M1895 Prussian Pickelhaube, lacquered ersatz

[Hummel]

Nice pick-up Glenn. Congrats.

Hummel

[ww1czechlegion]

That is a VERY Nice Display Glenn, Congratulations!

You have great display & photography skills!

Yes, it sounds like you have the "pickelhaube bug" now, like so many of us do.

Best Regards,

Alan

[Glenn66]

And now, if I may be so bold...a final test for all you good 'haube experts out there. As I am currently fondling this helmet like a 14 year old on his first hot date I have discovered another stamp. As you can see it is basically illegible (to me) but I would like to hope that given we know the depot of origin, perhaps the shape and size of stamp might be linked to another example of better quality out there somewhere in order to decipher?

First the original image...


Then the tweaked version with contrast pumped right up and brightness brought down...


It looks to me like 2 words then a '7 Co'? But as Germans spell 'Kompanie' with a 'K' this doesn't seem likely so i'm a bit lost with it to be honest.

Any thoughts gents?

[Wagriff]

I Think I can Just make it out...it Seems to read "Made in Japan"....but, of course, I could be mistaken...

[oradour]

Glenn, could be a name and company number ? ....................or made in India ! (only joking).
Prost ! Steve.

[Glenn66]

I've read with leather it helps to wet the surface to bring the image of the stamp up but can't imagine this being advisable with felt?

[ww1czechlegion]

Hi Glenn,

I'm 99.99% sure the marking is a maker's mark, especially in light of where it is located.

Yes, on leather you can do one of 2-things to try to better read a faint maker or unit marking: 1.) Either lick the end of your finger print area and run it across the mark, or 2.) Take a slightly damp terry cloth wash cloth and gently run it across the mark to slightly dampen the mark. a 3rd option would be to try using UV light on it.

I seriously doubt that either of these dampening methods would damage your felt helmet. In other words, getting this slight amount of surface dampness on the helmet would not make the felt fall apart.

I'll let you do the legwork on trying to figure out what maker mark this is by using the link I'll provide to Joe Robinson's website: Colonel J's, where he has a special section on maker marks. Here's the website link: Colonel J's - Articles -Helmet Makers

As a side note on your helmet with the folded edge: It's generally known that a regular felt ersatz helmet (non-lacqured exterior) with the rolled & sewn edge was only made by J. Bambus & Co. I used to have a nice helmet by them many years ago. They always placed their maker mark on the side of the leather liner (either the right or left side of it, I can't remember which side). You'll note this maker mark towards the top of Joe's list.

Best Regards,

Alan

[Allegra]

Congratulations on the acquisition - I'm more than a tad jealous - and TBH would love to know how you were able to tell it was ersatz from the photos.

I know I'm showing my ignorance, but even after looking at them for ages, I'm unfortunately none-the-wiser. Is it because of the inside colour?

Cheers

[Glenn66]

To be honest I had no idea it was ersatz either, it was the discerning eye of Karel (Adler) who pointed out the texture appearance of the shell internals as well as the folded nature of the brim. Easy once you know what to look for.

[Steelhead10]

Very nice your first Pickelhaube and its a good condtion felt rare one if you keep finding them like this alot more people are going to be jealous