landsknechte

After a good twenty or so years of very casually searching, I finally tracked down a Tamara ribbon bar.  My first ribbon bar with a tailor's label as well.  Interesting that it's not a Bavarian tailor.

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Now the OP needs to confirm if the thin stripe on the edge is green or if it is blue.

At first glance, I thought it was a "forest" green.  It looks more blue in the photograph than it does in person.  Took a look it with my trusty photographer's loupe, and the weft is a similar blue to the Lippe-Schaumburg ribbon.  I'm guessing that the green is just the result of aging, and it's effected some of the fibers more than others.  (The black on the EK also has a distinctly navy blue tint to it that's more visible to the unaided eye.)

I just scooped up a nice non-combatant's bar this afternoon, and I don't recognize the last ribbon.  Anyone recognize it?

Picked this up earlier this year.  It had all the hallmarks of the military version that was contracted to both France and Portugal.  The factory letter came in this afternoon confirming that it was indeed shipped to the French Army.

Lt. Vollrath Freiherr von Maltzahn u. Wartenburg u. Penzlin

1. Eskadron, Husaren Regiment Nr. 9

In a thread here, Deruelle has a photograph of Maltzahn wearing the big brother to my ribbon bar.  (Note the quirky placement of the Saxe-Ernestine in both bars.)

As a bit of a historical footnote, Maltzahn went on to get his law degree after the war, and followed his father into the diplomatic service.  Among other roles, he served as the first post war ambassador from West Germany to France from 1955-1958.

Is there any obvious commonality among those seven that you can see?  (e.g. all members of a specific unit that had some sort of a connection, etc.)

I just picked up this ribbon bar today, and the middle ribbon has me completely stumped.  Anyone recognize it?

Also, anyone familiar enough with Schwarzburg to venture a guess as to which of their decorations would be represented by [very tarnished] silver swords on an enlisted bar?

7 hours ago, Dave Danner said:

Regarding the ribbon bar, though it is possible, I doubt the first ribbon has a hole for a Wiederholungsspange. It's possible a China veteran in his 60s might have gotten the clasp, but unlikely. Also, the hole is off-center compared to the holes on the FEK and DA ribbons. It's not a 100% either way; just my speculation.

It didn't occur to me right away, but the miniature devices Nicolas7507 mentioned makes sense too.  It was really the lack of a device on the second ribbon that caught my eye, as I'm more used to something like an HHOX in that spot. 

For what it's worth, the backing is one of those sheet steel style with the pre-punched holes.  The first ribbon isn't lined up quite right for the hole to be centered.  It might have scooted over a little bit over time, but it looks like it was probably at least a little off center even when it was originally made.

Came home from a militaria / gun show yesterday with a new prize!

There are holes in the first (EK), fourth (Hindenburg Cross), and sixth (Long Service) place ribbons where devices used to be. I'm guessing that the first ribbon is just a standard EK1914 with a 1939 clasp, but I'm unsure of what the second ribbon represents.  Which of the Prussian decorations that share that ribbon would make sense in this context, without a device?  Also, does the Anhalt Friedrich Kreuz paired with the Prussian decorations and/or the China medal shed any light on who the original owner might have been?

Just received this interesting ribbon bar today.  The lack of a long service medal to represent the 20+ years covered by these ribbons perplexed me at first glance.  Am I correct in thinking that this was likely a crewman on a civilian ship that was involved in the response to the Boxer Rebellion, who then ended up in the military (Navy?) when WWI rolled around?  Is there some other scenario that would make sense?  Would the composition of the Iron Division make some sort of other interpretation make more sense?

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any info regarding dimensions, weight, thickness, material composition?

 

Regards

v.Perlet

Weight: 5.1g

The cross is 17.5mm wide at it's widest part. 

The thickest part of the center roundel is 2.6mm.

It appears to be copper, or some sort of mostly copper alloy.  I don't really have a way to test that other than appearance 

I stumbled across this little oddity, and had to scoop it up.  I assume it's an unfinished mini version of a MVO.  Has anyone seen anything like this before?

21 hours ago, spolei said:

The last ribbon on your clasp could be an austrian award.

 

I'm not really all that familiar with Austrian decorations, but the only [Austrian] medals that I'm finding that match are a couple of jubilee medals.  Is there something else?  

I assumed it was a DRK / Volkspflege decoration, given the other medals.  

I just picked up this interesting miniature medal bar, without even realizing that it was anything other than a standard ribbon bar.  It's a shame that the miniature medals have vanished, but I'll take what I can get.

Thanks!  I'm a bit out of my element when it comes to Baden, and didn't catch the mis-match of the titles.  I've seen nothing to suggest any sort of genealogical connection, but he's got geography on his side when it comes to the possibility of a professional connection to the Baden royal family.  I've seen two different addresses connected to him on Stephanienstraße in Karlsruhe (literally just down the street from the castle), and his name appears in the Baden archive related to the family (although I have not yet requested that record).  If there is anything there, who knows how tenuous it might be.

I'm unsure of what to take from "Königlichen" and "Hochwolgeboren" in the context of the intro of a letter from a military official to a Landwehr eye doctor.  I don't want to jump to conclusions, but would that indicate that he was an eye doctor for / to the royal family of Baden?

Yep.  It's a pretty standard "navy blue".

Ah, ok.  I was under the impression that the 1897 was handed out a lot more liberally, and that pretty much anyone in state service at the right time had one - regardless of whether they were regular army, a reservist, or a postman.  

Apart from having the darkest blue that I've ever seen on a BMVK / BMVO ribbon, it's also got a crown device by itself.  I don't really know how to interpret this one.  What are the normal circumstances associated with the crown only version of the MVO?

I assume that the dark blue was a 25 year Prussian DA, but who would have been in a position to have that without an 1897 Centenary?  I suppose it's possible that this was a Prussian who signed up immediately after March 1897, and netted just enough time in service to earn the DA a few months before the Armistice.  Is there some other scenario  that this makes sense for?

The blade looks like it's been parkerized after it was butchered, which seems to suggest it wasn't Bubba's handiwork.  

Doing a bit more digging, I've come to suspect it might be one of these South Korean modified bayonets.

I've had this Garand bayonet for a while, and I'm not really sure what to make of it.  All the markings have been crudely ground off, and it's been refinished.  I suspect that this might have belonged to some third party country during the cold war.  Anyone know what might be going on here?

On 16/10/2021 at 14:04, Nicolas7507 said:

Maybe I am wrong but these bars do not make any sense to me.

As much as anything else, I'm confused with the fact that there's more than one of these....

I posted this bar ages ago, in 2005 or so, and we never really got beyond head-scratching at the time.  I remain just as confused as ever.  I thought that I'd float it again, in the event that perhaps it would make sense to a new face or in light of new research.    

As best I can tell...

#1 could be:

1909 Nassau Errinerungsmedaille or

Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau  or

Pre-1913 Prussian XXI long service or
#2. Finland Cross of Liberty 2nd Class
#3. DSWA
#4. Dutch Order of Oranje-Nassau
#5. Finland War of Independence Commemorative
#6. Prussian War Merit Cross
#7. Lippe-Detmold KVK2 for combatants

A second ribbon bar is (or was) owned by another forum member, with same decorations plus a sword device on #4.  I'm having trouble tracking down the photo that I saved of the rear of their bar at the moment, but I remember that one having red backing material instead of green.  Whatever this is, the second bar would suggest that this was actually done on purpose.

Anyone have any thought on this one, and what it all adds up to?

Interesting!  On a lark, I checked Ancestry.com, and found a XXI. Armee-Korps ranklist that shows him in 1914 (I think) with only the BZ3bXmE listed at that point.  

He was posted in Lodz as a doctor, not there as a patient, correct?  (My father in law was from Lodz, so that caught my eye.)

This is one that I've had for a while, but apparently never got around to posting.  Anyhow, I'd be curious as to what if anything could be taken from the combination of ribbons.  I'm guessing that the small numbers of decorations suggests that the recipient was a relatively junior officer, but does the Zähringer plus the Waldeck hint towards any particular unit(s)?