WW1 uniforms for sale
Listings for sale
Guides for these pieces
- Identifying and dating a German spiked helmet, from the 1842 to the 1915 modelModels 1842 to 1915, state plates, BA depot stamps, cockades, chinstraps, removable spike: a method to recognise, date and judge a German spiked helmet.
- Dating a French military uniformThe cloth gives the period, the inner label gives the year, the collar tabs give the unit. The four places to look, in order.
- Identifying a 1915 Adrian helmetThe French WW1 Adrian helmet: how many parts, which crest, which badge, which liner. How to tell it from the 1926 model and from copies.
- Caring for military leather, textile and metal: the minimum ruleDry leather, moth-eaten wool, rusted metal: what to do, what never to do, and why doing nothing is often the right call.
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Collecting 1914-1918 horizon-blue uniforms
The other ranks' greatcoat remains the piece most present on the market, ahead of the tunic, the trousers and the headgear. Officers' items, tailored privately at the officer's own expense, vary a great deal from one example to another and follow the regulations loosely. Complete, homogeneous uniforms, where every piece comes from the same man, are rare: most of the groups offered have been reassembled piece by piece, which is not a flaw in itself but must be stated.
What the inside tells you
Examination begins with the inside. The canvas lining carries the manufacturing and acceptance stamps, the size, sometimes a year, often faded to the edge of legibility. The cloth itself is informative: horizon blue is obtained by mixing wools of different shades, which gives a flecked look up close that modern fabrics reproduce poorly. Then come the buttons, the type of stitching, the reworking of the pockets and, above all, the consistency of wear between the collar, the elbows and the cuffs.
Post-war production
Horizon blue stayed in service long after the armistice, and greatcoats or tunics made in the 1920s are regularly presented as wartime items. Reproductions made for re-enactment and film have circulated for decades, sometimes aged to deceive. Finally, a collar tab can be unpicked and replaced in a few minutes: a sought-after regimental number sewn onto an ordinary greatcoat is a frequent manipulation. Our guide to dating a French tunic or greatcoat sets out the method.
An other ranks' greatcoat in average condition remains affordable. Items from chasseurs, colonial troops, aviation or tanks, and more generally any piece that is dated, marked and untouched, are on another level.