WWI French Made Private Purchase Body Armor

WWI Private Purchase Body Armor

32.5cm x 30.5cm (13" x 12") concave steel armored plate is profiled to accomodate the wearer's neck, left arm, and firing arm.  This is encased in an ocher brown cotton covering with darker ocher brown web neck and waist straps with "PARIS" marked two-prong vest buckle fittings.

I was unable to identify this specific armor piece in Bashford Dean's Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare, a period study of such equipment, but the originality of the armor itself and its genuine purpose are not in doubt.  However, just a bit of artifact phrenology reveals that the armor plate inside this covering has a pitted texture and some flaking material, which leads me to believe that it is an original armor plate, but the covering and straps are a later restoration.  That said, it displays very well and is a nice piece to illustrate the story of private purchase body armor in the trenches of WWI.  

$100 - $200