Jump to content
News Ticker
  • I am now accepting the following payment methods: Card Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal
  • Latest News

    Jaybo

    Active Contributor
    • Posts

      242
    • Joined

    • Last visited

    • Days Won

      1

    Everything posted by Jaybo

    1. I have had fine luck with FJP Auctions over the years. They have been reliable and reasonable generally speaking. Liverpool Medals are pricey but often can provide that must-have piece. Good luck! The Imperial Austrian stuff is truly underappreciated. I recently returned from Europe and Vienna in particular. I picked up a Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa in gilded bronze for 250 euros from an apparently reputable dealer. It was sold as a RESTRIKE from the original dies. It is beautiful and is a nice filler for my collection.
    2. Gentlemen, I too have been intrigued by the Verdun medals. Personally, I have examples of the first six models (missing the Steiner, Rasumny and DuTemps versions). I highlt recommend getting the excellent softcover publication "La Medaille de Verdun" by Thierry SILVERT (in French). It is superbe and very thorough. Happy collecting mes amis! Jay P.S.-I vote for keeping the site name as is.
    3. Hello Noor, That is another fine piece in this wonderful thread. I have one as well. Last week or so, there were two, quite rare German States medals that went for big money on e-bay. Get them while you can. Fortunately, most collectors are more attracted by the 'shiny stuff'. I prefer the medals awarded to the men of the horse, musket and black powder era. All the best, Jaybo
    4. Hi Colin, Thanks again for your much appreciated assistance. I got the high resolution digital image of Gerard's Ney from RMN via Art Resource, their North American distributor. Thanks to yours truly it can now be seen and available on the RMN website ($150). A professional printing company here in Grand Rapids reproduced 4 different 8" x 10" images for me on acid free paper ($125). They did a fantastic job. I then had it professionally framed by a woman I always go to for 'my stuff' (my wife says that I am running out of walls!-$300). The cost of the letter was around $550. The result of having a shadow of 'Le brave des braves'around our house-priceless! The letter came from the collection/estate of Marshal Soult with provenance. It is a letter from Ney to Soult in August of 1809 in Spain. It has a great autograph and post scriptum. I'll try posting some images with my wife's assistance soon. All the best, Jay
    5. Gentlemen, I will soon pick up a framed letter of Marshal Ney with a high resolution print of Baron Gerard's portrait done of 'Le brave des braves' in 1805. It should be wonderful. It is a letter written in 1809 from Ney to Marshal Soult while in Spain. I love history. Jaybo
    6. Hi Chip, Thanks for your help...it has been helpful. That looks like white piping on the later shoulderstrap? I have already been in contact with one of the guys in that Leib Regt. re-enactor group in the UK. We shall see re the Lutzen & straps. All the best, Jay
    7. Hi Chip, Thanks for the your excellent reply. You seem to be quite knowledgeable in this arena. Another question if I may. I have the deathcard and medals to a member of this regiment. I'm looking to frame them with some other 'stuff' of this regiment. Are originals of the shoulderstraps and edelweiss insignia nearly impossible to come by? I have been searching on e-bay for sometime with nill results. Are there good repros being done to your knowledge? Any insight that you can provde would be helpful. All the best, Jay
    8. Gentlemen, Can someone describe what the Bavarian Leib Regiment's shoulderboards would have looked like in 1918? Besides being feldgrau, what color would the piping be and would it have had a crown as in pre-war regulations? If so, what color was it? Two last questions, would the other ranks still be wearing the Garde collar lace that late in the war? Was the Edelweiss distinction on their caps (for being part of the Alpenkorps) have been metal or embroidered (and what did it look like)? Thanks. All the best, Jay
    9. Hello Monkey, That is a nice '1814'. Fortunately, they are still affordable for the average collector (and probably not faked often as a result). If you are like me, you will want all 4 of the series. The Napoleonic medals (actually post-Napoleonic medals) are fun to collect because of the men & times they represent. They are seldom flashy but mean more to me than some later-era medal for fighting in some back-water, 3rd world colony! All the best!
    10. Hi Colin, I'll start with RMN and see what it will take. I'll let you know how I fare. My Ney letter with signature should arrive anytime now from France. I have never heard of that book on Ney. I have Foster's bio on Ney as well as the works on Napoleon's Marshals by Chandler & Delderfield. My read on it is that Ney indeed was (along with Labedoyere)a scapegoat/example for the Bourbons to hold up to recalitrant Bonapartists. Lois XVIII pulled his punches in 1814 but not at the end of 1815. Currently, I am reading Phil Mansel's "Paris Between Empires-1814-52". The guy is clearly a monarchist but has done his homework. I have also read his bio on Louis XVIII and a couple other of his works. I would recommend his work to you if your knowledge needs 'fleshing out' from the Bourbon perspective. All the best, Jay P.S.- I generally make it to the Chicago Show every year. It is wonderful to talk with like-minded folk. Maybe one of these years you can make it down.
    11. Hello Colin, Thanks for posting that wonderful article. I too, have been fascinated by 'le Brave des braves' since I was a little boy. Alyhough he is not my favorite (that would be Davout), he was along with Lannes the bravest. Also, he had an obviously tragic end. Napoleon's words on his fate only go to further debase the accomplishments of 'le petit corporal' in my view. So what do you think is my best option for getting a print of Gerard's portrait of Ney? All the best, Jay
    12. Colin, Thanks very much for your responses. I will contact both museums to see if they offer prints of Ney for sale or whether they can send me a digital photo of it for reproduction. I imagine that just reproducing it from the web won't give me quite the resolution necessary. As far as the scan of the story how the Ney portrait came to the US, I would indeed be interested. By the way, I very much enjoyed your figure as well. Do you ever attend the Chicago Show in October? All the best, Jay
    13. Gentlemen, I recently obtained a letter signed by Marshal Ney. I would like to frame it with a print of the famous portrait of Ney by Baron Gerard. However, despite all the poster/print companies out there on the net with various depictions of Ney, nobody has a print of the Gerard portrait for sale (unless you want to buy some hack's oil painting repro). Does anyone have any ideas? I have well over 100 books on the subject and I can't find out where the original is today (a possible lead for prints?). I have the two excellent volumes by the late Colonel Willing on 'Les Invalides' which seem to indicate that it may be there (I don't remember seeing it when last there in 2003). Any help would be greatly appreciated! Jay
    14. Hi Glenn, Thanks so much for your efforts. It means alot to me. I will have to do some reading on Kemmel now. I was in the general area in 2007 (Ypres Salient). If only I had known then about Gefreiter Misthilger...... Do you have materials which may indicate whether he has a known grave? Thanks. All the best, Jay
    15. Gentlemen, Thank you all very much who have responded. Today, I received confirmation from a gentlemen in my guy's hometown in Bavaria that he is indeed listed on the town plaque for the lost in 'das Weltkrieg'. Unfortunately, I had misinterpreted the spelling of his name. It is actually, Johann Baptist MistHilger (NOT MistBilger). Does this help with your sources? My 'guy in Bavaria' will hopefully follow up with more info. More later God willing mes amis! I love this site and the gentlemen that visit it. a votre sante, Jay
    16. Gentlemen, I too would like to know the derivation of this medal. I have a deathcard and medals to a gentleman from the Bavarian Leib Regiment that was KIA ('Gefallen') on 30 April 1918. I would like to know how one came by this medal originally. All the best, Jay Stone
    17. Hello Glenn, Thanks for you research. I suppose my guy may have been wounded on the 29 0f April and succumbed on the 30th. I'll try scanning the deathcard in a reply this weekend once my wife shows me how. Hopefully that will help. Jay
    18. Hi Chris, Thanks for the input. I believe the deathcard to be authentic (who would want to fake those unless we are talking Richtofen,etc). The name as on the card is: " Joh. Bapt. Mif(s?)tbilger ". I assume that the Gothic 'f' actually stands for an 's' as in "Burgermeiftersfohn von Ranoldsberg", which also is present on the card (I took French not German in college!). As far as scanning it, I'm not that computer savy although maybe my wife can help in that regard. If you would like, I could mail one to you. I'll look up Operation Georgette and the action around Kemmel to see the deployment of his regiment and the Alpenkorps. I really enjoy finding out about the real 'flesh on the bones' stuff in military history. Back in 2007, my best friend and I did 'Back to the Front: Part II' by re-visiting several portions of the Western Front. One venture was to track down a Battle of the Somme casulty (whose medals I own) as to where he died. He was KIA on 14 July 1916 during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge. He was a member of the 7th Battalion, Leicester Regt. His name is on the Thiepval Memorial. To walk the field where his unit started from during that pre-dawn attack to where it ended in the woods was something. We are hoping to visit Germany/Austria/Czech Republic later this year (for mostly Napoleonic era battlefields). I thought that we would check out Ranoldsberg while we are in Bavaria. All the best, Jay
    19. Thanks again SPM. Your thoughts are very much appreciated. I love this site!
    20. Hello SPM, He won the Eiserne Kreuz II and the Bayern Verdienst Kreuz III acccording to the deathcard. The medals did NOT come with the card. I have added an old orginal bar grouping to frame with the card, Alpenkorps medal and the widow's cross. He is pictured in his dress (pre-War?) Leib Regiment uniform with the Guard lace on the collar and cuffs. I can't tell whether he has the Leib Regiment 'kronen' on the shoulder boards or not. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, Minenwerfer Kompagnie (one of the gentlemen who dealt ou the 'screaming minnies' to the Allies no doubt!). He was 'Gefallen' on 30 April 1918. I was not aware that the Spring Offensive was technically over so early (my error). All the best, Jay
    21. Gentlemen, Can anyone tell me the German equivalent for KIA or as the French say it 'mort pour la France'? I have a deathcard and medals to a Gefreiter in the Bavarian Leib Regiment/Alpenkorps. Secondly, how tough is it to find if he has a known grave as one can readily discover from the British War Graves Commission website. My gentleman's name was Johann Baptist Mistbilger who was KIA on 30 April 1918 during the KaiserSchlacht. He was from Ranoldsberg, Bavaria. Thanks for all the experten out there. Jay Stone
    22. Hello all, This are questions to the moderator and all Imperial Russian era students/experten. First, are the 'logs' listing the award winners with the decoration number (i.e.-241,455) for the Order of St. George, St. George Crosses and Bravery Medals still in existence or were they lost during the Revolution? It would be wonderful to actually find out who the indivdual was who won the awards in our collections. Second, how were the decisions to award the various decorations made? I envision a group of old, wizened, bearded Russian generals sitting around making the call but I must believe that there was more to it than that. Were there 'statutes' that governed the awarding process? Are they availble yet today? Any insight into these questions would be most welcome. All the best, Jay
    23. Thanks Bob. Do you happen to know the web address for the German War Graves Association? All the best, Jay
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...

    Important Information

    We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.