90th Winnipeg Rifles Officer's Universal Helmet - C.1904-1914.

An exceedingly rare and fine universal helmet with plate to the 90th Winnipeg Rifles (Little Black Devils). The universal helmet has been tea dyed and has the helmet plate (possibly a shoulder plate) affixed to the front by pressing the three lugs through the helmet. By the quality of this item, I believe it was done up by an officer. The Kings crown plate was introduced in 1904 and would have been worn up to WW1.

There is an example of a similar helmet with Victorian Queen's Crown plate in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles museum in Winnipeg. A photo of it is illustrated in "Fuss & Fashion - 200 Years of Canadian Military Headdress" by Clive M. Law.

If you examine the badge from the side, you can see a ghosting image of the badge outline on the helmet, in other words it has been on the helmet forever and hasn't been made up.

The liner is fine with size tag and shows only minimal wear.

I doubt you will ever see another like this for sale. This surfaced from an estate near Victoria, BC a number of years ago and has made it's way to me recently.

Code: 52781