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    ilieff

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    Everything posted by ilieff

    1. In relation to the Order of SS Cyril and Methodius, Just a humble note on my behalf, In his book, Prince Romanoff distinguishes two types of badges: he calls them 'badge' and 'lesser badge'. The latter is the type of badge which we're currently discussing - smaller in size and having a more pronounced shade of azure. Unfortunately, there's no actual image of the badge he's referring to in the book. Nevertheless, note that the size of the badge we're discussing is noticeably smaller than the 'default' 75mm wide arm span. This can be easily observed in one of the above images where it's shown beside the breast star (which, again, tend to differ in size but we can assume it's one of the generic ones, measuring at about 75mm wide). Naturally, we should not assume that everything written by Romanoff is true, but at least it's a fact that by the time of printing (early 80s), these badges have already been around for some time and have been treated as genuine, plus it's highly plausible that His Majesty King Simeon II has provided exclusive insight into the topic which, in theory, can indirectly prove that these are genuine badges, perhaps produced by appointment of the King himself while in exile. Another footnote I wanted to add is that both Pavlov and Petrov cite an article which states that Zimmermann of Pforzheim have also minted C&M orders (perhaps in late 30's/ early 40's). Personally, I haven't seen any markings, other than Rothe, which seem to have minted both major variations of the star/badge.
    2. Yes, my assumptions were the same. I am unsure about no.6 and no.10, too The ribbon for no.6 resembles the one for the so called 'railway medal' but this does not make any sense. The medal "For allocation of the military banners" is supposed to have a plain red ribbon, according to Pavlov.
    3. Hi, I am reviving this forgotten thread by sharing with you a couple of quick snaps I managed to do with my phone while at the museum (I really hate the way the people working there chase you up along the corridors, preventing you from taking pictures - thankfully, nobody was around at that time, excluding cctv). It's Prince Alexander's bar again - a slightly better quality image. Due to the interior lighting, there was an awful glare and the identification would have to mostly rely on the ribbons. The orders are easily distinguishable but not the medals. I've tried to minimise the negative effect of the glare but it wasn't enough... Any suggestions as to what the medals might be? There are 9 in total. I do have a rough idea but would appreciate your opinions beforehand.
    4. Thank you all. Graf, I like your suggestion for My 'First steps' being the title.
    5. It's been fairly quiet in the current sub-forum, so I thought I'd share with you a portion of my first 'illustrations' of Bulgarian orders which I made when I was fifteen (or so) years old and a novice in graphic design. Yes, these images seemed pretty accurate to me back then. I hope these illustrations will bring a smile on your face, as they did on mine when I accidentally dug them up last week from my backup archive. Ilieff
    6. Hi all, I assume this is the correct section to post my request for help. Can you please see if you can id this breast star? It belonged to general G.Vazoff who was serving in the Imperial army for a short period of time. My assumption is that he received this order during that time, hence why I post it here. Thanks PS: Yes, I am aware it's none of the official state orders, but I thought it might be one of the local decorations. I.e. he served in the Near East, Tajikistan (Kushka fortress)
    7. I assume the auction has ended by now, as I cannot find it on ebay.de. I was wondering whether there were any images of the sides of the badge and the swords in particular? i.e. that is to see how those bizarre swords are attached to the cross itself or were they a single unit (as it should be). And yes, I agree with you all. One positive thing I can see about this set is that the sash appears to be genuine.
    8. Serbian Crown prince Alexander in 1912, wearing the Bulgarian St Alexander (Grand Cross) Our of curiosity, do you know what the last two awards on His bar are?
    9. Yes, I'd say that it is the same star. Romanoff used the so called Royal Collection of the Bulgarian Monarchy for reference, hence the unique pieces which he shows in his book.
    10. Good question. I'd assume a generic 1st class badge for this period (presumably Austrian-made (Rothe?) ). I've had a quick look at my image archive and noticed that the majority of cases where those diamond-cut stars appear, it's usually a member of the royal family who wears them. This supports Graf's theory of the stars being used by/given to [exclusively] the highest of the high-ranking people. Attached image shows two types of necklace sets - 1) with the so called 'Tsar' crown, worn by prince Cyril (c. 1909) and of the young Prince Ferdinand - example with crossed swords and earlier period crown suspension (c. 1888). Another examples of such stars which I came across are photos of King Boris III (both as King and heir to the Throne) and His mother Marie-Louise who only wore the diamond-cut stars without any necklaces/sashes.
    11. Hi all, The star looks fine to me. The diamond-cut rays are rare. King Ferdinand and His mother, Clementine, wear such examples on several occasions. Such diamond-cut star is displayed at the National Military History museum and presented as being part of Prince Alexander I collection (shown as part of a set along with a Russian-made 1st class badge on a sash). It does looks like the Kretly stars but the letters of the motto in this case are not mounted/fixed and also there appears to be a single ring of silver beads rather than two. Yes, The majority of the known examples are French-made but I suspect that there are some Austrian (probably the above is one of them) and even perhaps Russian-made ones. In the earlier years of the order, there weren't particularly strict guidelines to the appearance of the rays themselves and we can see different types of them (at least 3). The same goes for the second ring of silver beads around the central medallion - there are known 1st class stars with a single ring and even without any beads (the earlier Russian examples), but the latter were perhaps produced using the stock of ready-made star bases for the Russian stars. Actually, this could well be the case with this star too but using an Austrian base instead. Having said that though, I cannot ascertain whether this is indeed a 1st class star or not.
    12. I do believe that this is actually St. George. My bet is that this badge has been issued by either the Ministry of Defence or the Society whose chairman he was (less likely)
    13. An image from more recent times: Colonel Nikola Ruhchev - an army engineer, teacher at the military university and its prime historical researcher. Chairman of the Society of graduates of HM Military School (etc.) Today we mark 2 years since his death. I am posting the image due to the unfamiliar (for me) commander badge suspended at his neck.
    14. During the period of 1878-1885 many Bulgarians were presented with the Order of Takovo. I cannot quote any number, but it was large enough for the Ministry of War to issue official documents outlining who, how and when can wear their foreign awards, the Takovo order being one of the prime awards mentioned.
    15. Former member of the Bulgarian Voluntary corps G. Ivanov with an impressive display of awards.
    16. The King in hussar uniform. Note the Constantinian order of St. George with the 'Bulgarian' type of jewelled crown - something we discussed in another thread.
    17. Hi, Unfortunately, I haven't got any info about this display. I only came across this photograph in the archives and decided to share it with you.
    18. Since we're on the topic of display of awards, here's another interesting one: Display of the honours, awards and orders awarded to Shipkoff's Rose essence factory. I did not know that corporate entities could be awarded with orders, too. Or... perhaps these include the personal decorations of the director himself. Opinions? Which is the French (?) order?
    19. Very nice. Vojvoda Stepanovic was the sole foreigner to have been decorated with the 2nd class order "For Bravery" during the Balkan wars. In total, during the period of 1912-1913, there were 9 decorations with the 2nd class order - all remaining 8 orders were given to Bulgarian generals (Savov, Fichev, Kutinchev, Ivanov, Dimitriev, Toshev, Dikov and Todorov).
    20. Very nice photo Paja. Thanks. By the way, this thread should not be treated as 'Bulgarian-related' only, even though it's currently the case. I'd be happy to see more interesting photographs of other countries too. As for the swords/no-swords dilemma - my understanding is that if there are crossed swords above the cross, then [in most cases] the lappets won't be there and vice versa. This suggests that if there weren't any swords present, then we should see the lappets of the crown. I can't. And no, the Princess wasn't the commander of a Bulgarian military unit, as far as I know. My thinking is that she's been given the St.Alexander order for Her personal deeds as a nurse in the field hospitals of the Great War.
    21. Princess Nadezhda. It's interesting to see [what appears to be] a St.Alexander order on a ladies' ribbon and with crossed swords. It's news for me.
    22. Prime-minister Stambolov - one of the few Bulgarians to have been decorated with the 1st class of the bravery order. We can also see a diamond (?) St. Alexander star and perhaps a gold grade medal of merit.
    23. No idea. I do not collect awards, so I couldn't possibly know - just wanted to share the ad.
    24. More fake Military merit orders This one looks to have been made from scratch (perhaps a small portion of the parts of the cross might be genuine) and I must say that I am impressed (and worried). https://balkan.auction/en/auction/3910876/royal-order-for-merit-merit-iii-degree-borisovo-issue
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