pith helmet…Original or Repro?

[Dave66]

Morning all,

Had this some years, wasn’t expensive and displays well, but never been sure as to its authenticity as no makers label or any indication as to age. I don’t handle or see many of these, but I’m sure many of the older collectors would know instantly of its originality….it may even be a bandsman’s hat as far as I know….I’ll let the pics below do the talking.

Many thanks,

Dave.

Edited 5 January , 2023 by Dave66

[Chasemuseum]

Looks good, never issued or used. May have been given a coat of post 1950s shoe whitener with a polymer binder.

[Dave66]

Thanks for that, would anyone care to have an educated estimate as to age….the earlier ones always seem to have a cloth interior, so I don’t think it’s boer war era, as this is an oilskin/Rexine type I’ve assumed it’s Great War or interwar period, but never been able to confirm this. 
When I first got this it was scuffed and dirty, I initially tried to remove this old white, only to reveal that a previous owner had given it a coat of grey/green gloss paint….as this was impossible to shift i went over it with a coat of Matt Dulux!….easy enough to remove if needed.

Thanks,

Dave.

[derekb]

In about 1956 there was a shop near where I lived, it sold almost everything imaginable, I can remember seeing at various times piles of unissued naval ratings caps, all blue and also white topped, the liners for American steel helmet, and also foreign service helmets very similar to the one illustrated but in khaki, all of the helmets and caps were unissued, my mother bought me one of each, how I wish I had them now, I haven’t a clue what happened to them.

[Dave66]

That’s interesting Derek, thank you. 

 

[Chasemuseum]

The band around the outside is possibly an indicator of age. The Boer War era helmets appear to have had a band that was about three quarters of an inch. This example has a much wider band. To me this indicates that it was intended to be used with the thickly bound "Indian" type pugaree that could be taken off, soaked in water and put back on to cool the wearer for several hours.

[Jerry B]

interwars, you can tell by the liner mounting using metal pins similar to the split paper clip or later

[Dave66]

Excellent, thanks for your replies…..greatly appreciated.

Dave.

Edited 8 January , 2023 by Dave66