Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an item we have very little information about due to its scarcity, an American “Uhlan” Tschapka helmet with an American Eagle wappen plate, full brass chinscales, and a plated steel mortarboard with a plume still crudely attached. Along with the helmet is a copy of a studio portrait of a U.S. soldier with this helmet wielding an M1860 Cavalry saber and wearing a uniform akin to a German Ulanka, an enlisted tunic worn by Uhlans. 

The only marking in the helmet is on the interior crown:

L.G.
1893

This is a known maker-mark for German-made Uhlan Tschapkas, so we are confident this was an example imported for prototype use in the 1890s. The helmet retains the brass trim on the front visor although it is partially disconnected from leather shrinkage. The leather itself is cracking & crazing from age but still holds up well. The original U.S. Eagle wappen plate is well-retained by its prongs on the interior, and the shadow the wappen has left certainly verifies it as being original to the helmet. The original brass chinscales are well-retained as well, with the leather under them still looking great. 

The plated steel mortarboard is still well-attached but there is heavy wear to the plating across it, with some of the material crushed on one side. There is a ring attached to the top on one corner for attachment of the cord, and on the opposite corner there is a rosette with a small white plume still attached, although it appears to have lost much of its material. The interior still retains the liner with all 9 tongues still intact, but the leather is very stiff. There is no size marking, but it’s roughly a size 52, very small due to leather shrinkage.

This is an incredible piece of American headgear, the only example we could find. There are American pickelhaubes using the same wappen with spikes & another with a plume, but we have found no other examples of an American Uhlan Tschapka, making this a truly one-of-a-kind piece. If we did not have the copy of the photograph to accompany it, we would really have no evidence of its existence. One of the best U.S. helmets we have ever offered, ready for further research and display.

The Ulanen (Lancers) Tschapka (chapka) with its distinctive square top first appeared in 1808 when Preußen introduced Ulanen (Lancer) Regiments to emulate the Polish lancers as did many nations; especially after the Polish Lancer's performance at Waterloo in 1815. The M1843 Tschapka was a tall helmet with a squared top which was secured with gilt chinscales. The neck of the upper flat portion on the Tschapka (called a "mortar board" by English collectors) was permanently covered with a colored cloth Paraderabatte (parade rabatte). The Paraderabatten colors were specific to each Regiment but were trimmed in white for Mannschaften (Other Ranks) and silver bullion for officers. The Fangschnur (securing cord) were attached to the top of the Tschapka with a toggle for Mannschaften and a hook for officer and private purchase.