Thomas

Chris, do you only collect WWi jaeger? Do you the colored pre-war cap for bavarian Jaeger as well? i know those are very rare. A drawing can be seen here on the new hat charts, but I would really like to see a photo of a real one. http://www.kaisersbunker.com/ht/farben/farben2.htm

Just the photos:

LOL!!

I am on his mailing list so I got this when he opened but and all I can say is WOW!!!!! Finally one place to go to conform what a hat is or should look like. And the best explanations I have ever seen for Eidelweiss and the hussar skulls. And the photos! Its like getting a free reference book with everything I need.

Wonderful! even if I could afford all three of those items, I would never be able to find them? congrats!

German fighter ace, Leutnant Walter von Bulow-Bothkamp seen in the Hussars uniform shown above which he continued to wear after transfering to the German Army Air Service.

In that famous photo, Leutnant Walter von Bulow-Bothkamp is wearing a field grey M1910 hussar atilla. The one you you first showed a photo of is a pre war attila.

I'm no expert, but according to a reference work I have, Imperial German Headgear (1888-1914) Field Guide by James D. Turinetti and Jn. Albert O'Connor, enlisted men's train helmets had brass chin scales for parade dress, leather chin straps for the field.

I think the answer above by Turinetti and O'Connor was not well researched. I asked about this once with the author of this: http://www.kaisersbunker.com/pt/pickelhaube.htm

Regarding his saying under the Dragoon helmet "In 1894 the Infantry pattern mounts for removable chinscales were adopted and in 1914 leather chinstraps with wider M1891 mounts were introduced to replace the gilt chinscales in the field. Photographs as late as 1915, however, show chinscales still being worn."

he immediately sent me a dozen photo of artillery, train and dragoon soldiers etc. all in field grey, all wearing chin scales. So I beleive him, that it was not just for parades, but that scales were still worn by many units in the field, hidden by thier helmet covers.

Or an Officer's ?berrock? here is one you can look at on the Kaisers bunker site.

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/dunkelblau/tunics/dbt08.htm

Welcome your views, Tony has said the same, the shape ihowever s the same as on the website and while I agree the pelt is strange it was not unknown to have brown fur, if the skull is a copy then I will return it if it is not (and it looks like its been on there for ever) I shall keep it (it was cheap) thanks again, Paul

Its not just the shape, its how it is made. The inside top on original EM examples are cardboard, the sides are cane tied together. he has interior photos there. Plus, I just checked his list of hussar regiments http://www.kaisersbunker.com/gtp/New/husar0.htm and the two Leib hussars were not in the Guard Corps. Yours is marked for the guard corps I beleive, which is not correct either. As I said, I was offered something like this, he explained to me that it was probably a real busby, just not a german one, He called it a "prussianized" busby of some sort, probably british. So, that e-mail saved me over $2000.

Thta may be old, but I am pretty sure it is not German. I was offered something like this and compared it carefully to the originals on this web site http://www.kaisersbunker.com/pt/pelzmutze.htm and it was not even close. The inside should be cane and otehr materials, and the hair on the one that you posted looks like it came off an old coat. Mr. Lumsden can comment better, but that looks like a replica skull too.

No comments as to why the double reverses? Thanks, Steve

How does someone comment on this, other than I love it! You are lucky to find this.

But officer caps and coats??? Good grief!

And Deckoffizier visor caps and frock coats are even harder to find. The collector freind that Mr dwmosher posted is a very lucky collector. I have never seen anyone with both a Deckoffizier and officer visor cap.

Are you sure that is K?rassier? Isn't that a Train Battalion sabre?

Thank you for the answer. If the cap was the same, then it makes sense that a cadet would buy his visor cap as a Seekadett and then when he was promoted to Leutnant z. See he would sew the crown and oak leaves insignia on the same cap. Interesting.

Mr Research,

In the picture above of The Friedrich von Arnauld de la Peri?re in 1905 he only has a cockade on his cap. Is that a cadet cap of some sort? The uniform is navy but I do not know what that cap is? Thank you.

But it still does not answer the question as to why they are so elusive. Imperial navy Jap caps are fairly easy to come by come to think of it.

I had this discussion with a collector up in Canada I write to who has been searching for years for a navy officer and deckoffizier visor cap, he thought there were 5 reasons, and I am cutting and pasting this right from his email.

1. It was the some elements of the Kaiserliche-Marine that mutinied in 29 October 1918 on ships in harbor at Wilhelmshaven, followed by Kiel four days later. Perhaps many of Offizier and Deckoffizier effects were thrown overboard by the mutineers, perhaps some joined and removed their wreaths;

2. Offizier and Deckoffizier presumably had two Schirmm?tze, one for daily wear that they sweated in, one for formal wear. Any second caps may have been on board ships during the grand scuttle at Scapa Flow and were lost on 21 June 1919 when Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter gave the order to scuttle the fleet. Fifty-three ships sank and nine German officers and sailors were murdered by the British in revenge (the last German casualties of the First World War);

3. many men of those ranks almost certainly joined the Reichsmarine in 1919 and wore their old Kaiserliche-Marine Schirmm?tze, with Reichsmarine insignia.

4. as strategic ports, Kiel, Wilhelmshaven, and Bremerhaven suffered major air raids and were almost completely destroyed. So any items in family possessions, may have been destoyed as well in 1945

5. the Marine bases were taken by the Soviets in WWII and were absolutely gutted of everything. Even heavy equipment was removed and taken back to the Soviet Union. Unlike the British who lived on-board, German ships were meant for battle with very meager living quarters. The crews lived in port in barracks and only went to sea to fight. So any items in family possessions, in homes not destroyed, may have been looted in 1945 by Soviet troops.

So actual original Imperial German navy caps, are very very rare.

If you are talking about officer's headgear, I agree. There is not much to be had. I have been collecting for over 40 years and these have been tough to find as long as I can remember.

Deckoffizier visor caps and frock coats are even harder to find than officers caps and coats. I have never seen an original Deckoffizier's visor cap in a collection. I have only seen one in some photos of a German navy museum that were sent to me.

Nice! That is the same mark as on mine. It's on the list as Known Silver Content Marks on EK2 at the bottom. http://www.kaisersbunker.com/stuff/1914_EK2_makers.htm

are these eagles are rare?

Yes they are. I am missing one myself for a helmet. Saw one at Helmut Weitze, it was around $450 I think, so i couldnt afford it. Did Tony at kaisers bunker say you could use his picture?

Robert, look here. http://www.kaisersbunker.com/hp/wappen.htm

I asked Tony if I could post this here, and he said to, and I quote "fill my boots" which means yes apparently. This is the link to the uniform and helmet. http://www.kaisersbunker.com/dunkelblau/tunics/dbt03.htm

I don't collect prewar but a set like this could change my mind!

Has anyone else seen this? I was amazed. its like a reference book!

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/ceftp/index.htm

Is there a jaw ropping emotion in here? That is the most incredible helmet I have ever seen.

Some German states used a lighter color blue for their uniforms than Prussia.

There is quite a good explanation at this link, check out the color plates at the bottom to see how different the colors were. http://www.kaisersbunker.com/gtp/waffenrock.htm

there is nothing wrong with that pickelhaube, except that it is really showing the effects of time.

if you look at helmets in Kaisers Bunker that you mentioned, you will see that almost all of the pre-war helmets (like yours) have black liners. The brown liners do not appear until you start looking through the "feldgrau" helmets, mostly the leather Model 1915s by the looks of it.

That small hole on the bottom of the rear visor was discussed in an article by the same fellow who put Kaisers Bunker on the net for us.

Here is the link: http://www.pickelhaubes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1211

That group is that forum is a good bunch by the way, the deal only with spiked helmets.

EKs are "small wares." Some have crowns.

Only one company that I know of used a crown on their EKs, that was Godet. the other 145,000 issued EK 1 and countless other private sold ones do not. So the "logic" that every silver item MUST have a crwon is wrong. This is not my original idea i admit it is from a thread on the WA forum and it makes perfect sense to me.