Original Item: Only One Available. This is a good condition early 20th century Dutch Artillery Busby, which looks to be covered on the outside with Sealskin, a very common covering for European busby headgear. Busby is of course the English name for the Hungarian prémes csákó (“fur shako”) or kucsma, a military head-dress made of fur, originally worn by Hungarian hussars. In its original Hungarian form the busby was a cylindrical fur cap, having a bag of colored cloth hanging from the top. The end of this bag was attached to the right shoulder as a defense against sabre cuts.
After this the size and design were scaled down, and they became much more for looks than for actual protection. This example is very similar to the British Busby used by Hussars, but is definitely Dutch in origin. The pattern definitely does not match a British Royal Horse Artillery Busby. It features two “Lion’s Head” attachment points for chin scales. It has a very nice leather liner, which is marked one the underside with a stamped date of 1910. It has a partial makers label for J.F. Segers & Zoon, Hofleveranciers, BREDA. “Hofleveranciers” translates in Dutch to “Purveyors to the Court”, and Breda is a city in the southern Netherlands, not far from the border with Belgium. Condition is very nice, with only light wear around the edge, and little sign of long service. There is hair loss on the outside shell. The top is a perforated metal vent. Size is approximately 58cm or US 7 1/4.
Ready to display!