable Fangschnurr, Rabatte and Haarbusch (even though most officers probably owned different ones on the field and in parade).

Nice, rare and interesting Tschapka, despite the poor condition. And the nobility cypher in the liner adds to it. Can you tell us something about the history of this helmet? Where did you find it?
Bruno
 
Hi: I got it from an antique shop that is not open very often in upstate NY. The owner likes military stuff and I think he had owned it for a long time. It had been there for quite a while. I didn't want to spend any money on it so I traded a German sword for it. No other background than that. I have probably been looking at it on and off for over a year. What is the time frame these were used? WWI or pre WWI and if pre what dates. Thanks,
Rod
 
saywhat said:
Oh also what does the nobility cypher mean?
Click to expand...

The cypher shows the initial of the owner, who was obviously an aristocrat (not uncommon in Ulanen regiments). I cannot make it out from the picture but if you do it might be worth looking at "Ranglisten"; you might narrow his identity down to a few candidates. The shell is of the fancy type, made of 4 pieces of leather sewn together.
It is impossible to date the Tschapka with precision. I would say, anywhere from the mid-1890's to the end of WW1...
 
The crown is for a Graf (Moderne Grafenkrone) and the initial looks like a "D"
Reference A Guide to Collecting the Headgear of the 1914 German Army, Page 235.
Very nice find. I love the headgear with the monograms. Searching through the Rangliste is always fun.
 
Very Nice Tschapka. Would be worth restoring and I would highly recommend Brian Loree who restored Officers Tschapka which was a my basket case last year. If you go to the Forum's Restoration section and look at the 11th Ulan restoration you will see first hand the museum quality restoration work he does.
 
Yes, a "Very Lucky" find indeed. Congrats SW, that piece is definitely worth restoring. I have responded to your PM.
 
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