Shako
Made of heavy felt and leather, it retained its shape and provided some protection for the soldier's skull, while its visor shaded his eyes.
[3] Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, military fashions changed and cloth or leather helmets based on the German headdress began to supersede the shako in many armies.
Although the mid-19th century shako was impressive in appearance and enhanced the wearer's height, it was also heavy and provided little protection against bad weather, as most were made of cloth or felt material over a leather body and peak.
[4] During the period of general peace that followed the Napoleonic Wars, the shako in European armies became a showy and impractical headdress best suited for the parade ground.
Lieutenant Colonel George Anthony Legh Keck can be seen in an 1851 portrait wearing a "broad-topped" shako topped by a 12-inch (30 cm) white plume and held in place by bronze chin scales.
Prior to 1806 the light infantry shakos were ornamented by a metal bugle (chasseurs) or simply by a tricolour cockade (carabiniers) and coloured cords or straps.
[9][10] In 1813 the US Army adopted a similar entirely leather made model,[11] nicknamed by the soldiers as "Tombstone" cap, because of the extension of the top front that reminded on a grave marker.
The front was adorned with a brass badge with the Swedish coat of arms, three crowns, and a plate with the name of the regiment, a yellow cockade of leather and a pompon.
[18] The bell-top shako was a large and elaborate type which became popular in the 1820s and 1830s when there was little warfare between the major European powers and practicality on the battlefield became less important than appearance on the parade ground.
It featured a crown that clearly flared outwards towards the top, giving a distinctive bell shape, and was often adorned with decorative cords and plumes.
It featured a lower crown that tapered inwards at the top, and a second peak at the back intended to protect the wearer's neck from the sun.
The Bengal Native Infantry of the British East India Company's army worn a version of the bell-top shako as described above, although lacking a vizor or peak.
Frequently portrayed in contemporary illustrations as being worn by mutinous sepoys during the Great Indian Rebellion of 1857, this headdress was actually replaced by the Kilmarnock cap ten years before.
Amongst the most distinctive of these were the high Napoleonic shako (kiver) worn by the Russian Imperial Guard[35] and the low streamlined model (ros) of the Spanish Army.
The Swiss version had black-leather peaks at both front and rear - a feature that also appeared in the shako-like headdress that was worn by British postmen between 1896 and 1910, and New Zealand policemen of the same period.
Most German police forces adopted a version of the Jäger shako after World War I, which replaced the spiked leather helmet (Pickelhaube) that had become identified with the previous Imperial regime.
It finally disappeared in the 1970s, when the various police forces of West Germany adopted a standardised green and light fawn uniform that included the high-fronted peaked cap that is still worn.
Several countries in the Americas, including those of Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina, retain shakos for ceremonial guard or military academy uniforms.
In the latter country, the cadets of some civilian institutions such as the Philippine National Police Academy,[42] and some colleges and high schools, also use the shako, although peaked "service cap" styles have become more popular in recent years.
