Original Item: Only One Available. This is a rare a Thüringisches Husaren-Regiment Nr 12 officer’s busby (pelzmütze). The regiment was founded in 1781, and garrisoned in Torgau from 1901 until WWI’s end. It was attached to the IV. Armeekorps. It was an old-line Prussian regiment that participated in conflicts spanning from the Napoleonic Wars to the German unification wars of the 1860’s through the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War up to WW I, when it fought as dismounted cavalry in the trenches on both the Western and Eastern Fronts. It had been among the leading German units in WW I ‘s early days, when it still functioned as mounted cavalry. It was directly involved in the invasion of Belgium.
Officers’ busbies are among the most elegant and beautiful Imperial German headdresses. The busby’s exterior is lined with very soft, plush otter fur. Near the top, facing the observer, is the very handsome silver-frosted wappen in the form of a bandeau that proclaims “Mitt Gott Für König und Vaterland” (With God for King and Fatherland).
The pelzmütze had evolved from Hungarian cavalry regiments, as had the attila, the unique tunic worn by Husaren-Regiment troops. Slipped in behind the wappen is the officer’s feldzeichen (field badge), constructed of silver bullion with a black velvet center that denoted the Kingdom of Prussia. The convex gold chin scales are mounted in the “up” position behind the feldzeichen. A single officer’s Reich’s kokarde appears on the busby’s right side. A white kolpak covers the busby’s top (it is removable) and hangs down over its left side. The kolpak’s color and the silver-toned wappen enable us to identify it as an officer’s busby from Thüringisches Husaren-Regiment Nr 12. The busby’s cap lines (essentially a rope-like silver bullion arrangement) hang down from the back. They were primarily for decoration, although the cap lines could be loosened and attached to the wearer’s attila to prevent the busby from flying off his head while his horse was at a gallop.
The busby’s interior is every bit as impressive as its exterior. It boasts a very handsome brown leather sweatband that shows little evidence of wear or staining. The liner is typical for that found in officer-style busbies. It actually consists of two pieces of light-beige silk fabric. The first section lines the roof of the interior, while a lower section of gathered fabric extends up several inches from behind the sweatband to a cutout center that allows the wearer’s head to poke through.
Overall condition is very good, the fur is delicate and will pull out if roughly handled. The leather section of the chin strap is operated but this could be repaired for display.
