Swordguy

Bernhard was the grandson of King Wilhelm I (1781-1864) of W?rttemberg by his marriage to his uncle's daughter his first cousin Duchess Pauline of W?rttemberg (1800-1873) and held sashes and stars but it would all end horribly for Prince Bernhard. He was a "working" Prince, not just a royal in a uniform. He earned his promotions slowly just like the other aristocrats he served with-- even if his awards marked him out as special. Bernhard was born in Stuttgart where his royal grandparents could watch over him, on October 10, 1855. He was the son of Princess Auguste of W?rttemberg (1826-1898) and Prince Hermann Bernhard Georg zu Sachsen-Weimar (1825-1901). Bernhard's mother would die before her younger son's disgrace and ruin, but his father would live just barely to see Bernhard's shame. Here are most of his former regimental comrades in 1890 from Rick-- notice the names on the sword go by seniority here

Most of the names. Because of the curve of the saber, it was impossible to get them all This starts with the regimental commander and works down by seniority I will type out the donors later Maybe clearer to see the Damascus pattern with inverted color setting

From Rick's magic Epson scanner The presentation panel "Dem scheidenden Kameraden Premier Lieutenant Bernhard Prinz zu Sachsen Weimar Das Offizier Corps des Husaren Regiments K?nig Wilhlm I (1. Rhein. No. 7) Bonn 1881-1888" There is so much gold and blue that the Damascus only really shows near the tip of the blade here is the small rose pattern and inverted color setting for a bit clearer

Sometimes I wonder about collectors who are only interested in the things they collect and not the original owners. It's hard to do that with a named sword. This one was presented to Premier Lieutenant Prince Bernhard Wilhelm Georg Hermann zu Sachsen-Weimar when he was transferring out of Hussar Regiment 7 in 1888 after seven years of service there It is small rose pattern Damascus steel, heavily gilt. Can't get the whole thing even on Rick's magic Epson scanner so here is the best I can do for full length One very unusual thing about this is the use of natural eyes instead of the colored stones we usually see. This is called Teddy Bear eyes style now, but pre-dates stuffed Teddy bears by almost 20 years

With the guard folded [attachmentid=11074] and his entry in Rick's 1914 Rank List [attachmentid=11075] next to bottom left corner

Here is more of the "maiden hair" pattern. Notice that this blade was sharpened for use in the field. The "story" will follow [attachmentid=11066] With the inverted color function, pattern shows a little better maybe: [attachmentid=11361]

"From Machine Gun Platoon 166 to our beloved Lieutenant Reisse-- Villers-sous- Pr?ny Christmas 1914" [attachmentid=11060]

Inscription part 1 [attachmentid=11059]

This "maiden hair" damascus pattern sword was presented to a reserve Lieutenant by the men in his machine gun squad. It is an extremely expensive wartime gift from an unexpected source! [attachmentid=11058]