Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good original German Imperial-era fire brigade helmet in the traditional Pickelhaube-inspired style, constructed from hardened or boiled leather with brass fittings, a prominent brass crest comb, and a distinctive front badge inscribed BICKENDORF. The helmet retains its complete leather liner, original chinstrap, brass side bosses, and a maker-marked backing washer from August Hönig GmbH of Köln-Nippes, one of Germany’s long-established manufacturers of firefighting equipment.

The helmet is in excellent overall condition, and is stamped with size 55 on the interior crown. The full leather liner is intact with the original tie string and all tongues. There is a name inscribed on the liner, Ronien(?).

The original leather chinstrap is intact and unbroken with a functional but oxidized buckle. There is verdigris on the two side bosses holding the chinstrap in place, with some minor degradation on the leather near the bosses. The boiled leather body is in excellent condition with both visors retained. The back of the front plate has a maker-embossed washer, which reads:

AUG. HÖNIG G.M.B.H.
KOLN-NIPPES

The company August Hönig GmbH was founded in 1832 by August Hönig ; the company specialized in the manufacture of firefighting equipment. Its first location was in Cologne, on Breite Straße; a few years later, it moved to Gereonsmühlengasse. Fritz Hönig, the founder's son (born 1833, died 1903), managed and expanded the business after his father's death. He was a respected dialect author, among other works, he published the "Dictionary of the Cologne Dialect" in 1877.

Around 1902, the company moved to premises at Geldernstraße 48 in Nippes ( today the street belongs to the Bilderstöckchen district ). The company grounds were located directly north of the old Nippes cemetery . In 1923, Josef Grohé , later Gauleiter (regional leader of the NSDAP Party), who lived in Nippes at the time, became a department head at the Hönig company. In the 1930s, the company was an important employer in Nippes (approximately 300 employees in 1934). The factory was completely destroyed during World War II, but was quickly rebuilt after the war. The company soon had around 170 employees again. In 1981, the company relocated to Lichstraße in Cologne - Ehrenfeld. The former Hönig company premises on Geldernstraße now form the northernmost point of the Cologne Dairy site. Geldernpark lies directly to the north.

This is one of the best firefighter helmets we have ever offered. This example is particularly noteworthy for the combination of its Pickelhaube-style hardened-leather construction, Bickendorf front badge, complete liner and chinstrap, size 55 marking, and clearly identified August Hönig GmbH Köln-Nippes maker washer. Its unusually complete state of preservation makes it a strong example of early German municipal or volunteer fire-brigade headgear from the Imperial period.