Tricks of the Light 02

Here is the Deputy-Official's ribbon bar:

1) Iron Cross Combatant
2) Hamburg Hanseatic Cross

now.......


3) pale light colored ribbon was probably a Prussiaan Crown Order Medal. He had this ribbon before the war.

The tricky bit is NEXT


4) this LIGHT colored ribbon is actually the dark cornflower blue of Prussian long service awards anddddddd


5) this DARK ribbon is actually the bright, light, lemon yellow of the 1897 Kaiser Wilhelm I Centenary Medal..


By some trick of WW1 period photographic processes, these two colors, particularly, REVERSE/"NEGATIVE" as printed.

This can make identifying some ribbons extremely difficult in period photographs if you are unaware of the spectrum shift involved.

Another example is the Friedrich August Cross of Oldenburg. That dark blue likewise photographed LIGHTER tyhan its red stripes, leading to images which look like the pale blue and red of Hesse's General Decoration.

But the worst "offender" of all seems to have been YELLOW. Very often, it will make striped ribbons look like a solid dark mass. Familiarity with what should be in positions due to regulations (see that section) will help sort out such problem photograph ribbons.