Early Leather Head Harness/Helmet...What sport is this for?

[CarltonHendricks]

I picked this up last night on eBay...when I first saw it I went ga-ga since I'd never seen one before...there were no bids and it had 9 darn days left…I think the opening bid was $10.00…I hit up the seller for a BIN and she said others were asking for one too and she didn't know what it was worth...Against better judgment I made an offer.. I say better since the next person she tells can always top it by $25.00 and you're out...a couple hours later I got an email from the seller that someone offered her $45.00 over my offer…So I offered $25.00 over their offer…I sort of thought it was over at that point and I wouldn’t get it...A few hours later I saw she closed it...next thing I know I got an email that said she was going to relist it at 7:30PM Central time...but it was confusing after that...it sounded like she was going to put it back up with a BIN for the amount I offered…but the wording wasn’t clear...I noticed she had 35 feedbacks so I know she's still in learning mode…So I had to wait about 3 hours to see what would be…

So finally 7:30 rolls around and she had a BIN of $250.00 over what I offered….with a Best Offer option…At that point I started back peddling mentally since I hated to spend the money anyway…I just let it sit there for a few hours to see if it disappeared…Then I got an email that all I had to do was make my offer and she had set it to accept that amount….Finally I pulled the trigger….Today when I got up I felt I made the right decision…I’ve seen tons of leather football helmets but this was the first one of these I’d ever seen.

So…I’m pretty sure I know what it is…but would anyone like to give their opinion?....I’m told there are no markings…when I get it maybe I’ll find something.

[pgellis]

I'm convinced that it has nothing to do with football. Football helmets are going to have earflaps.

My guess would be cycling?

Phil

[yanks12025]

Fencing helmet??

[BigJJ]

Half of a set made for kinky purposes

[yanks12025]

New answer, bicycle helmet

[murphusa]

Bike Helmet??

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/ne...hoto/153514093

[BigJJ]

There may be a patent on that design; the application would state the helmet's purpose. J

[iwantitiwinit]

Bike helmet, known as the "Leather Hairnet", 100% sure on this one.

[khkco4bls]

Leather bike helmet from the 30's.

[steve B]

Yep, what the other guys have said. Bike helmet, probably 30's. Could be a bit newer, but that style was pretty much out after WWII. The postwar ones are slightly different and a bit better finished.

What area is it from? Lots of riders raced in the 6 day races in the 30's, especially in Chicago and NY.

Steve B

[CarltonHendricks]

Originally Posted by steve B

Yep, what the other guys have said. Bike helmet, probably 30's. Could be a bit newer, but that style was pretty much out after WWII. The postwar ones are slightly different and a bit better finished.

What area is it from? Lots of riders raced in the 6 day races in the 30's, especially in Chicago and NY.

Steve B

Thanks all for your help...Although I was 99.9% sure it was a bicycle helmet

Steve, You win the most well rounded award...How the heck did you know all that?...In twenty five years collecting I'd never come across one before. One guy in Seattle has a site http://classiccycleus.com/home/repair/memorabilia/ with this one below on it...and he states the quote below it. The seller hailed from Elmwood Park, Illinois...In my last email to her I said in jest to thank the garage sale she found it at...she replied back she got it at an estate sale...I assume in the Elmwood park area.



"Bicycle helmets have only been around since the 1930s, when Bill Honeman led the charge to get effective head protection for himself and his professional bike racing colleagues. Since the introduction of the leather hairnet, bike helmets have changed dramatically."....
http://classiccycleus.com/home/repair/memorabilia/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-day_racing
I'd never heard of 6 day bicycle races till just last summer I picked up a 1938 6 Day Bike Race program, held in San Fraqncisco for $20.00. Some of the photos of the racers are signed....and on the inside back page is a photo of french racer wearing a helmet like mine. However searching online I couldn't find a single antique photo of a bicycle racer wearing one....So that tells me they're weren't a lot of them to begin with...and that explains why so few have survived and this was my first sighting. Given the global popularity of bicycles, I think rare bicycle antiques could get harder to find...acutally they're pretty hard right now!

[iwantitiwinit]

These leather hairnets are actually quite common and many many racers in the 40's through the 70's wore them.

[CarltonHendricks]

Received the cycling helmet...amazingly the vague idea I had how and where I'd display it worked out...somewhat...till I can figure something else out anyway...I just sat it on top of some small figures in a case and it looks fine....at least it's easily seen and I can enjoy it.

One of the greatest bicycling antiques I ever saw is a "wish I woulda"...I was on a pre-con National trip...maybe it was 05'..I was going thru the antiques stores in Adamstown PA...I went in a store, I think it was called South Side Antiques...I heard its closed now...Anyway...I spotted a tin...clearly c1880...exceptional condition...that archaic mustard color with black printing...Picture a coke can but with a screw top....that's about what the size and shape was....It was for sperm oil...on the front was an illustration of a highwheel bicycle rider riding thru a large bicycle wheel..like coming at you...At the time I didn't know bicycles back then used sperm oil for lubrication..whale oil..

The price was $1,200.00...and I was on my way to the National and needed to conserve fire power...I remember thinking if it was $800.00 I'd have bought it...as I recall they were firm on the price and wouldn't budge...It was a collective and the lady that was the owner of the store was nice but adamantly refused to let me take a photo of it...I tried the I'd like to do a feature on it and that didn't work...I was even friends with someone she knew. I've never seen or heard of another example...That tin in that good of condition...likely the finest example extant...

[steve B]

I collect bike racing stuff. I have a good collection of 1980's bikes and other equipment used by the US national team, plus a few other things.

Thanks for showing the program I'm very interested in the history of the bike land speed record but I hadn't seen the pic of Marquet.

I saw a talk about 6 day racing by the guy who runs the site and shop in Wa state. Really interesting, since he went out and found a bunch of those guys and interviewed them before they died. Saved a ton of history.

On his museum pages the prewar section has Bartells speed record bike that he got directly from Bartell. Cool story. While doing the interviews he rarely asked for anything besides the interview. After a bunch of interviews Bartell asks him if he can help with something outside. He goes to help, and it's basically moving his grandkids department store bikes in the shed to get at the snow blower or something. He moves a last item, forget what, plywood or wading pool something big, and behind it is an old racing bike. When he asks what it is Bartell tells him "that's the speed record bike and I need you to put it in your car"

You can see the difference in helmets on his site. The prewar ones aren't rare, but they're not exactly common either. The ones from the 60's-70's are actually pretty easy to find, and the last generation of hairnet helmets from the 80's when they were on their way out and hardshell helmets were the new thing are common. Sometimes you still find new old stock ones.

Here's one of the bikes I have. Built for the 1984 Olympic team time trial. I had to make a bunch of the special parts to make it a bike again. (Acceptable in old bike circles as long as it's not hidden) I can't be sure it was actually used. They made 12 of them and used 4 so it's about a 33% chance. They did make one that was different, someday I'll measure the angles to see if it's that one. If it is I'll know for sure as well as which rider.


Steve B

[baseball tourist]

Originally Posted by iwantitiwinit

These leather hairnets are actually quite common and many many racers in the 40's through the 70's wore them.

This reminded me. Scene from the 1979 movie "Breaking Away"