Stamp regulation for Hessian Pickelhauben from 1857
I found an archive for Hessian military regulation sheets from 1824 to 1900 on the internet, the link of which I would like to share:
While browsing, I came across an official stamp regulation for pretty much ALL ARTICLES of the Grand Ducal Hessian military at that time. In the following, I have selected the regulations that affect helmets from this. It should be noted, however, that it is an early regulation from 1857 and was later standardized throughout Germany when a unified Germany was formed.
The articles made available to the troops for service should be marked with the symbol of the relevant regiment (corps) and company (squadron, battery), as well as with special numbers (or dates) according to the following guidelines:
The regimental signs:
GU = Guards NCO Company (Garde-Unteroffiziers-Kompanie)
P = Engineer Company
R for Mounted troops (Reiterei), namely:
- R = Regimental staff
- RI = Mounted troops, first division staff
- RII =Mounted troops, second division staff
- RIII =Mounted troops, third division staff
- RA to RF =For the 6 squadrons
A for the artillery, namely:
- A = Corps Staff
- AR = Mounted artillery battery
- AA to AD = For the 4 foot batteries
I, II, III, IV for the 4 infantry regiments in their order, e.g. for the 4th infantry regiment:
- IV = Regimental staff
- IV I and IV II = For the two battalion staffs
- IV A to IV K = For the 10 companies
The stamps had the following sizes in the helmet (a Hessian line was around 2.5mm tall):
- On leather with ink = 6.5 lines
- On leather to burn = 6 lines
All mount pieces are marked with the regiment, corps or company sign and the last 2 digits of the year they were purchased. In addition, the consecutive numbers 1 to ?? (?? = number of the same pieces of equipment purchased in the marked year)
Stamp position on the helmet:
The stamps on the helmet are on the inside, under the cross fitting (branding stamp) and the hair bush on the lower plate (impact stamp).
As I already indicated in the introduction, the labeling of the helmets was later harmonized throughout Germany. This happened in Hesse around 1867/1871 when the Grand Duchy signed the military convention of the North German Confederation or the German Empire was founded. At that time, the position of the stamp on the rear visor of the helmet also moved and it was often no longer burned in, but applied in ink.