David Gregory

Hamburg Hanseatic cross document trivia*:

If you have two or more Hamburg documents in your collection, compare them with the one that Rick posted above and pay close attention to the fold lines.

All of mine have exactly the same fold pattern, in addition to any "non-standard" folds that might have been added by their owners over the years.

Does anyone have an original envelope that a Hamburg document was originally sent in? This might provide a clue as to the fold lines.

/David

*Just in case you are wondering, no I don't spend my spare time comparing fold lines of Imperial paperwork, it simply struck me while I was trying to find a way to store loose single documents that Hamburg Hanseatic cross documents all have exactly the same fold lines.

A humble bar to an NCO (or junior officer?) who served with the Bulgarians and Turks:

The Bremen cross is the symbol of the apostle Peter, the patron of Bremen cathedral, and was first used in the town seal in 1366.

It is associated with a quote from the bible by Peter referring to the "key to heaven".

/David

Ralph,

There are a few sellers on German eBay who sell these with monotonous regularity, which leads me to feel that there are modern copies around.

Take a look at http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6165080250 which shows one sold as a repro, but without the black paint finish like yours. The suspension rings looks very similar, though.

German eBay seller tunnelmolch has sold them recently, but all his auctions are private to "protect" the bidders.

/David

Gerd,

Very nice presentation - I will have to come and see it in person soon.

Where did you find the frame?

/David

P.S. Will we see you in Verdun this weekend?

I wonder if anyone has private photos of the interior taken during the war hidden away in a photo album somewhere?

Is the service any better today?

/David

German naval headquarters in St. Helier during the war.

It's always interesting when these Sax-Weimar ribbons show up with the swords on them. A rather "over the top" statement as the award itself signifies combat, as opposed to other medals where the combat award is actually designated by the swords. Here's another example. A set of 3 bars to one man, with matching bow. All with the Sax-Weimar War Medal with (redundant) Swords!

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Rick,

Might these be Sachsen-Meiningen ribbons with the "dotted" pattern at the edge?

/David

Modern fire brigade uniforms

Mike,

As is evident from the country's history, Germans love dressing up in uniforms. The military, para-military and party organisations that seem to be the focus for so many collectors certainly had the majority of uniforms and related badges, awards, etc. produced - if the collecting market is to be believed.

Even today, many Germans are members of various organisations connected with hunting, hobbies, voluntary fire brigades, bands and orchestras, carneval societies, historical tradition, etc. that still have uniforms. In the past, companies, hotels, towns and cities also had fairly high demand for uniforms, too. Modern German uniforms still use Tresse, cuff bands, buttons, peaked caps, piping, shoulder boards, collar patches, cockades, buckles, etc., which are often made by the same companies that supplied the military and party organisations in the past.

Judging by what I have seen at flea markets and various events over the years, the buttons you show could have been used by one of the above organisations for a private or official livery at some time over the last 90 years.

Do any of the uniform characteristics in the pictures below seem remotely familiar? They are all taken from current tradion, fire brigade or rifle association sites.

/David

http://www.buergerwache-crailsheim.de/32.0.html

Rick,

Thanks for the tip (although I should have seen a pinned thread :speechless-smiley-004: ).

Is there any particular reason why the thread has been closed?

Thanks again,

David

They might just belong to a Verein or any other organisation that used liveries and/or uniforms, which certainly fits in with the German mindset of old.

My 1912 Prussian rank list is complete, except for the pages explaining the abbreviations for the awards. flame

Until someone compiles a list for mere mortals such as I, these cryptic abbreviations will remain just that, I'm afraid.

WOW. The veteran's decoration is not uncommon and can be found with many different unit designations, but the clasp shown for China is probably one of the hardest to find.

And what order is the "BZ3bXmE" for that matter? Is it something pretty from Baden?

Chris,

Your man would have worn a bar with an EK2 and a Sachsen-Meiningen medal for merit in war like this:

About 24,000 of these were awarded. They were given to other ranks and NCOs. Officers received the cross, which looked much the same except that the cross was cut out inside the ring and it was suspended from a crown.

The documents are fairly uncommon and, in my view, highly underrated (and I hope it stays that way).

Cheers,

David