Leather Football Helmet

[foamspoon]

thanks guys I am here! Absorbing everything in and searching the web. Deciding where I am going to start. Thanks for the great photos and info!

Bryan

[CarltonHendricks]

Originally Posted by foamspoon

thanks guys I am here! Absorbing everything in and searching the web. Deciding where I am going to start. Thanks for the great photos and info!

Bryan

Good deal foam....now I can stop looking on the sides of milk cartons :-)

[pgellis]

More pictures:

[CarltonHendricks]

Originally Posted by pgellis

More pictures:

Phil, Looking at that helmet in your case I thought it was a Princeton style but now that you post those large photos it isn't after all...It's great though....and in incredible condition with super clean padding inside....I don't recall ever seeing one like it...

Below is a good example of a Princeton style helmet...I don't know exactly for sure why it's called a Princeton but I think they were advertised as such in catalogs...I think Spalding catalogs. This one is a Reach. Generally I think helmets made by Spalding are the most sought after....and I think that's generally true with all antique sports equipment, baseball, football, etc.

Some of the other football helmet makers would be, Victor, Wright and Ditson, then I think Wright and Ditson and Victor merged into "Victor Wright and Ditson"...then you've got Reach, Draper Maynard (D&M), Lowell and Campbell, Goldsmith, Thomas Wilson, Remington...then later in the 40's I think there was, McGregor, Rawlings, Wilson, etc etc....I'm just giving a quick overview of ones I recall off the top my head but there are a lot of collectors that collect primarily equipment who would know them all...way better than me. Equipment is just one of the things I collect.



http://www.sportsantiques.com/portlandpg6.htm
There was another lesser known helmet maker named Schmelzer out of I think Kansas City....I once scored a killer dog ear by them on my way back from the Portland Expo antiques show in Portland Oregon which you can read about in the link above...gave a whopping $29.00 for it, and the way I came upon it is memorable...I also give the Schmelzer company history in the story...

[vintagesportflips]

The term Princeton style helmet in my opinion is in reference to the trianglular shaped leather attachments from the top of the helmet to the sides. The most common (abeit still very rare) is the four attachment style. I believe one of the auction houses had an 8 attachment Princeton style helmet that sold earlier this year. That was the first of those I had seen, other than the one shown in John Gennantonio/Ed Turner/Dan Hauser's book.
The helmet Phil showed has a very similar look in design to Princeton helmets, without having those tab like attachments. If I had it, I would call it a flattop helmet, with a Princeton style look. Regardless of the nomenclature, its a beautiful helmet.
I love that Schmelzer helmet Carlton - an incredible antique shop find to be sure.

[vintagesportflips]

Here are the 2 Princeton style helmets I've had in the past that were definitely football helmets. I did also have a pair of beautiful Princeton style helmets, that had custom factory applied visors applied to the forehead. These were most likely made for Lacrosse, but they were identical to football helmets in every way except for those visors.

The descriptions of these Princeton helmets can be seen at antiquesports.co

[foamspoon]

Does anyone collect lacrosse stuff?