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Posted 2 years ago

bdz
(1 item)

hello friends please help me to recognize this helmet. An old lady sell this to me and told me this belongs to his past uncle. Im a collector of old coins for almost 20 years now just for fun, but not this kind of stuff. thanks.
descriptions: it looks like hard metal, the only leather is the number 22. its heavy about 2 lbs +

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Fire HelmetsShortly after the formation of fire wards or brigades in larger American ci…

Comments

1. bdz, 2 years ago
   thanks
   
2. solver, 2 years ago
   bdz, you stated in the title "unknown location" so I guess you didn't ask what city the uncle lived? It looks like leather to me, which would be very heavy.
   
   Is there any label inside, for instance "Cairns & Bro."?
   
   Not my area of expertise but here is one on ebay with the same ornament but they didn't identify the maker, just Cairns as the lining.
   http://www.ebay.com/itm/180734781891
   
   Same ornament, identified as Cairns:
   http://www.ebay.com/itm/260862723476
   
   I didn't see a design patent for Cairns & Bro. (Edward Cairns) that had this ornament, but that doesn't mean anything.
3. bdz, 2 years ago
   thanks, the old lady lives in new jersey I forgot to ask where her uncle lives. As I examined it again, maybe its a leather that goes so hard like a metal but its heavy weighing 2 lbs. I never touch a firemans helmet before thats why I dont know what its leather weight. No labels or markings to read except the numbers outside.
4. pickrknows, 2 years ago
   This old dog has seen many-a-fire, these helmets are still used in some departments, but mostly went out in the "50's.It is definitly leather,(the new plastic composit ones would actually melt in too much heat), the old leather ones just get that weathered look.This looks like a '30's-'40's vintage,probably Cairns.Nice piece of history!
5. railnsail, 1 year ago
   Your helmet came from the New York Fire Department. The cut-out white 22 is Engine 22 Manhattan. The painted number below is the Fireman's badge number. The helmet and front shield are 1940s-1960s vintage.
6. Paulbalentine, 7 months ago
   This is a leather firefighers helmet as others have stated. It is indeed from the FDNY (Engine 22, Manhattan) this helmet is old (at latest, early 1950's) any firefighter worth his salt wears a helmet that is virtually unchanged from this design. They do make composite/plastic helmets but any hardcore firefighter wouldn't be caught dead in anything but leather. This style survived into the early 1980's before falling out of favor for the popular (at the time) helmet which most of us know as a "pisspot" or "salad bowl" in the early 1990's leather helmets came back with gusto, and continue to be the choice of many firefighters even today despite their $500.00 price tag.
7. JVS389, 2 months ago
   This as has been mentioned Certainly looks like a 30's-early 60's Cairn's 5A leather New Yorker, the One piece Leather Front badges like this has teh Company Number (22) and hand painted was the guys' Badge Number and with such a Low number Many numbers are 4 and 5 digits Now the was a 3 digit , In the late 50's someone decidedit made better sense to make a Company Insert with the Company number to make them more interchangable (backround color changed depending on type of company) another aspect is the metal front piece holder the 2 tone Black & Red device became 100 % red on brass when the company left NYC for Clifton NJ in the early 1960's (Boston had a customized version) On Newer helmets There is often a Marking Inside on"newer" helmets FDNY helmets..back then no so much even Having a Badge number for the firefighters then was an accessory I'm sure some Even just used like "white out" your helmet has had some heat/Maybe impact issues and looking at the paint i think thats what holds lots of em together... in the Late 60's, early 70s these helmets would get soft from the Heat & Water, and more of the same almost never drying out fully the leather can get Mooshy when like that and then harden when they Do Dry.. very nice old school 20th century a real wack collector Might pay a couple hunnerd....search ebay Cairns Leather or Cairns 5a... Keep in mind this is an antique, the 400 Dollar ones areNot the same, You'll be able to see the differances

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