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M1881 Infantry Dress Helmet


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Found these on Richard Williams' site (warrelics.com). Would one of these be correct?

 

What's with the "Discontinued" text at the bottom of the card?

 

Ken-

One of these plates is what you need. The cards they're on don't mean anything. Could be old Bannerman's sales cards. Or the now retired NY Militaria dealer, Peter Hlinka. I recall buying various pieces of insignia from him many years ago that were mounted on a similar type "descriptive card". And by "discontinued", they just meant the plates were obsolete and no longer worn.

My uncle went to the old Castle on Bannerman's Island (on the Hudson River near West Point, NY) back in the 1960's. He acquired a bunch of these NY helmet plates (I still have one he gave me). I remember him telling me there was one room in the castle with nothing but a huge pile of NY State helmet plates. You could still buy them for about 75 cents from the relocated Bannermans store on Long Island , NY in the early 70's (before they went out of business for good).

Kurt

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Thanks Kurt! The prices don't see too bad on these plates. I saw a few on eBay and some of the websites around. Wish $.75 would still get me one :)

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This has turned out to be a good reference thread for the M1881 dress helmet so I'm going to move it to the uniform/headgear section.

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Hey guys,

Here is one one EBay that is listed in the wrong section, or at least badly described.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270136975144

 

I think it looks good, but I would like to read other opinions. I won't be bidding on it, so if it is good, I hope one of you gets it!

 

Sorry, I sent this without proofreading it. There is an 1881 artillery helmet mislisted on EBay. It ends Sunday around 1:00. Good Luck!

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I checked in Gordon Chappell's book on the helmets and didn't see that manufacturer listed as having an Army contract. Not sure if that means anything or not, hopefully our more experienced friends can chime and with some additional guidance.

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I checked in Gordon Chappell's book on the helmets and didn't see that manufacturer listed as having an Army contract. Not sure if that means anything or not, hopefully our more experienced friends can chime and with some additional guidance.

 

That last helmet is a field artillery officer's helmet. It has the buffalo or yak hair plume, gold cords, chain chin strap and the cords that attach to the uniform blouse. Notice that the silver "3" in on the helmet plate. It would have been a private purchase item for an officer, so could have been purchased from any dealer in military goods. If it is original and the photos look good, it was a steal at the winning bid of Three Hundred, something.

Retired

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That last helmet is a field artillery officer's helmet. It has the buffalo or yak hair plume, gold cords, chain chin strap and the cords that attach to the uniform blouse. Notice that the silver "3" in on the helmet plate. It would have been a private purchase item for an officer, so could have been purchased from any dealer in military goods. If it is original and the photos look good, it was a steal at the winning bid of Three Hundred, something.

Retired

 

Bingo -- that's what I was describing above!

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If it is original and the photos look good, it was a steal at the winning bid of Three Hundred, something.

 

"Steal" doesn't even begin to describe it. A few years back, I sold a pretty badly crushed Infantry helmet (probably an NCO, as it was an officers' helmet shell with a chin chain and a yak-hair plume, but it had enlisted cords) for north of $1500.

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Pointedcuffs

Here is a pic of a N.Y. officer helmet and a Regular Army officer helmet. It is hard to see the difference in the picture but the N.Y. helmet is black and the regular army one is dark blue. Also most officer cork helmets are silk lined. Hope this helps.

 

Mario

post-1237-1183683051.jpg

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Pointedcuffs
Here is a pic of a N.Y. officer helmet and a Regular Army officer helmet. It is hard to see the difference in the picture but the N.Y. helmet is black and the regular army one is dark blue. Also most officer cork helmets are silk lined. Hope this helps.

 

Mario

post-1237-1183683186.jpg

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Beautiful helmets!!!!!!! Great reference pictures!

 

Thanks to everyone's input and some additional guidance (Thanks Kurt!), I've been able to secure a nice RA EM helmet. I'll post some pics when it arrives.

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Here are the pics of the one that sold on ePay. I'm posting these here for reference when the auction is removed...

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Here are the pics of the one that sold on ePay. I'm posting these here for reference when the auction is removed...

 

I was the high bidder on the Ebay M1881 Artillery Officer Helmet. The seller shipped it this morning. So, after I receive it next week, I'll post good photos.

Kurt

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Helmet arrived today. Except for one of the side buttons missing, it's totally complete and in excellent condition. Having the original bullion cords is a real plus.

Kurt

post-322-1184022750.jpg

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Finding one of these crossed cannons buttons for the other side (which is missing) will be impossible. Enlisted buttons are common, but this is a gilded type with a ring at the bottom and it screws onto the helmet.

Kurt

post-322-1184022882.jpg

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That helmet is a real beauty!

 

I would think it possible to fabricate a fairly decent substitute for the missing button as a temporary fix. I would think an EM button would be a good start with a brass loop/hook and a proper screw soldered to the back. It could even then be gold plated.

 

G

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  • 7 years later...

Kurt--what you have their is a M1872 button. Either way, I have two loose M1881 gilded officer's buttons in my box. The enlisted and officer's buttons really only differed in the soldered loop and the gilding. Unless you went with an Allien, English made, or Horstmann extra rich 2 piece button of course...

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  • 1 month later...

Here is an original enlisted cavalry helmet. The cords are a little frayed and the shell has a crack in the rear visor but everything is 100% real.

Dick

post-9487-0-62941400-1410618305.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Dick--nice helmet, but the cords are put in backwards and incorrectly through the rings. It needs to be reversed; and the attachment method fixed to be displayed correctly. I've posted some pictures in another post. Also, all the helmets would have had regimental numerals attached--as most of these were put togethers from the 1950s, I'd tell you that you wouldn't be wrong at all to fix it up if you chose to do so.

 

v/r

Wolf

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  • 4 weeks later...

Greetings and thanks to all who have contributed to a great reference! I just acquired what I believe to be a regular army 4th regiment officer's helmet and am seeking confirmation or correction.

 

The cork liner has only fragments remaining and the inside cloth covering has a partial paper maker's label believed to be Horstmann Brothers. The brass circular piece that holds the spike is also stamp marked Horstmann Brothers. Hopefully the pictures attached still have sufficient resolution to help with an assessment.

 

Thanks again for this archive and I look forward to the expert comments on my most recent estate sale auction win!

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post-13283-0-58253700-1414449708.jpg

post-13283-0-78694300-1414449746.jpg

post-13283-0-79575300-1414449839.jpg

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