Mike Dwyer

That's King Friedrich August II of Saxony.

I may be way out in left field here, but if the eagle was applied by a stencil, if the artist didn't paint over the edges of the stencil and left the dark stencil outline around the edges of the eagle, could this account for the shadowed or decal look?

Hi, Stogie Thanks! I've only got a few things but what really made me want this mini-bar was that I own each of the full-sized medals too! Unfortunately, they're not on a single bar together like the mini-bar. I have a two-place bar with the EK2 and Honor Cross w/swords and I own a MVK w/crown & swords.

While not nearly as nice as Andreas' miniatures, I'm waiting on the postman to deliver this little beauty!

For some twisted reason, I have always had a fascination with monarchies, knights, and the idea of virtuous service. As a older child, and then teenager, I loved Napoleonic uniforms, but as I got older and more "mature" I developed a love for the clean, crisp, lines of the German uniforms from about the 1880's to 1914. I have to admit I even like some of the field gray stuff too! As far as the orders and medals, they're just too superb for words!!!

Officer, will you hold my beer while I look for my license?

I don't know if I can do that or not, it may be technilogically too advanced for me! [attachmentid=13993]

Yeah! I think Hank the Lion is my pesonal favorite!

Rick, I am probably the last person in the entire universe that should be responding to this because I know absolutely nothing about ribbon bars (and I'm probably going to prove that right now!!!), but........go to this ribbon chart at http://s115255626.alturo-host.de/adl/bander.htm, scroll down to the Preussen section and look at ribbon # 14. With a little fading it looks awfully close. Since I know nothing about the medals themselves it may have been impossible for him to have had that medal.

Thank you very much, I was a bit confused!

Stogie, I am basically just a reader here! I know nothing about these badges and they aren't my real field of interest either. I tend to read anything you post because you seem to be extremely knowledgable and truly care about the truth. Perhaps I am being dense, but I'm a bit confused about the article. You say "no crowns" but in the article some of the examples shown as 'real' badges have crowns, so is the colonel still in the "crown" camp and believe real badges did have crowns?

Paul, I would love to buy a copy!

Rick, I seem to recall reading on some other website (which I know doesn't necessarily make it true) that if a MMJO ritter had two ancestors who were also knights, then the title was hereditary. Was that information bogus?????????????

Bob, Absolutely beautiful!

If I could expand this a little bit.... 1. The receipient had to be a Brunswick native as of August 1, 1914 or if not a Brunswicker, an officer in one of its formations. 2. He had to serve two years of "unbroken service" in the field. This was caveatted to permit up to two months of hospital and/or home leave during the period of qualification. 3. The receipient had to have a record of good conduct (usually applied only to men in the ranks, being presumed for officers). All requirements were waived in the case of death. (Info obtained from http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/sho...rungsabzeichen)

Sal, The semaphore Chip is talking about looks like this (US Coast Guard semaphoreman in action!) Mike

Tony, I honestly don't know the status of his contest. I know he filed a suit in German court some time ago. His father passed over him in favor of his grandson, Georg Friedrich, because he married outside of the house law on equal marriages (not once, but now he's on his fourth morgantic marriage!). His lawsuit basically argued that since the empire was no more, house law doesn't matter anymore and he should be the head of the house! Sounds kind of like having your cake and eating it too!

Another one of my favorite postcards! Bavarian General Ludwig Freiherr von Gebsattel. [attachmentid=11892]

Christophe posted a photo of General d'Elsa in the field. Here's one of him all dressed up! [attachmentid=11889]

When I first found "Der Expensivemeister" site I was looking at his wares and he had a beautiful little white and blue porcelain box that had a W on the lid with the imperial crown above it, surrounded by the grand collar of the Order of the Black Eagle, and around that a blue belt with the words "'Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense' on it. In his description he said it was the "Hohenzollern family motto"!!!!! After I picked myself up off of the floor from laughing so hard, I sent him an e-mail advising that it was the motto of the British Order of the Garter and that Kaiser Wilhelm II was a knight of the Garter (until it was taken away from him during the war). I never heard anything back from Der Expensivemeister and he never changed his description either.

Otto, This is the second or third time I have read the Carl Hans Theodor Holler story, and I find it just as fascinating and breathtaking as the first! I truly enjoy the stories and photographs that people have posted on the other forums you frequent showing their grandfathers and great-grandfathers in the Kaiser's army (or navy).

I would presume the tallest is the Crown Prince's eldest son, Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Franz Joseph Christian Olaf, who renounced his rights to the throne in 1933 and was killed as a Wehrmacht lieutenant at Nivelles, France 26 May 1940. His second son was Prince Louis Ferdinand Viktor Eduard Albert Michael Hubertus (1907-1994), who, upon Crown Prince Wilhelm's death in 1951, became the head of the Royal House of Hohenzollern. His third son was Prince Hubertus Karl Wilhelm (1909-1950), and his youngest son was Prince Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Christoph (1911-1966). Prince Louis Ferdinand's grandson, Prince GEORG FRIEDRICH Ferdinand (born 1976) is the current head of the Royal House of Hohenzollern (though he has an uncle, Prince Louis Ferdinand Friedrich Wilhelm Hubertus Michael Kyrill, eldest son of Prince Louis Ferdinand, who contests his headship.) Prince Georg Friedrich and the House of Hohenzollern have a website of some interest located at http://www.preussen.de/en/today.html