Trooper_D

So, perhaps, totemic and/or Islamic in origin. Very interest.

An impeccable and irrefutable source! - thanks. I am not quite sure why the Somov coat - which btw looks vaguely Polish, to me - is on the dexter side when it comes from the husband. I guess the answer is that his wife significantly outranks him. Anyway, apologies for going off topic.

What a fantastic story - thanks for posting it, Nick! We know that the dexter coat of the two shields accollé in post #34 (and below) is that of the Naryshkin family but do we know anything about the coat (or coats, actually) on the sinister side of this marshalling, please?

Paul Further to what Kvart has written, I am seeing similarities between what your man is wearing and the Finnish M36 tunic, as illustrated in the attached photos Sources: http://www.mosinnagant.net/finland/FinnishTunicsectionrevised.asp http://www.speercollection.com/Military/Axis/Uniform/Finnish%20M36%20tunic/

Lars There appears to be a date or a short inscription in the bottom scroll. Can you read it and let us know what it says, please?

Freiherr Not a British hussar uniform, which always had six rows of lace for the regiments in the regular army. I think it is the uniform of one of the (Russian) Guard Hussar regiments. Here is a picture of Prince Jaime de Borbon who served in one of them, the Grodno Hussars, for comparison.

I'm seeing a horse and rider superimposed on a stirrup, rather in the manner of this modern good luck charm. I wonder if he was a fan of horse racing

A similar question was asked in the "Great War Forum", Irish. The answer (see link below) is that MORC stands for 'Medical Officer Reserve Corps' and it appears that a significant number of American doctors were attached to British units, on a contract as one-year volunteers, in the latter part of the Great War (before the entry of the USA into the war). http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=188610 Google the search string (between the arrow heads) > "M. O. R. C." "great war" < and you will find out a lot more about this organisation. [Thanks for the prompt, Mervyn. This was something I knew nothing about and I was interested to discover yet another Great War anomaly. Kudos to Peter Monahan for spotting where the nub of the question lay!] Edited to correct spelling!

I think I'm taking this far too seriously, Chris, but ... ... if we believe the you-know-which-pedia, which tells us that a G98 is 1.25m long, a rough-and-ready estimate of his height is possible - assuming it isn't the carbine version, of course Based on the amended version of your photograph (attached), I estimate his height as being 1.55m, which, in language I can understand, makes him 5ft 1in tall. A giant of a man in all other respect, though, I am sure!

Perhaps not but good luck in finding some Imperial buttons soon in order to restore the karma!

What a ghastly irony, considering Dr Kantorowicz's history

I like this reason best

I wonder why, being a breast star, it has a hole through the topmost ray?

Markgraf and Glenn Thank you both for your timely responses and the interesting comments. Markgraf, I should have known that he was a Feldwebel - it's the shoulder-straps that give it away, isn't it? - particularly as you went to the trouble to explain the differences in this post, http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/60808-kuk-soldiers-wearing-medals-show-your-photos/page-4#entry577748 Glenn, what a fascinating and wonderfully precise diagram. I suspect that an original copy of the 1911 K.K. Landwehr dress regulations would be prohibitively expensive - are they available online? I really couldn't quite get my head round the Landwehr. However, for anyone visiting this thread with similar confusions and with the usual caveats, I found this article on Wikipedia answered most of my questions, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial-Royal_Landwehr

I was going to post this photo on the thread for KuK soldiers wearing medals but decided to start a new thread as a) he isn't wearing anything particularly interesting and b) what I am really interested in is the badge on his hat. My understanding is that the KuK Feldjäger battalions were only numbered to 32, as per this website, for example, http://www.mlorenz.at/Bewaffnete_Macht/02_Jaeger/02_Jaeger.htm However, this officer has a '36' on his badge. Is he part of the Landwehr, therefore? Does anyone have any thoughts, please?

... and guns need officers to command them - well, that's what the officers think, anyway (This one was never sent)

Happy to oblige, IrishGunner. Postmark dated 23-10-1916.

Is this full size or a miniature, Peter?

What a breathtaking array of Leopolds, Elmar! Did any class of the order of Leopold convey nobility on the person awarded it, either personal or hereditary?

I often find the insides of caps and, particularly, tunics as interesting as the outsides (exteriors can be generic; interiors often tell a story) so thanks for posting these, 15thPACAV.

I never tire of seeing these, 15thPACAV. For my money, they are the most elegant of the military headwear of their period (perhaps any period). Thanks for posting.

Thank you for sharing these with us, 15thPACAV. Do they have makers labels/marks, as a matter of interest, please?

Stuka On the page I've linked to below, there are some other works in a similar vein by this artist. However, you will have to register to find out what they made at auction. Best of luck! http://www.arcadja.com/auctions/en/pulaski_kazimierz/artist/158078/

I suspect the answer to your question will depend on whether you are buying this watercolour for enjoyment or profit, Stuka. I am having difficulty reading the name of the artist and the date. Can you help me out, please?

Thanks, Carol.