Chip

Nice displays Ed. I especially like the Luger stands. Chip

I haven't seen these yet. Who published them (Feldzug series)?

Were they feldgrau or steingrau? What was he asking for them? Inquiring minds want to know.... Chip

Evidently, the Eßbesteck (spork) was introduced along with the M1910 Kochgeschirr. Chip

I have two unit marked ones. One to an Ulan regiment and the other pictured here.

I believe the unit on the back (of the Absender) reads, "Gebirgs Kanonen batterie 2, 1.Zug, 19.Res.Division. Armeeabteilung Gäde." I wonder why so many of the men have the number "51" on their helmet covers? Perhaps this Kaserne is in Strassburg i.E.? Chip

Chris, I think those might be flare rounds in the second photo. Chip

Tom, Good luck with your search. Unfortunately, Rangliste don't contain info on Reserve or Landwehr officers, only regular army officers. So, if your relative was a wartime commissioned officer or an NCO pilot, he would not be present in any rank list. Chip

Chris, Are any of yours unit marked? Chip

Wow, that's quite an armory! What period is the lemon squeezer from? I've always wanted a WWI period one, but the time to find those has come and gone. I was lucky enough to find a complete WWI Aussie uniform back in the 1980s. Chip

Somebody has an egg grenade fetish!

Very nice displays Ed! I'm like Bernhard...I've got the stuff to go in the displays, just nowhere to put them. Chip

Nice photos! I especially like the matching ascots in the first photo. Must be their "dress" Halstuche. Chip

That's pretty cool, except for the bird crap on the Werfer. :)

Do you know his rank as a pilot? You might want to try the specialists on the website forum of "The Aerodrome". Here is the URL address. http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/index.php? Chip

Chris, As he mentions, the center piece is hand colored (not printed) as the later ones were. It's not uncommon to find really old flags with the artwork done by hand. WWI era flags (for the most part) would have been totally printed. Chip

Thanks Bill. I have never seen that before. Must be a Brit thing. Chip

Jason, Thanks for the comments. The really rare ones, in my opinion, are the true feldgrau colored examples that were made from 1907 to 1914. The gray color of Joe's two pairs and my second pair are more commonly seen (though they are rare in their own right). Chip

Joe, First, try as I may, I cannot figure out what "IAW" means? I tried to figure it out, but no luck. You have some nice shoulder straps there. As you know from Kraus, the 63rd got their cypher during the war, after Franz Josef died and Karl became the emperor. It was part of the 12th Division, which used colored strips of cloth across the bottom of the strap to identify the units within the division. IR.63 used a yellow strip. The difference between private purchase and issue is usually pretty obvious. The main indicators are the materials, style of unit designations, sizes, etc. Private purchase pieces were often backed in a papercloth type material, they often had stiffeners inside (usually papercloth again), button holes were often hand sewn, numbers and cyphers might be embroidered, rather than chain-stitched or fashioned from cord. They often varied in width from regulation, could have non-regulation tongues attached or be hybrids that had features of both the M07s and the M15s. Then there are a few that look very much like issue pieces, but have some subtle differences previously mentioned. Issue M1907 and M15 straps can vary in width from regulation. M07s are usually very close to the 5.5 cm width, while M15s can go from 5.1 cm to 4.3, with the Bavarian examples being the most off from the regulation 4.5 cm. I looked through my boxes and I don't have an M15 IR.139 example. Chip

I agree with all of the above, but I would also include the period plates and publications. I especially use "Deutschlands Armee in feldgrauer Kriegs- und Friedens-Uniform" by von der Osten-Sacken u. von Rhein. It covers the September 1915 uniform regulations both in text and in color plates. I have the very nice reprint that Manion's made back in the 1970s. For the M07/10 uniforms, I also use the reprinted set of plates "Die grauen Felduniformen der Deutschen Armee 1914" done by Arthur Schmidt, originally printed by Moritz Ruhl and reprinted in 1984 by Ulf-J.Friese and Uwe Lacina. It's indispensable. Of course there are other period plate books that have been reproduced, but I don't find the other Moritz Ruhl books to be that informative. I have to mention Paul Pietsch and his two volume set "Formations- und Uniformierungsgeschichte des preußischen Heeres 1808-1914". This is one of the foundations upon which Kraus built his work. The section on the 1907 uniforms is brief in comparison to the rest of the prewar coverage, but much of the gear that was still in use in 1914 is described. Pietsch was also heavily involved in the reprinted expansion of the 1930's three volume set "Das Deutsche Heer" (released in 1984). Finally, I would also recommend "Führer durch Heer und Flötte 1914" by B.Freidag, reprinted by J.Olmes in 1974. Though it has no pictures, it describes the M07 field uniforms for the entire army, branch by branch and state by state. There's really not one book that does it all, so a well rounded library is key to having the multiple sources one often needs to track down answers. Chip

I have that book. It's a nice one. The two volume Kraus set (now expanded to three volumes) is a much superior publication for detailed information. His book on the WWI collections of the Bavarian Army Museum and Heeresgeschichtliches Museum is more or less a picture book, though I do refer to it occasionally, to see actual type pieces. Chip

Joe, The mark on the right appears to be "8.P.1.", which I would assume means 8.Pionier, 1.Komp.. The larger mark on the left looks postwar to me. So, it's possible these were reissued. Are both of your pairs red piped? Chip

Chris, These are not all of the patterns, but the ones you have shown are (l-r), M15, simplified M07, M16 and prewar overcoat pattern for the old blue/black coat.

Chris, I'm sure he doesn't have anything to trade at the moment, but I will let him know. Chip

Chris, It is a gabardine type wool, which is unusual for an issue tunic. I just noticed for the first time that it appears to have the remnants of Landsturm infantry shoulder straps sewn into the shoulder seam. So, it looks like it was used as a Landsturm tunic. Chip