Service hat of a private in Russian Imperial Family's Own Life-Guards 4th Rifle Battalion (Later Regiment).

Шапка рядового Лейб-Гвардии 4-го стрелкового Императорской Фамилии батальона образца 1909 года

Pan-Slavic style diamond-shape crown cap of black wool with wide fleece band unique to this battalion. Brass “Reservist’s” cross badge with Alexander III cipher mounted over silver-plated brass enlisted man’s cockade painted in Romanov’s colors. Lined in crème cotton with ink stamped maker’s mark of Alexander - St. Petersburg and leather sweatband.

The Imperial Family’s Own Rifle Regiment was formed on October of 1854 from the peasants of the Novgorod, Archangelsk and Vologda regions to take part in the Crimean War.  In the Fall of 1856, upon the end of the war, it was reformed by Imperial decree into the Imperial Family’s Own Life-Guards Rifle Battalion. The private men had a unique uniform of a Pan-Slavic kaftan in raspberry material with buckle less belt, wide Russian sharovari pants, soft leather boots and characteristic Slavic cap with fleece band. Unlike other Life-Guards regiments, this unit had a Reservists cross cockade instead of the usual St. Andrew star. The battalion was exclusively formed from snub-nosed soldiers with unibrow and stationed in Tsarskoe Selo near the Imperial family’s Summer residence.

Condition: Small original repair on leather sweatband, otherwise superb original condition with all original parts.

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