Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Imperial Baden Landwehr Reserve Infantry Officer’s pickelhaube. It is complete with all original parts, one of the nicest we have received recently.

The M1895 was the final pre-1914 evolution in a long series of spiked helmets. It displays lovely condition with German golden / brass fittings and Wappen (Baden) and comes complete with a lovely original officer’s leather liner marked Awes-Marke and Original chinscales. The spike on top denotes infantry issue and retains the correct officer’s spike base chin strap lugs, officer’s cockades, and chin scales. Pickelhaubes with German Silver fittings and Wappen were worn by Line Infantry Units (dependent upon regiment), and Pionier (Engineer) units.

This helmet features a polished brass front plate (wappen) with the Crowned Heraldic Griffin clutching a sword and resting on the Baden state shield. Below this is the Grand Duchy's motto: MIT GOTT F. FUERST U. VATERLAND (With God for Prince, or Grand Duke, and Fatherland). There is a large "Iron Cross" emblem on the breast of the eagle, which is marked in very small text with the motto:

Mit Gott
Für Fuerst und Vaterland

The helmet bears both the red, white, and black national cockade as well as the red and gold state cockade for Baden. The interior features a fine quality tan leather sweatband and artificial silk lining which is in fair shape overall although the silk lining is breaking on one side. It is stamped Awes-Marke, and the same maker’s logo is stamped onto the silk lining. The underside of the spine is marked with a Size, 55.

The helmet does have some crazing to the body with some of the back misshapen, and there are some dents across the body. 

This is a great example of an Imperial German Baden Landwehr officer’s helmet, ready for further research and display!

The Pickelhaube-
Germany’s Pickelhaube helmet, distinguished by a lone spike jutting straight from its top, became a symbol of Prussian militarism in the early 20th century. Introduced by the Prussian military in 1843, the Pickelhaube was originally proposed for use by cavalry troops. The helmets, made of pressed leather, were developed as an updated solution to the conical shako hats worn by Prussians during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleonic-era shakos offered virtually no head protection and were cumbersome to wear in wet conditions, as they easily soaked up rain. The Pickelhaube, therefore, was greeted as a practical modern invention. The new “leather helmets” or “helmets with spikes” gave soldiers’ greater head covering and visibility.

The distinctive spike on the Pickelhaube was supposed to function as a blade tip. It was designed to deflect sword blows aimed at the head. The spikes could be modified depending on soldiers’ battlefield duties and outfitted with plumes on formal occasions.

Use of the helmet became widespread throughout Germany and was even adopted by regional police forces and fire brigades. The helmet was often greeted with sarcasm and mockery, even within Germany. In 1843, the famous German poet, Heinrich Heine, wrote and published a satiric poem, “Germany: A Winter’s Tale,” in the poem, Heine compared the Pickelhaube to a lightning rod:

“Yes, yes, I like the helmet, it demonstrates the loftiest wit!
A kingly inspiration, it was! Complete with a point and tip!
I’m just afraid a storm will come and only too easily hit,
That romantic crown of yours with a fancy lightning blitz!”

The Pickelhaube became a symbol of Prussian aggressiveness and battle prowess. An imperial proclamation in 1871 made the Pickelhaube mandatory for all German troops. Proud Prussian military leaders with bristling mustaches posed for publicity photos sporting the Pickelhaube, including Kaiser Wilhelm II, Otto von Bismarck, and Paul von Hindenburg. In other countries, the horned helmets became synonymous with barbarism, especially during World War I.