Adler 1

Actually I told a little lie in my last post about the IR 92 pickelhaube with… I will tell the correct story now, the phone call was actually about two haubes and not one… So here’s the real story: It all started with a phone call… from Germany. It was one of my German friends with a really unexpected question: Are you still interested in a nice IR 92? Of course the answer was „YES!“ Then he posed a second question: are you also interested in a second IR 92? My answer (confused) was of course „what are you talking about?“ I think you can already guess his answer… Arrangements were made and a couple of days later I had to drive a few hundred km to meet my friend… but who cares about driving half a day when a man’s dream comes out twice? After a few strong coffees (to prevent shaking) it took me more than an hour to check everything out while my heart was pounding in my throat… but everything was what I expected to see on these two original IR 92 helmets! While the other thread was about the helmet with Totenkopf center wappen, this one is (as you might expect) about the model with the running horse emblem for the first and second Battalion of IR 92, prior to 1912. The helmet came from the same family as the other one, only there’s no provenance about the original owner. It’s in about the same excellent condition and the way it’s made looks almost the same. This makes me conclude that the helmet was made by the same manufacturer. I’ve no proof of that, but it makes me think this helmet might have been owned also by Johann Albrecht, but maybe that’s only wishfull thinking?… Anyway, here are the pictures, so please enjoy! Adler 1

Thank you very much! In the beginning of this thread, I told you guys about another item that came together with this helmet... I know, I know... it was to get you excited a little bit, but here's a teaser picture of "the other item"... I'll make a seperate thread of it soon... Adler

Thank you very much for your great comments gentlemen! Ohh, I'm sorry but still wanted to post just this one item... but I'll wait a short while then, just wanted to keep your spirits up ... I think you will enjoy it also... Here is a picture of duke Johann Albrecht wearing this haube... If someone has other or better pictures of the duke wearing this helmet, please feel free to post them here. Adler

These are getting hard to find nowadays... congratulations! Adler 1

It all started with a phone call… from Germany. It was one of my German friends with a really unexpected question: Are you still interested in a nice IR 92? Of course the answer was „YES!“ I had been looking for one of these for about a hundred years or so! Arrangements were made and a couple of days later I had to drive a few hundred km to meet my friend… but who cares about driving half a day when a man’s dream comes out? After a few strong coffees (to prevent shaking) it took me more than an hour to check everything out while my heart was pounding in my throat… but everything was what I expected to see on an original IR 92! The helmet plate fits correctly to the leather body, no extra holes in the helmet body or eagle, the correct FUERST bandeau has the extra curled ends as it should, the center of the eagle doesn’t have FR under the skull. The skull with femures and Peninsula bandeau still has a lot of silverwash. It’s stamped (not cast) and is super detailed. The Braunschweig kokarde has the correct dark cornflower blue colour with golden ring and the spike is removable to fit a hairbush. As a little bonus, this pickelhaube isn’t just an „ordinary“ officer’s model, it belonged to Herzog Johann Albrecht, who was the regent of the Duchy of Braunschweig from 1907 till 1913. His golden monogram on the liner confirms this. The linerband is made of extra thin luxury leather and the visor and neckguard have a high luxury finish. Oh man… what a rush it was to take this beauty home! Together with this pickelhaube, there was something else, but I’ll post that item later… to keep things exciting of course. Enjoy the pictures gentlemen! Adler 1

Love those steel turtles! Adler 1

Most impressive tunics and other stuff! Adler 1

Very nice displays! Adler 1

Glad you like it Chris! For now, I'll catalog it as a Weimar period for training purposes ... Adler 1

Thank you very much Jock! That also looks very plausible indeed. I hope you can find that book back again... Adler 1

Thank you very much for your comment! That's indeed a possible theory... On another forum someone suggested Weimar period an the "6" might be a company nr. I'll continue my search... Adler 1

Hmmm... no reaction at all? C'mon guys, I really need some help here... Adler 1

As you gentlemen know, my collection is all about Imperial… but now and then, one has to explore a bit out of the box and look at some other stuff also. Sometimes I also find other things that interest me, look good and have the right price. This is one of those cases… A few months ago this transitional came up for sale. I was immediately intruiged by this “6” on the right side of the helmet. The seller didn’t know why it was there or couldn’t think of a possibility… and guess what, I don’t know eighter. The helmet is an M16, maker and size: Si 62. It was repainted with the standard rough army paint and it also received a new liner. There are no traces of a decal. As you can see, the”6” is underneith the top layer of rough paint. This paint is worn off and the “6” became partially visible again. This means that the “6” was there before the repaint, you can also see in the picture that the paint of the “6” had some chemical reaction with the repaint of the helmet. The rough texture of the repaint is also on the liner pins. Two of the pins sit rock solid and the third one can be moved just a little bit. Therefore we can conclude that the liner and pins were there before the repaint. I hope you gentlemen can help me and solve the big question: why is the “6” on this helmet and when was it applied? Maybe Freikorps and Reichswehr have something to do with it, but that’s pure guessing of course… Anyway, if someone has a picture of something like this, it would also be very much appreciated to post it here. Thank you in advance for your help guys! Adler 1

Hi Paul, imo the one in the picture is indeed a copy. It hasn't enough detail and it is also very different from the one in the book... Just look very close at the details and you will find out the differences. The one in the picture is probably one of those cast copys, the originals are pressed and should be very detailed in the front and the back... Adler 1

Thanks for your reply Chris! It was indeed a waste of money to buy a complete new helmet plate, but in those days the prices were more about materials than about labour... certainly during wartime when materials even got scarcer. Normally (in peacetime) the officer who went into reserve had to change at least the helmet plate by one without the motto and the reserve cross should be with the motto. Sometimes the cross is embedded in the helmet plate (see picture of a reserve dragoner)... Adler 1

A while ago, I posted a Bavarian M15 Artillerie officer’s pickelhaube with removable kugel and chinscales. This one is of the same type of construction. It’s a M15 Pickelhaube for a Reserve Offizier der Infanterie from Würtemberg. This helmet has also the same differences with the M95 Pickelhaube. In 1915 the new pickelhaube for all ranks was introduced. The M15 with gray metal fittings, had a removable spike (or kugel) and a leather chinstrap on M91 sideposts. To have the same appearance (with helmet cover) as the enlisted model, the new officer’s model was introduced. The M15 officer’s model had also a removable spike with bayonet fitting and M91 sideposts. Hereby the officer was able to remove the spike and change the chinscales by a leather chinstrap when necessary. By doing so, the officer could be less spotted amongst the regular soldiers. The metal fittings of the M15 were in fact the same as the M95, but inferior materials were used to conserve more precious metals as brass… They received some goldwash instead of being mercury guilded. In this case, just look at the spike, spike base and the rear spine, where almost all of the goldwash is gone… On the other hand, this helmet’s wappen is still a guilded specimen. It has also the inscription on the bandeau and therefore the reserve cross has none. Most of the time the shell of the M15 was made of fiber, but this one was made of leather. Enjoy the pics… Adler 1

Thank you for your comments gentlemen! That's what forums are about... I still learn every day... Adler 1

It's the little slider on top of the rear spine that runs over the back of the helmet. When you slide it down, a small opening in the spine comes free and air can stream into the helmet. In the helmetshell are a few holes just underneath the slider (only visible from the inside of the helmet)... Adler 1

Hmmm... nobody likes artillery pickelhauben ... Adler 1

That’s a rather common enlisted man’s pickelhaube one would say at first sight… Well it’s not… It’s in fact a rare variation of the standard M94-97. The Artillerie didn’t adopt the ventilation system on the rear spine in 1894, as the Infanterie did. So, normally this model shouldn’t have the rear spine vent… But… it seems that just before the introduction of the M15 Pickelhaube a small number of Artillerie Pickelhauben were made with the rear spine vent. I don’t know if this was done to use up stock rear spines with vent or wether it was an attempt to standardize the metal parts. I beleive it was the first possibility, becaus the manufacturers must have known by then that the M15 was coming… Since this Pickelhaube is dated 1915, has factory made holes in the helmet shell to function as ventilation and there are no signs at all of replacing the rear spine, it’s obvious that this is one of those rare birds… Enjoy the pictures… Adler 1

Thanks Eric! The M18 cutout must be in my collection for about 20 years now... Adler 1

Looking good, only too bad the liner is gone... Adler 1

Thanks Brian! Adler 1

Collecting militaria is not the most common hobby it seems. Not everybody is comfortable talking about one of the two World wars… At least that was in 1973 when I started collecting militaria. One day my father was working in the backyard and I had to help him. At a certain moment we found a German bullit of WW2. This was a tremendous find for a kid and soon my interest for military items was sharpened. In a few years I had build up a nice collection, but while serving in the Belgian army in 1979, I needed some money and the collection was the first that had to go. A few years went by… got married, bought a house, became father… the usual stuff. One fine day (in the spring of 1983) we went to a local fleamarket and I couldn’t resist to buy a nice bayonet for a very small price. The price was maybe very small, but the consequences were much much bigger… I started collecting again. In those days things were different… Internet wasn’t invented yet and going to militaria shows was not this evident at all. The key was to have good friends and also good connections. Anyway, I managed to build up a nice collection again, but soon the urge to have a pickelhaube became real. Thanks to a good friend, I managed to purchase my first pickelhaube in 1986… What a fantastic feeling it was, how beautiful this haube was! Oh my God, a dream came true! This little fella seems to have been the starter of my addiction, but I’ve never regretted buying it! So, here it is: an enlisted Prussian pickelhaube of IR26 (Infanterie-Regiment Fürst Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau (1. Magdeburgisches) Nr.26). I know it’s nothing super special, but this little one will never leave my collection… Adler 1

With Garde-Infanterie, the chinscales and star studs have matching color with the helmet plate and the rest of the fittings... You can check out Tony's site: http://www.kaisersbunker.com/gtp/New/infantry1.htm Adler 1