WW1 German M1897 Pickelhaube Cover - 73rd Infantry Regiment

An M1897 reed green helmet cover with red numbers of '73' for the 73rd Infantry Regiment.
This exact type of cover is well documented in Michael Baldwins book ' Feldzug 1914' in which several examples of these covers are pictured. Found in France several years ago , a number of these covers were discovered together all of the same manufacture with differing red numbers to front . Due to the switching of red numbers to green numbers after August 1914 for reasons of camouflage it is unlikely these were ever issued before the switchover. Produced from a reed green flecked fabric with punched out numbers zig zag stitched to the front it has brass hooks to secure to the helmet in the typical other ranks style. The spike cover is lined inside with leather for reinforcement.
Rare piece to find most having been swallowed up into collections some time ago.

Code: 12933