Original Item. Only One Available. This is an impressive privately purchased Imperial German officer’s Pickelhaube associated with Infanterie-Leib-Regiment “Großherzogin” (3. Großherzoglich Hessisches) Nr. 117 of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Its most distinctive feature is the gilt Hessian lion wappen bearing the dates 1697 and 1897, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the regiment. The helmet retains its officer fittings, Hessian and Reich cockades, chinscales, removable fluted spike, and period interior components, although the exterior leather shell has been completely refinished and the liner appears to be a period replacement.

In 1897, Grand Duchess Victoria Melitta, wife of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hessen was given the title of regimental chief. This title was withdrawn in 1902, the year after the couple’s divorce. Instead from that year, the regiment was awarded the title Großherzogin in memory of Grand Duchess Alice of Hessen (1843-78), daughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, husband of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hessen and mother of the reigning Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig.

In 1914 the regiment was garrisoned at Mainz as part of the 25th Hessian Division of the XVIII Army Corps. During the First World War they served with the rest of the Hessian Division on the Western Front, seeing action at the Battles of the Marne and Verdun. In 1915 the German army trailed 60 Danish Madsen light machine guns by forming two new battalions of automatic guns. In March 1916, these units were re-designated as the new IV and V Battalions of the 117th Regiment. The trial did not go well and the units were transferred to other machine gun companies soon afterwards.

The privately purchased officer’s helmet retains a lovely gilt Hessian wappen. It features the "Crowned Lion" of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, with two tails holding a Sword, with bands visible on the body. The Lion is standing on a platform, with a wreath surrounding it made of Laurels on the left and Oak Leaves on the right. On these wreaths are the years 1697 and 1897, for the 200-year anniversary of the 117th Life Guard of the Grand Duchess Regiment. The wappen has a well-established shadow behind it, and is held in place by two threaded posts, washers, and nuts.

It is complete with the Hessian (Red and Silver) and German National Colors (red white and black) Kokarden (cockades) around the chin strap lugs. In 1897 the new Reichs-Kokarde in Red-White-Black was introduced for all ranks to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kaiser Wilhelm 1st. The Reichs-Kokarde was to be worn on the right side of the helmet, and the state Kokarde was moved to the left, as on this helmet. The attached chinscales are in good order and still connect in the middle, but the leather strap on one side is broken and missing some material, so the strap cannot be buckled. Thankfully they still attach at the center scales.

The entire exterior of the helmet body has been entirely refinished. It appears to have been done long ago, however, and done well, though it is obviously refinished as shown on the edges of the leather liner. There is some crazing and cracking in the leather underneath the refinishing. The rear visor also appears to have been glued back in place on the right and left ends due to loss of stitching, with some glue visible. The spike base and fluted spike are entirely correct for this regiment’s officers, with a similar example shown here being sold for $6,900 in 2014. The spike is still correctly unscrewable for attachment of a parade plume.

The underside of the front visor is green, while the rear is red, a color combination that we see on most of the officer pickelhauben we handle. The interior leather liner looks to be a period-correct replacement. The current liner is too large for this size of helmet however this may have been a choice of the individual officer. There is hand-stitching reconnecting the leather sweatband to the silk skull cap. The interior crown has a large cross-shaped brass plate under the four spike base attachment rivets. Stamped on this brass plate is a gothic crown over A, which may be a cypher for Grand Duchess Alice of Hessen (1843-78), correct for the period this would’ve been worn. There are no other markings on the interior.

An association with Grand Duchess Alice is an interesting possibility because the regiment’s post-1902 honorary title commemorated her, but no documentary evidence has been located confirming that this particular crown over A was her official cypher.

The 117th Regiment had a long history extending back two centuries before WWI. It was originally established in 1697 and subsequently evolved through numerous reorganizations of the Hessian military establishment. By the Imperial period it was one of the principal infantry regiments of the Grand Duchy and was stationed in Mainz. The 1697-1897 anniversary wappen is therefore a particularly distinctive regimental feature and provides the strongest direct connection between this helmet and Regiment Nr. 117.

This example has undergone substantial restoration, particularly to the leather shell and rear visor, and its liner is most likely a period replacement. Even with those issues, the helmet retains a highly distinctive grouping of original-style officer features, including the gilt bicentennial Hessian wappen, removable fluted spike, Hessian and Reich cockades, officer chinscales, and unusual crown over A interior marking. The rare regimental anniversary plate remains the defining historical feature of the helmet and makes it an important representative example of the Hessian 117th Infantry Regiment.