Claudius

I suspect they were removed for display purposes. The Baltic and Randow didn't have ribbons and the person who created this presentation removed them for aesthetic, uniformity purposes. Not what I would have done, but this is a family piece and as the owners they can display it anyway they like.

Beautiful awards....thanks for showing them.

"And of course the ribbon bar is fixed in wrong direction on the display" Yes, and to reiterate the awards from L-R (when the ribbon bar is correctly positioned); 1) Iron Cross 2nd class, 2) Hindenburg Cross, 3) Baltic Cross -2nd Class, 4) Randow Cross w/swords 5) Turkish War Merit (Gallipoli Star) I think the Randow Cross at the bottom of the display is a very clear indication that the 4th ribbon is the Randow Cross. (and that's the Baltic Cross on the right side) Overall, a very nice display of a family member. It's not important to convey this to the granddaughter - but for those on this forum it is interesting and noteworthy that Major Buschmann included his Randow Cross on his ribbon bar. Usually after 1934 it was against Regulations.

This is a bit of fascinating historical architecture from old Tsingtau. I had no idea that this building was there. Where exactly in Qingdao is this building located? Is it in the old portion of the city?

I think this whole thread should be moved off the Germany: Imperial: The Orders, Decorations and Medals of The Imperial German States forum and put....somewhere else, like the Lounge.

Oh, I do think it would have value to a collector. The bronze and silver medals are scare, but they do show up from time to time in auction houses. For those who can't wait and want to buy it immediately, there is likely one for sale right now on a website for an unreasonable price. But at a realistic price I believe it would be almost irresistible to a collector of Imperial Korean medals. However, it would take further research to find out what that price would be.

Apparently, none of my suppositions withstand these facts. Considering he served in a Bavarian unit and in another unit under the auspicious of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, perhaps Erbse considered the Schwarzburg cross to be a "foreign" award and put it justifiably at the end of the bar.

I have another explanation. It is really a modified #2 and a little of #3. But above all I try to apply Occam's Razor to the question. Doctor Fritz Erbse was from Rudolstadt(Schwarzburg) but clearly during the war he was active and recognized by other States when he was awarded combatant class decorations from at least two other States as well as Prussia (EKII). However before the war he likely served in some capacity (as a Doctor?), in his native Rudolstadt, where I'm guessing he earned a NON-Combatant Schwarzburg Cross (3rd or 4th class). There may have been previous mountings of Dr. Erbse awards before 1934, however in 1934 he decided to mount them again, including the non-combatant Schwarzburg cross, in its correct position at the end of the bar. It was only after this mounting, that the Principality of Schwarzburg recognized their mistake in not awarding their fellow countryman and back awarded awarded him a COMBATANT Schwarzburg cross for his service in the war. Post war awards are not uncommon. The Schwarzburg Cross/swords supercedes the non-combatant one both would not be worn. And it's here where the 50+ year old doctor didn't want to "reorder" the whole bar and just requested that with Swords version be swapped in where the non-combatant version was.

Or a thin coating of Gun Oil. Its been used for decades by owners of very expensive guns to keep the metal parts from rusting.

Wonderful bar Chris! Naval related....Doctor? He was certainly an Officer that should be found in the 1910 Rolls. But without cross-tabulating award rolls I'm not sure how you can find him. You would have to get lucky and "stumble" across the right candidate you was in China and with WWI service.

Hallo Rohleder; I am an advocate for adding ribbons to medals. In my opinion, it completes them. I think it is a matter of taste on HOW you attach the ribbon -for display purposes. Most of the time, the Russian medals tend to have a unique fold to the ribbon. I attached a link to an imperfect example that I found on this forum, but there are a lot of photographed examples of soldiers wearing their medals this way. It doesn't look like you have a lot of ribbon to work with, so I can understand that you might not be able to duplicate this.

That is a great period photo of that patch!

That's what I wanted to believe too, but it seems awfully dark. More black than blue.

Thoughts on ribbon #2? Is this the Bav. Free-City Jubilee 2nd Infantry 1932 medal?

If this bar was made in that narrow period after the Anschluss but before the Hungary and Bulgaria was fully recognized as allied powers, then this would be a special bar. But I also don't like ribbon #2 -insofar as what I would expect to also be on the ribbon bar and what isn't on the ribbon bar.

I don't recognize it either. But it reminds me a lot of other, well known fantasy pieces.

Hello; If you look closer, I think you will see that #2 is actually the Braunschweig Kriegsverdienstkreuz fur kombattanten. In that light, the precedence rules are properly followed.

i don't like it.

Hello Andreas; Yes, you are right. The first two certainly are Tughras -Sultan Tughras. Likely, Mehmed V, if it is from the WWI period. To identify them, Tughras are individual and the detailed line work could be compared to known Sultan Tughras. Otherwise, if the date of the saber's construction is known, then the Turghra would belong to the Sultan who ruled at that time period. (However, from the small amount of the construction/decoration that you are showing us, I think this saber was likely made during the 1909-18 era.)

Hello usairforce; I don't have my Russian medals and awards book with me, but roughly I can tell you what these medals are; 1) Russian Civil War era, White Russian St. George medal. 2) Tsar Peter the Great 200 year commemorative. 3) Red Cross medal -Russo-Japanese war era. 4) Elizabeth Red Cross Jetton - personally engraved. 5) Reign of Alexander III medal. These names approximate, others will be able to correct or refine my medal identifications.

welcome to my world...my family is telling me this all the time, and I won't take the hint...

And they made them in the late 80s too. I was burned on two Russian badges that I bought in 1989 from a little militaria shop in London.