Library of Congress LC-DIG-ppmsca-57993
Circa 1916 postcard by R. Leoncavallo shows a caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm as a clown, complete with Pickelhaube, holding a knife dripping blood. The Italian lyrics translate as, Yes, Pagliaccio, I have a pale face solely from anger and a desire for revenge.
Ah, the old vendetta.
This Bavarian Pickelhaube spiked helmet likely was brought back to the United States as a war souvenir after the Great War. The motto on the helmet “In Treue fest” translates as, “steadfast in loyalty,” and was the motto of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Said kingdom largely ceased to exist on 7 November 1918, when King Ludwig III fled from the Residenz Palace in Munich with his family, in effect relinquishing the 700-year Wittelsbach dynasty to the self-proclaimed socialist People’s State of Bavaria (Volksstaat Bayern) of theatre critic Kurt Eisner who would, in the absence of an official abdication by Ludwig, awkwardly and briefly fill the void.
German helmet, probably acquired by soldier Walker Harrison Jordon, ca. 1918. Jordan Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (193.00.00)