Res. Senior NCO Eigentumhelm, Gren. Regiment 119 / 123

argonne

argonne

Well-known member
Dear gentlemen collectors,
to your consideration, here is my last Haube that I have acquired for a couple of weeks on ebay, from a serious seller who has from time to time quite interesting and scarce stuff, but most of the time very expensive. I think this time it was a very cool bargain... \:D/ (due to the poor frequentation on ebay, because of the wonderful european summer here and the FIFA soccer-cup...) :iconbiggrin:
Here we have an Eigentumhelm worn during the war by a Reserve Senior Portepee NCO in a rank of an Offizierstellvertreter, Fähnrich or maybe Feldwebelleutnant, to compense the great lost of officers in combat. All fittings (but the chinscales and the Reserve cross without motto) are german silver.
Seller mentioned this is Pionierhaube (PB13), but I don´t think so, because of the screwable spike. (as Larcade wrote in Tome I, page 146, the PB13 did not wore any Haarbusch). Consequently this must be a GIR 119 or GIR 123 Haube (XIII Armee-Korps before war. Both units fought in the Argonne forest, especially the 123, which fought there from September 1914 till Autumn 1915 and which was part of the XVI Armee-Korps during this time).
The spike is very tall (10,5 cm) and this helmet is wearing those typical officer wartime chinscales on side posts 91, with soldered rosettes. Most of their gilding has vaporized (as often seen on war Ersatz material) and only the dull grey steel surface is remaining.
Both cokades are the big hole patent to fit on the side posts 91. Interesting is that a Reichs-NCO-Portepee-cockade (48mm) and a Württemberg-Officer-cockade (55mm) have been worn together...? Does somebody knows if it was usual???
This Haube is in a pretty good shape for its age, but the liner is showing evident traces of intensive wear.
Enjoying your comments,
Philippe :salute:


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Philippe,

but I don´t think so, because of the screwable spike.
Click to expand...
One of the things I have gotten from catalogs is that private purchase helmets were almost all sold with a screw in the spike. Apparently, this was done for transport. Just a thought.

Cool helmet! What do you think of the impressions in the leather on the very top near the spike base? Round and somewhat different? Cool combination.
 
Thanks, guys, for your feedback!

Joe, I absolutely have no idea where those traces are coming from... They are not perfectly round. It looks like a light concentric shrinkage around the spike base (on the left side of the top, when you are looking the helmet from the front). But on the right side, it looks like concentric grinding traces (too regular for some shrinkage). However it´s only superficial and there are never been other holes in the shell. Maybe grinding traces made during the manufacture of the helmet, or traces coming from the wearing during the war?.... I really don´t know...
I have posted another pict of this area at the bottom of this reply.
Yes, you might be right with the transport. (screwable spike). I had a few weeks ago a small mail-discussion with Mr. Helmut Weitze, who told me something similar about Eigentumhelmets.
Maybe is this helmet a PB13 Haube!!..... Who knows yet?

Philippe :salute:

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When I saw the rings on the top I was wondering if maybe they came from either being dropped or some type of downward pressure being put on the spike base, or perhaps caused by picking the helmet up by the spike and puting a strain on the leather?
 
Thank you, Adler!
Mike, your thought could be right after observing the left and the front spikes area, because the rings there have those small furrows, typical for shrinkage or strain on the leather. But on the right and back spikes side, the rings are totally different: three impressions of perfect concentric rings... It looks like the spike base has been pressed three consecutive times in the leather a long time ago, before it has been fixed in its final position. However those traces are very old and superficial and the leather around the spike is still very solid and healthy. One of my thought is that those concentrics impressions could have been occasioned during the machinal manufacturing of the helmet, either while drilling the central hole in the shell (unsound local compression place of the drilling machine on the shell) or inaccurate placing or sliding of the spike base on the helmet dome. Does someone on this forum know the way helmets have been be made? I think it was not exclusively manual working (like sewing or cuting leather) but different machines were probably also used for drilling, polishing, stamping and placing the metal fittings. Maybe those concentric rings have been then lacquered and polished after manufacturing, so they were not visible for some time, but year after year and because of long wearing, they came out again... Maybe these traces could also have been made during a war period reparation ???

Philippe :salute:
 
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I am very hesitant to post any information that comes from catalogs. I have a great deal but much of it will just stay here. The first picture shows some assembly–really crappy picture–and you cannot tell about the hole. It seems like the kit helmets came with the hole already made.

The second picture shows a diagram of a helmet blocker–a real one I posted on this forum long ago–surprisingly this big piece of equipment costs only about as much as one helmet.

The text listing below is a translation from the lower half of the same page as the diagram. You could pretty much buy anything from this dealer. While most of this is designed for “issued helmets” the same guy also sold private purchase items. I am sure that there was more than one way to make a helmet for sale. I do not have a step-by-step method yet.

Helmet Accessories made of Leather
helmet shells with ear pieces, liner and visors
helmet shells with ear pieces, liner, without visors
helmet shells without ear pieces, liner and visors
helmet shells with ear pieces, liner and visors, used but appropriate pieces helmet front visors, models 91 or 95
helmet front visors, model 71 (old style)
dito, with front brim fastened, with brads:

brass tombak models 91 or 95 0,55 0,58
model 71 0,65 0,68
rear visors, models 91 or 95
rear visors, model 71 (old style)
ear pieces
leather liner
dito, lace for tying chin strap (without buckle)
leather parts for chin scales, per pair buckle strap for for chin scales [not fully clear ]
buckle clout for chin scales [not fully clear ]
adding new leather parts to chin scales, per pair
dito, additionally with new end pieces
 
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