Here is my last contribution for 2009, and it is about as good as it gets. Clearly I have gone mad, as I can buy a brand-new Ford Focus right off the lot for what I paid for this. By far the most have ever spent. Oh well, you only live once right?
As an actual Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regt. Nr.92 officer's Pickelhaube is so incredibly rare, I looked at this example as critically as I could and looked for flaws or things that did not add up. As per normal. I approached it with my "prove to me you are original" attitude.
I examined the Wappen with a 10X zoom and the outline of eagle absolutely perfectly matches the shell of the helmet. You can trace along the Wappen and the imprint is a perfect match on the lacquer, especially in areas that seem to be different on eagle-to-eagle, such as the sceptre, lower feathers, orb etc. After too many glasses of red wine here one night, I did an experiment and removed a dozen eagle Wappens from officer helmets, plus spares, and not one would match a helmet that it did not come off of. So I am very comfortable that this Wappen is original to this helmet.
The Braunschweig Wappen is without question an original, and everyone I consulted agrees; the critical features of the skull shape and highly detailed Bandeau, especially to the pebbling etc on the bottom as well as other important characteristics are present.
As is correct for these, it is affixed with two brass nuts, and of course the chest is blank when viewed from the back, no Preußen FR cypher. And of course, the Bandeau is the correct FUERST pattern with a fold one each end worn only by IRs 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, and 153.
The three Imperial catalogues I examined, Neumann, Müller, DOV all offered three types of IR92 officer helmets; Ia Qual., II Qual., and "mit echt silbernem Totenkopf". This would appear to be an "entry level" Ia lowest quality fibre helmet, with an interior in smooth fibre, not lined in felt as on higher quality helmets. The maker is Depaheg Pattent, who typically made fibre helmets, which are typically not of the highest quality. The nuts are zinc, so it is a wartime helmet, and the mercury gilding must have been a very thin wash, as it is all gone, but fortunately the fittings are nicely toned brass and not zinc. Even on the base under the removable spike base has lost its wash. The only remaining visible gilding is inside the spike neck, and a bit on the back of the Wappen, which would be correct.
The spike is original to the helmet and it is removable for a Haarbusche. This is important, as if there was doubt about the Wappen being original to the helmet, with a removable spike top it would limit the helmet as being from one of the regiments that wore a Preußen Grenadier eagle Wappen or those with a with a smaller State Wappen overlaid on the eagle who were entitled to wear a Haarbusche. Only Grenadier Regts 2 to 9 (when they wore the old Grenadier Wappen), or the other Regts with equally rare Wappen, like IR 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, and 153 would qualify. A normal line spike would have set alarms off.
The Kokarde is the correct darker share of cornflower blue. I checked the paint age with lacquer remover, and it is old and does not rub off.
And of course, overall condition of the shell, lacquer, and interior is near perfect. And that spike just sets it off; the tallest one I have. Cool huh?
Tony
As an actual Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regt. Nr.92 officer's Pickelhaube is so incredibly rare, I looked at this example as critically as I could and looked for flaws or things that did not add up. As per normal. I approached it with my "prove to me you are original" attitude.
I examined the Wappen with a 10X zoom and the outline of eagle absolutely perfectly matches the shell of the helmet. You can trace along the Wappen and the imprint is a perfect match on the lacquer, especially in areas that seem to be different on eagle-to-eagle, such as the sceptre, lower feathers, orb etc. After too many glasses of red wine here one night, I did an experiment and removed a dozen eagle Wappens from officer helmets, plus spares, and not one would match a helmet that it did not come off of. So I am very comfortable that this Wappen is original to this helmet.
The Braunschweig Wappen is without question an original, and everyone I consulted agrees; the critical features of the skull shape and highly detailed Bandeau, especially to the pebbling etc on the bottom as well as other important characteristics are present.
As is correct for these, it is affixed with two brass nuts, and of course the chest is blank when viewed from the back, no Preußen FR cypher. And of course, the Bandeau is the correct FUERST pattern with a fold one each end worn only by IRs 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, and 153.
The three Imperial catalogues I examined, Neumann, Müller, DOV all offered three types of IR92 officer helmets; Ia Qual., II Qual., and "mit echt silbernem Totenkopf". This would appear to be an "entry level" Ia lowest quality fibre helmet, with an interior in smooth fibre, not lined in felt as on higher quality helmets. The maker is Depaheg Pattent, who typically made fibre helmets, which are typically not of the highest quality. The nuts are zinc, so it is a wartime helmet, and the mercury gilding must have been a very thin wash, as it is all gone, but fortunately the fittings are nicely toned brass and not zinc. Even on the base under the removable spike base has lost its wash. The only remaining visible gilding is inside the spike neck, and a bit on the back of the Wappen, which would be correct.
The spike is original to the helmet and it is removable for a Haarbusche. This is important, as if there was doubt about the Wappen being original to the helmet, with a removable spike top it would limit the helmet as being from one of the regiments that wore a Preußen Grenadier eagle Wappen or those with a with a smaller State Wappen overlaid on the eagle who were entitled to wear a Haarbusche. Only Grenadier Regts 2 to 9 (when they wore the old Grenadier Wappen), or the other Regts with equally rare Wappen, like IR 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, and 153 would qualify. A normal line spike would have set alarms off.
The Kokarde is the correct darker share of cornflower blue. I checked the paint age with lacquer remover, and it is old and does not rub off.
And of course, overall condition of the shell, lacquer, and interior is near perfect. And that spike just sets it off; the tallest one I have. Cool huh?
Tony
