Claudio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Mauss Ciao, Claudio

@ Sascha: thanks for your intelligence work (Nachrichtendienst) At least I have the satisfaction that that Russian super rich and spoiled collector had to pay over Eur 500.- for a very nice but nonetheless after 1934 put together ribbon bar... I remember German collectors who very buying in the 80s ribbon bars paying DM 1.- per ribbon + DM 1.- per device... Now everything seems to be got out of control... I really hope that this current worldwide financial crisis will bring back many people back to reality... but on the other hand what are Eur 500.- for a somebody who can have millions in his bank account? For him Eur 500.- are for me like Eur 5000.- or even more. In my life I can say that I always honestly for my money, though... so at night I can sleep like a baby with a good conscience... No wonder that nowadays German dealers and auctioneer bring more Russian things on the market and translate their website in Russian... I think without them we would see a considerably drop of prices... @ Rick: I could gladly sell the Russian my Feldmann's medal bar for Eur 10'000.- if he really badly wants it! I wouldn't hesitate to do that... What was sooo special about that ribbon bar for his however, it's for me a mistery: no other documents were offered along the ribbon bar, I HAVE got the medal bar and, most importantly for Russian collectors, there're no Russian orders, medals or history attached to that bar. There must be something else... boh! Who knows!?

Here's Feldmann's medal bar... Sorry Rick for my ranting... I didn't want to hi-jack your interesting thread, but I had to shout my frustration out... ;-) Ciao, Claudio

Hi Rick, Unfortunately the only bar I could get from that auction was the article no. 38... Although an unnamed bar, one of my favourite Godet's bars! Jani's bar might have been already sold on one of his auctions in 2007 or 2008.... I saw it in the flesh once in Stuttgart a couple of years ago... Talking about naming and re-unite groups... This last auction I was pissed to have missed Feldmann's (see below, Auction no. 38, article no. 194) ribbon bar: I tried to get it, bidding on the phone, but apparently there was another bidder present at auction, who wanted it so badly... Now he has it, but he had to pay dearly for it: Eur 480.- + 23% commission!!! arghhhhh How could you spend so much on a such ribbon bar! At least I had the big brother (medal bar) to go with, but I wasn't ready to pay more than Eur 500.- to have it!!! At least I got Jantzen double ribbon bars, art. no. 196, (see : http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4109&hl=jantzen), although not that cheap... ciao, Claudio

Hi Claudius, The Frauenkirche is beautiful and stands out in all its Barock splendor... however it's just a copy... It's just incredible to see how much has been destroyed during the very last months or days of WWII, when the war was virtually already won by the allied forces by January-February 2009 (the Garnisonkirche in Potsdam was heavily hit just 2 weeks before war's end, as an example). What a tragedy for Germany to go through two completely avoidable world wars... and what a waste! Much of the old splendor is gone... luckily now there is a revival of interest in re-building magnificent buildings of the past, like the Stadtschloss in Berlin. There is also a project to completely or at least partly re-build the Garnisonkirche in Potsdam (however I doubt very much that they will be able to put the money together and re-build something that was the very heart of Prussian militarism that in the end of WWII tried so hard to get rid of Hitler). It's really a shame when you see the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, although it looks so futuristique and modern, the old spirit and charme has gone forever... Two world wars have dramatically changed the very soul of German people and its way the see the their past... I was very emotional and very sad when I stood before the Frauenkirche and I thought about the carpet bombing of February 1945 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II). I was also in N?rnberg... when I think that this old town was 90% destroyed and what you see today has been mostly re-build completely, you get the picture how hard Germans worked in late 40's and early 50's... But what you see it's just a copy of what it has been before... very sad, indeed! My 2 cents. Claudio

@ Wild Card: Yes, you're right... I also noticed it right away... these Napoleonic era St. Heinrich Crosses are rare as hen's teeth... Thies has one in a named bar on his upcoming auction (see below)... Too bad the starting price is so high... Best luck to you, too! ;-) Ciao, Claudio

Hi Christophe, According to post no. 6 (handwritten reverse of the photograph), the officer portraited in your group picture should be Schulz... Ciao, Claudio

@ Rick: thanks for your additional info.... @ Christophe: I can't remember the name of the recipient of no. 9 medal bar, but you might be correct. @ Alex: I thought the same about Immelmann's medal bar; it's clearly not the one is wearing on the photo. Claudio

another beautiful medal bar with its little brother ribbon bar... :speechless:

...and of course the last shown medal bar came with a name and the biographical info of the recipient!!! :speechless1:

Another beautiful Imperial medal bar with a colonial medal and its rare "Gefechtsspangen".... :speechless1:

Paradeuniform of a Prussian General in all its splendor!

Close up of Max Immelmann's orders and medals.

Max Immelmann!!!! :speechless1:

Biographical information on Genmaj von Egidy...

Ribbon bar and first (upper) part of Egidy's medal bar

Dear forumites, I just wanted to show some nice Imperial items, especially medal groups and medal bars, shown in the temparary exihibition of the Bundeswehr Museum in Dresden. Very nice museum with very interesting pieces of history. Lots of Saxon stuff. Definetely worth a visit; also the city of Dresden is, IMHO, really beautiful with its Baroc buildings and newly rebuilt Frauenkirche. Here the first group which impressed me very much... Generalmajor Ralph von Egidy's medals!

Thanks Rick... I wasn't sure about it, but I also thought that that ribbon was worn as "war ribbon" for bravery.

@ Beau Newman: I know what you mean, but sometimes outfitters used ribbons that were available in their shops, like for example this medal bar from my brother collection which came with a name (Dr. Hansen) and documents.

I am posting a better scan of the above-mentioned bar... for further investigation and discussion. Ciao, Claudio

It's a freikorps' badge... see also this post Ciao, Claudio

Here's the back of the above-mentioned ribbon bars:

@ Sascha: I remember very well Thies auction with the Lippe Group. I also bid on it, but the final price was quite high. I wanted to keep it together. I didn't see other pieces of the group in Stuttgart being sold by the dealer from whom I got the frackspange, though. @ Rick: thanks for your info about the IR 105: I thought there was a Saxon unit with W?rttemberg's connections. I also bought a couple of ribbon bars worn by the same officer. Although the combination is not unique the conditions are really good. One ribbon bar has the typical Godet's needle pin configuration on the back. Ciao, Claudio

Dulcis in fundo (Last but not least) a real very little gem of a Saxon-Weimer tuxedo mounted medal bar. Notice the lovely and rarely seen juweller's label on the back. I would like to thank the staff of Medal House (Auction and Medal House) to give me the opportunity to purchase this cute medal bar. Enjoy! Ciao, Claudio

Here I am showing another for me very interesting Saxon bar of a WWI veteran and later in public servant. The bar is perfectly mounted and comes with a nice label on the back; obviously also from a Saxon Jeweller... What can you want more! I like these bars... everything looks good. I hate bars with loose medals, open threads, messed with backs or ribbons... As Rick pointed out many times, medal bars were worn very seldom (parades, official events, marriages,...) and therefore they should look pristine or at least in good worn conditions. Of course, these bars, although there're very nice, they can not be researched, unfortunately... Maybe the unit can be found? Saxon WWI unit with W?rttemberg connection or a mixed larged unit (Division)? That would be interesting to know...