Mike Dwyer

I have a commander's badge (III Class) of the Order of the Star, but I don't have just a photo or scan of the medal by itself.

I've looked at my cross and I had a friend look at it and I'm not really sure if the core is blued or not. It is most certainly a very, very fine paint job if it's not blued because it's impossible to see any line or defects in the blackness. Even around the crown, W, and 1914 it is very crisp. Mike

Truly great stuff, Chris. Information like this, true human stories linked to the piece of metal and ribbon is what makes all of this worthwhile. Thanks for sharing this. Mike

Dan, Yes, it is convex. It has a fairly domed shape to it. I'm not sure I was really aware of that when I purchased it. It was a very pleasant surpise when I unwrapped it!

...and the reverse.

Dan, A very, very nice EK1. I just bought my very first EK1, courtesy of Glenn R. It's a real beauty. It's marked 935, but no maker's mark anywhere. (Photos made by Glenn R).

Well, I'm definitely no expert, so there's a very great chance that I'm wrong, but.............. isn't that a navy officer's belt he's wearing too? I think he's a Marine officer (but again, I'm probably wrong!) Oops, Rick beat me to it, and what do you know!!! I wasn't wrong!!!!!

Haynau, That's what I was thinking, or perhaps a Berliner who somehow ended up living in Austria, served in the Austrian army during the war, and then went back home to Berlin afterwards????

As far as I know, no, but I really have no idea how it came about, except that I've been to a formal event where I've seen him, and at least one other person present, wearing the Vitez badge. The other person was European.

These are still given out today. I have a friend who lives in Charleston, SC who received the Vitez a few years back. I'm not exactly sure how he got it, but it was awarded to him from Hungary.

Astounding. Breathtaking.......these words are inadequate to desribe this, Rick. Seeing things like this, where everything comes together is the true joy of collecting. These aren't just objects, these are precious things that once meant something very special to REAL people. Thanks for sharing!

I find the differences between the various countries very interesting! I've been Mason for 30 years and a past master for 24 and I have never seen anyone, except for a past grand master, wearing a jewel after they retired from office. If you look in the many US catalogs from the Masonic supply companies they are filled with past master's jewels, yet I've never seen one actually worn. Now I have to admit, I'm not very widely travelled and perhaps they're popular in some states more than others. My home lodge is in Georgia and I've never seen a Georgia past master wearing a jewel. Past master rings are extremely popular, but, at least in Georgia, not the jewels. Perhaps one reason, I don't really know, is that these jewels are always made of gold or are gold plated. Under the Masonic Code of Georgia only grand lodge officers may use gold, all subordinate lodge officers must use silver. I've never seen a past master's jewel in a catalog in silver.

The fellow in white may look French, but I believe he's probably from a French dominated country, possibly Kingdom of Naples? Italy? Westphalia?

Thank you, Dave! I appreciate the input.

Someone on another forum put this question to me, mistakenly thinking I have more knowledge of German history than I have! Hesse-Darmstadt sided with Austria in the War of 1866. The other Hesses, Hanover and Frankfurt were absorbed by Prussia after the war as punishment for siding with Austria, but Hesse-Darmstadt was not. Why not? I read an explanation that said Prussia was afraid to expand beyond the Main River for fear of provoking France, but it would seem likely there's more to it than that. Any German history experts out there who can set me straight?

Very, very nice!

Oh, that is just too much!

David, Very wonderful! I love the Princely Hohenzollern House Order second after the Royal one!

Red, What a beautiful piece! It has always been my dream to own one of those, but I know I will never be able to afford one! Spectacular! The Hohenzollern Haus Orden is one of my favorites.

Absolutely fantastic! I enjoy nothing more than seeing family collections like this. I know it would make collecting difficult, but I wish every family loved their ancestors enough to have kept all the things like this.

One of my favorite stories about Gurkha soldiers was in "Bugles and a Tiger" by John Masters, relating his service as a Army of India officer in a Gurkha regiment. There was a big fancy ball of some kind and a lieutenant had convinced a young lady to come outside and they proceeded to lie down (I believe under a cannon at the top of the outside stairs) and get to procreating. Just then a squad of Gurkhas marched by and the lieutenant froze in mid-thrust and stared in horror, as the Gurkha sergeant called "Eyes right" and saluted as the marched past.

Chip, Thanks for the explanation. It just seemed that the imperial Germans were so picky, picky about every little detail Iwould have thought each state would have had their own color lanyard (like the officer's shoulder straps), but I guess the Bavarians were the only ones that really wanted to push that to the limit!

I know absolutely nothing about lanyards, but I'm confused, why would a Prussian lanyard have black, white, and red threads, Prussia's colors were black and white. Black, white and red were the Imperial colors which I would think would only be used by the navy or colonial troops.

More really great photos, Otto! He must have been a truly nice fellow (since he seems to love dogs!! )

Stephen, I was just doing some checking on the Internet and I found the name Hugo Ritter von Landwehr-Wehrheim on a Wikipedia article (all written in German which I'm not that great at) about Hals. It appears he owned the schloss there???? The part of the article related to him states: Am 1. Februar 1887 ?bernahm Hugo Ritter von Landwehr-Wehrheim das Gut und das Schloss, der in diesem Jahr als kaiserlicher Oberst in den Ruhestand trat. Er starb noch im gleichen Jahr in Marienbad. Sein Nachfolger war sein Sohn Franz Ritter von Landwehr-Wehrheim. Zusammen mit seinen beiden Adoptivt?chtern wurde er nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg nach Pappenheim (Bayern) vertrieben, wo der letzte Gutsherr von Hals am 2. August 1949 starb. I know Wikipedia is not considered the best source by some, but at least this has the last name you mentioned. The article further states that Hugo Ritter von Landwehr-Wehrheim left the schloss to his son, Franz Ritter von Landwehr-Wehrheim. The full article is at http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal%C5%BEe