Original U.S. M1881 Army Infantry Dress Plumed size 7 1/8 Pith Helmet by Horstmann - dated 1898 British Lancer with an early nickel plated

with an early nickel plated brass zipper marked D

This example consists of a handle with a rubber grip

which later dropped into Normandy on D-Day with the 82nd Airborne Division and suffered over 200 casualties in just two days

Steel tubes show storage/handling dents but are in good overall condition

There is size 7 1/4 marked with a sticker on the interior crown

Original U.S. M1881 Army Infantry Dress Plumed size 7 1/8 Pith Helmet by Horstmann - dated 1898 British Lancer with an early nickel platedOriginal Item: One Only. Much like our European cousins in the 1880s, the U. S. Army started to adopted spiked pith helmets, often in white, with all brass mounts and occasionally plumes. These saw active service in the Spanish American War of 1898 especially in the tropical climate in Cuba. This helmet is dated SEP. 22 1898 on the underside of the liner, and it really is quite striking. This is not the type of helmet that was worn in the field, but