Lobster tailed helmet circa 1640

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Victrix

...I always thought those letters stamped on the nasal guard were arsenal marks, but I could be wrong...

Yes, probably some code letter to deal with production inside the arsenal or workshop, assembly lot or the like, but not an actual origin mark to be recognized on the "market".
BTW, isn't that a letter (M?) in the nasal of the impecable example you are posting ?

[Lansquenet59]

Impressive this model of officer! Thanks for the link, very interesting.
Amazing to see this helmet with its headdress.

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by fernando

Yes, probably some code letter to deal with production inside the arsenal or workshop, assembly lot or the like, but not an actual origin mark to be recognized on the "market".
BTW, isn't that a letter (M?) in the nasal of the impecable example you are posting ?

Either that or a W, depending on the point of view. Thinking about it, I have seen these letters mostly on the simpler munitions grade Zischäggen. Some of the higher quality decorated ones have maker’s or guild marks but nasal bars are not marked with these letters. Maybe some armourers specialized in nasal bar production and this relatively simple item could have been outsourced in mass production supply chains.

[adrian]

I have another Lobster Pot exactly the same as the one that is the subject of this thread, also marked with the L. It was acquired by my uncle many decades ago at an auction of a farm's contents near Cambridge in England.
I'd be most interested to learn if these were all actually made in Germanic states or if many were in fact made in England & who that L represents.

[fernando]

Expanding on Victrix post #8, if i may, the letter M (or W) being similar to the initially introduced letter L, would in principle indicate a German origin for these helmets. I wouldn't know how Cromwell equipped his cavalry but he might as well have imported some of these for his Civil War struggle ... or would have been the Royal forces; thus its showing up in England.
As previously discussed in other threads, i would say more than once, this type of lettering, as well as marks like punched dots or filed lines, are among those applied in mass production workshops to assemble the different parts; or any other sign or meaning that not smiths signatures. Not wishing to switch on the complicometer, we may recall an article by master armourer Chris Dobson in that he classifies 'marks' as been those of Forging, Constructional, Batch, Signatures, Workshop, View, Arsenal and Size.
And by the way, the letter M (or L) does not only appear in nasals but also on the front cap, as in Adrian's example. And do i see it punched in both those places in Thomas helmet ?.

I wish Dirk came in on this one, so that we hear what he says about it.


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[Lansquenet59]

Yes I think that too. Indeed, on mine, we find this letter in two places.