Carol I

Belgium Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (military) As well as, a white Maltese cross, similar to that worn by his father on the 1940 cover of Life magazine.

Thanks for the details of the photo. I am not saying that Mihai could not have received the Czechoslovakian award at a later time point, but June 1936 was an official event suitable for displaying the award. See for comparison the photo from the visit to Poland in 1937 where he is wearing the insignia of the White Eagle. It could also be that he was too young during the Czechoslovakian visit.

I really doubt Mihai received any Hungarian honours given the 1940 occupation of Northern Transylvania by Hungary. The photo below shows King Carol II and Prince Mihai in the presence of President Benes. Carol II appears to wear the collar of the Order of the White Lion, but Mihai has a rather plain appearance with no Czechoslovakian awards.

I did not mean only photos, but other reliable sources as well. For example, I have found the date of the Polish award in a book on the Order of the White Eagle. The collar of the Order of the Orchid Blossom was in an exhibition of royal items in the collections of the National History Museum.

The Wikipedia list is terribly inaccurate for the national awards. It mentions for example collars for the Order of Michael the Brave and the Order of the Star of Romania (that never existed during either of his rules) and wrong grade for the Faithful Service Order, plus the title of sovereign knight instead of grand master, although this might be the same thing. This makes me suspect the foreign awards too. Although some awards seem plausible, I do not think that the references are fully reliable. For example the evidence for the Belgian award is a blurry photo. The Czech award and the Finish one have no reference, although both are plausible given the pre-war relations with Czechoslovakia (which would make it Czechoslovakian rather than Czech) or the war-time relations with Finland. Similarly, I do not know how much the references for the French or Italian awards could be trusted. Furthermore, the list does not include the Royal Victorian Chain in spite of the recent photographic evidence. This is why I suggested to look for photographic evidence or other reliable sources.

Mihai has reigned during some difficult periods when the usual system of diplomatic exchanges between states did not work. This has most likely been reflected in the foreign awards he received (I do not think the list on Wikipedia is fully correct). Can we try to reconstruct his list of awards based on photographic evidence or other reliable sources? Great Britain Royal Victorian Chain Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order I think this order is also worn in the photo below at the British Royal wedding in 1947. Greece Collar of the Royal House Order of Saints George and Constantine Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer Manchukuo Collar of the Order of Orchid Blossom (February 1941) Poland Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle (22 May 1937) USA Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit (20 March 1946) USSR Order of Victory (06 July 1945)

The order is no longer awarded. Please take a look on its official description.

I know of no regulation that described the model to the left, so I assume it was made either as "transitional" insignia (as you put it) in ignorance of the regulations or directly as a fantasy piece to deceive collectors into believing it is a rare piece. A giveaway should be the wrong ribbon on which is mounted.

Lost it for about 1025...

Andrei, you should go on a visit to the National Military Museum. They have a very nice collection of uniforms, including from the period you are interested in. Please take a look the the thread describing a tour through the Romanian Military Museum.

Thank you both for the replies. Please keep the fingers crossed so that I'll get a good price. Here is the box:

Your opinion on this piece? Thanks!

I thought that the photo had the kind of emulsion that was not sensitive to blue. It's only too bad that the resolution of the photo is poor and we cannot even see whether there is the shadow of the blue cross.

I might be mistaken, but the marked star could be the Order of the Star of Romania.

Thank you all for your contributions on this detective search. I am amazed by all your knowledge and for how quick you have replied me.

Thank you all for the replies. You seem to have extraordinary knowledge. With your help I can conclude that in the studio photo from Bistrita, most likely taken in 1898 (he wears the Jubilee Commemorative Medal of 1898 - maybe the reason to take the photo), Eduard was a feldwebel. Then, in the group photo taken at the latest in 1899 (maybe it marked the end of the 'Metalka-era' of the regiment), Eduard was a fähnrich. Now it remains the question of the regiments in which he served. In 1898 he could have been part of the 63rd Infantry Regiment. Then in 1899 he was part of the 2nd Hungarian Infantry Regiment stationed in Metalka. I understand that the collar colour of the 63rd Infantry Regiment was orange-yellow. What was the colour of the 2nd Hungarian Infantry Regiment? Or of the 22nd Landwehr Regiment? I have seen that the latter was stationed in Cernauti (Czernowitz in German). Maybe this was the reason Eduard later settled in Bucovina? Was any of these regiments stationed in Prague between 1917-1918? A bit of quick research showed that 32ndLandwehr Regiment was also stationed in Bistrita, so I think we should add this to our detective search.

What was his rank in the Metalka photo? Was he a Feldwebel in the studio photo? Was his uniform special in any way? In the family he was mentioned as being part of the Austrian military postal service in the last years of the empire. After the war he settled in the Itcani (Itzkany in German) suburb of Suceava, where he worked for the Romanian postal service until the 1930s. Detail of the studio photo.

This is the best I could do.

Thanks a lot. I think he was only NCO. Earlier opinions on the forum based on the studio photo were Zugsführer or Feldwebel. I think I have identified him in the first photo. What can you say about his rank in comparison to the studio photo?

Hi! Can you post the whole list? Maybe we can find him there. His name was Eduard Victor Gürtesch. Thanks in advance.

Thank you all for the additional information. A picture is worth a thousand words: the building in the photo looks like the building in the postcard posted by Paja. Can you comment on the inscription above the gates? Now some background information. I have found the photo among some old papers from my wife’s side. Her great grandfather, a Transylvanian Saxon, (photo below), had been in the Austrian army but no other details were available except a move to Prague between 1917-1918 with his whole family. I have mentioned him before on the forum but the photos have disappeared there. From your posts I suspect that he served in the 2nd Hungarian Infantry Regiment and he was probably posted in Metalka, Bosnia before 1899. Can anyone spot him in the photo? After that he married a girl from Bistrita (Bistritz or Nösen) and they had a daughter in 1902. I would appreciate if you can give any other information about the regiment and its moves.

Thanks for the reply, but there seems to be only forest there now. Is there any remnant of the building in the forest? I feel somehow that we have to continue the search and look for a suburb of a larger city. Metalka has a Slavic resonance, so my bets are for Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia or something similar. What can you tell about the uniforms or the unit?

I would appreciate any information regarding this photo. Can you identify the location? Or the unit? Other details? I have tried to blow up the inscription above the gates.

Thanks for the details, Egorka.

Could you please give details regarding this poster? Thanks in advance.