Original U.S. Model 1881 Artillery Dress Spiked Pith Helmet by Ridabock & Co. Category_Receiver Top Cover on the barrel

on the barrel

The Breech Block is DATED 1866 over an Eagle head cartouche

Before WWI

History of the M41 field jacket:When the US entered the war in 1941

Original U.S. Model 1881 Artillery Dress Spiked Pith Helmet by Ridabock & Co. Category_Receiver Top Cover on the barrelOriginal Item: One Only. Much like our European cousins in the 1880s, the U. S. Army started to adopt 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. While often referred to as "pith helmets" in the broad sense, it was made from cork, like many European variants, such as the Wolseley pattern used by the British.