Original U.S. M1881 Army Infantry Dress Plumed size 7 1/8 Pith Helmet by Horstmann - dated 1898 British Lancer There are also paint markings

There are also paint markings on the outside

with an early nickel plated brass zipper marked D

This was a new design which used a monolithic ceramic (one piece) which was molded to match torso contours

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

while inside the breech both the frame and barrel a marked with assembly number 100

Original U.S. M1881 Army Infantry Dress Plumed size 7 1/8 Pith Helmet by Horstmann - dated 1898 British Lancer There are also paint markingsOriginal 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