Are there any Picklehaube experts out there

[Paddy 60th]

Does anyone know whether a felt picklehaube was made that had a leather edging stitched around the whole of the bottom edge ? There was one listed on Ebay recently but the seller has withdrawn it as he was told that it was a 1970's made copy due to this feature.

Roger

[dutchbarge]

Does anyone know whether a felt picklehaube was made that had a leather edging stitched around the whole of the bottom edge ? There was one listed on Ebay recently but the seller has withdrawn it as he was told that it was a 1970's made copy due to this feature.

Roger

Hello Roger,

Yes, Late in 1915 Prussia produced several models of feldgrau ersatz helmets mainly intended for the Serbian campaign which had a pressed felt body with leather edging. These helmets had a removable spike and a small metal disk which bore the unit's number in place of the earlier wappen (Helmet plate). Some models omitted the disk and troops painted a unit number on the helmet.

Cheers, Bill

[wainfleet]

Roger

The photos were pretty good and it looked very convincing to me, certainly too good for a 70s copy. It started at 100 and there was no interest for some time, then one bid went on. Imperial German is not my area and I was about to send the link to a friend who collects that, when it vanished. I assumed that either someone had mailed the vendor an offer and he'd pulled it, or he thought it was going to sell for nothing, got in a panic and pulled it.

Regards,

W.

[Paddy 60th]

Hello Roger,

Yes, Late in 1915 Prussia produced several models of feldgrau ersatz helmets mainly intended for the Serbian campaign which had a pressed felt body with leather edging. These helmets had a removable spike and a small metal disk which bore the unit's number in place of the earlier wappen (Helmet plate). Some models omitted the disk and troops painted a unit number on the helmet.

Cheers, Bill

Hi Bill

Thanks for that info - at some time in the past I'm sure I've seen pictures of a similar model. As Wainfleet says in his posting, it looks too good to be a 70's copy.

Regards, Roger

[auchonvillerssomme]

Interesting link to another thread if he followed the advice of 'experts' and removed it from sale.

[wainfleet]

Interesting link to another thread if he followed the advice of 'experts' and removed it from sale.

I haven't seen anyone on the GWF describe themselves as an "expert", and any offers of assistance have been made subject to the caveat that this is an opinion only. What's happening here is that some Pals would like to help other Pals avoid making duff purchases. Whatever you think of that idea, that is the intention, pure and simple. It seemed like a positive one to me when I suggested it. I am sorry that you and one or two others appear to disagree strongly, but I cannot see what is positive about making sarcastic comments which merely cause bad feeling. So if you have a specific objection, how about stating it explicitly here and now.

[Paddy 60th]

Interesting link to another thread if he followed the advice of 'experts' and removed it from sale.

Can't find the 'link' !

[wainfleet]

Roger

There are two or three threads on the same theme that the previous poster might be referring to, but it is probably the Antiques Roadshow thread, under Miscellaneous.

Regards,

W.

[dutchbarge]

Hi Bill

it looks too good to be a 70's copy.

Regards, Roger

[/quote

Hello Roger,

There are some cracking good copies floating around...........anything which has been made can be remade. Whether or not it can be passed off as an original to an informed buyer really depends only upon how much the counterfeiter wants to spend duplicating the original. Many years ago I purchased a similar filzhut at a militaria fair held at a leisure center in Gloucester. I was over the moon with how little I paid for it. Turns out it was a re-blocked gentleman's gray felt hat to which were affixed the correct original wappen, spike, liner, chinstrap posts, etc. Although I was very angry (not to mention embarrassed) about having been stitched up, I nevertheless appreciated the skill of the forger.......it really did look absolutely correct and original and I might never have discovered it was duff unless another collector with vastly more experience than myself pointed out that the age 'scuffs' and blemishes on the crown of filzhut's felt body were in fact the remains of the old gentleman's hat's former creases. Once it was pointed out to me it was instantly recognizable. (Hint: be suspicious of anyone selling a filzhut who also collects antique gentlemen's gray felt hats).

Cheers, Bill