Original Item. Only One Available. This is one of the scarcest pieces of WWI headgear we have ever offered. During the war, there were roughly 35,000 Wilmer Eye Shields manufactured, but only about a dozen of these ever saw anything other than the inside of a crate. The vast majority of these were melted down after the war, so this is one of roughly 15 still in existence. This is the second example we have offered.

The Wilmer Eye Shield was designed and developed by eye specialist Colonel W. Holland Wilmer. He established the Wilmer Institute of Ophthalmology in Baltimore, MD at Johns Hopkins University in 1925 and served as Founding Director 1925-1934. During the war he designed the Wilmer Eye Shield as a psychological tool which would allow soldiers to charge forward over no man’s land while feeling protected despite a lack of actual protection. The shield would originally have two springs that attached to the holes on the brims of M1917 Doughboy helmets altered for these.

The eye shield measures roughly 7 ½" x 3 ¼" x 3”. These would originally have rubber padding on the backside to attach to the face easier. This example is still painted olive green as these originally were, but the color has darkened and there is some heavy oxidation to the piece, with one side having a small bit of loss due to rust.

These Wilmer goggles are discussed and illustrated in the book “Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare” by Bashford Dean, Copyright 1920, pages 235-236.

This is an extremely scarce piece of WWI headgear, ready for further research and display. There are only roughly 15 left in existence, so don’t miss out on this one.