{"product_id":"original-german-wwii-named-early-pattern-metropolitan-police-shako-in-black-by-berolina-size-55","title":"Original German WWII Named Early Pattern Metropolitan Police Shako in Black by Berolina - Size 55","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Early WWII produced police pattern Tschako in black, which pre-dates the more common green wool body version. It has a very fine quality police eagle with an aluminum \u003cem\u003eFeldzeichen\u003c\/em\u003e cockade (often missing), which is in very good used condition, showing some real period wear. We checked the back, and it is not marked, which is not uncommon. The shako is the black type as by the metropolitan police, unlike some of the more common ones found in brown for rural police. The front of the tschako has the correct aluminum NSDAP \u003cem\u003eSchutzpolizei\u003c\/em\u003e (protection police) emblem, retained by the correct nuts and washers on the back. This tschako would have been used by the \u003cem\u003eOrdnungspolizei\u003c\/em\u003e (Order Police), the \u003cem\u003eSchutzpolizei\u003c\/em\u003e (Protection Police), or the \u003cem\u003eGemeindepolizei\u003c\/em\u003e (Local Municipal Police), personnel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe interior is in great shape, showing no major damage or wear, and the beige finished leather sweatband is supple and untorn. It is missing the top tie string, and there is no foam padding present on the underside of the forehead area under the ventilation holes. It shows just a bot of wear from use, so it did see some level of service during the period. Comes complete with original leather chinstrap in very good shape, with some wear to the finish from the buckles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverall the shako shows only light wear, the black lacquered finish still very good, with just a bit of age checking and crazing. There are some small chips on the edges of the top and elsewhere, but no cracks or other major damage. Vents are in very good condition, and are the type that has no slide closure, or they were removed in the past. It is marked with the maker on the inner dome top:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBEROLINA\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(\"Bear on Shield\" Logo)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rear of the liner is very faintly marked with size \u003cstrong\u003e55\u003c\/strong\u003e, and we checked on the underside, but the only marking we saw is the name \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFammler\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverall a fine looking rare early pattern police Shako, ready to add to your collection!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHistory of the shako-\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe word shako originated from the Hungarian name csákós süveg (\"peaked cap\"), which was a part of the uniform of the Hungarian hussar of the 18th century. Other spellings include chako, czako, schako and tschako.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom 1800 on the shako became a common military headdress, worn by the majority of regiments in the armies of Europe and the Americas. Replacing in most instances the light bicorne, the shako was initially considered an improvement. Made of heavy felt and leather, it retained its shape and provided some protection for the soldier's skull, while its visor shaded his eyes. The shako retained this pre-eminence until the mid-19th century, when spiked helmets began to appear in the armies of the various German States, and the more practical kepi replaced it for all but parade wear in the French Army. The Imperial Russian Army substituted a spiked helmet for the shako in 1844-45 but returned to the latter headdress in 1855, before adopting a form of kepi in 1864. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, military fashions changed and cloth or leather helmets based on the German headdress began to supersede the shako in many armies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlthough the mid-nineteenth century shako was impressive in appearance and added to the height of the wearer, it was also heavy and by itself provided little protection against bad weather as most models were made of cloth or felt material over a leather body and peak. Many armies countered this by utilizing specially designed oilskin covers to protect the shako and the wearer from heavy rain while on campaign. The shako provided little protection from enemy action as the most it could offer was in giving partial shielding of the skull from enemy cavalry sabres.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44811781406789,"sku":"ONSV26PCS309","price":595.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/ONSV26PCS309.jpg?v=1774459016","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-german-wwii-named-early-pattern-metropolitan-police-shako-in-black-by-berolina-size-55","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}