Chip

Charles, Normally, they are attached to the bayonet frog, not the bayonet. Depending on the length of the strap (many wartime manufactured straps were shorter), the strap was wound around the frog with the "head" of the knot being passed through the loop at the end of the strap. The longer straps could be wound around the frog more than once before passing through the loop, thus keeping the knot from hanging down too low. Chip

Though this is not clear enough for me to read, I would suggest that the last name would most likely not begin with a lower case letter. Chip

That's what friends are for! :)

Chris, I agree with you and that is why I don't like to make definitive statements based on museum identifications, especially when the identifications are made by non-contemporary generations of curators. Chip

Alec, Thanks for the confirmation regarding the tag. Did you happen to photograph it or write down the wording? I hesitate to take a non-contemporary's word for it's use. For all we know, the crowned Edelweiß could be a veteran's badge. Until we get some photographic evidence or period documentation, it will remain on the "maybe" list. One thing that I've noticed is that each of these badges that I have seen (only three or four) is in unused condition. It would be nice to see a "worn" example. As I may have mentioned before, the first example that I saw (in the 1980s) of this badge was on a postwar (1920's) Reichsheer universal cap with crushable cloth visor (don't remember the model name). It's the one with the Resedagrün band and piping, similar to the Prussian style wartime Einheitsmütze, only with a visor. Chip

Here's a gas mask related item you rarely see.....a tag for a mask showing the owner and the dates it was tested.

I have had this item in my WWI collection for some years, but have never had any reference information or confirmation that this is indeed an pre-1919 Bulgarian marksman award. I have several other items that I will post as time permits. Thanks in advance. Chip

M1824 Garde-Landwehr Kavallerie Chip

I have another photo of the full card, but as of yet, I have not been able to locate it on my computer. I have way too many photos on my computer! Chip

Rats! Foiled again! :banger:

I think perhaps I should get even for all the suspenseful threads you have tantalized us with in the past! So let's wait a bit...... :D

Holy cripes! It's much bigger than it looked in the original photo you posted. Now that I see this, I think I have a photo of it being used. Chip

OK, so I'm jealous. So, what does the table of contents list? Chip

I may have mentioned this before, but in looking through some photos that a German friend took during a visit to the mountain troops museum near Sonthofen, I spied this Edelweiß in one of the displays. I asked the friend to take a better picture of the insignia specifically should he ever return to the museum. A year or so ago, he went back and got that picture for me. The picture quality is poor, as it was taken through the glass case, but I think you can make out the insignia and some of the text. You can see that it mentions the Infanterie Leib Regiment. Chip

Hmmm. The stamps don't look German to me. Chip

This style "W" was one of the Kaiser's several styles of royal cyphers. It was used on his jubilee commemorative badge and also as the cypher of the Mecklenburg Füsilier Rgt. Nr. 90. See attached shoulder strap examples. The crown on the straps is the Kaiser crown, but it is the same cypher. I believe this is the same style "W" that was embossed on the leather tobacco pouches that the crown prince gave the troops as part of a Christmas gift to members of the 5th army. I suppose it is possible that the crown prince, having the same name "Wilhelm" as his father, might use the same cypher, but in conjunction with another crown. The thing is, I have never seen a metal crown insignia (shoulder strap size) that was of a princely crown. Might he have used the king's crown in lieu of that? Chip

I assume that is the primer igniter pull-strap? Is this kit for the light MW or do the contents indicate that it could be used on the larger models?

Wonderful writing style and a pleasure to read! As a well-seasoned collector (read:old), I have seen the good 'ole days and the era of the Internet. I have boxes and boxes of correspondence and photos, traded with collectors here and abroad over the past forty years. When I think about hand writing, then typing on a typewriter and then a word processor, all of those many letters, it amazes me how slow the pace of collecting was then compared to today. Deals could take months to make, as letters snaked back and forth from hither and yon. Today, it's a few clicks here and there and voila......you have e-mail or you have won a prize in an on-line auction. As you say, much of the fun has gone, not only with the seeming scarcity of quality items, but with prices that often leave the same few buyers dominating the auction scene. Armed with the knowledge that took decades for the collectors of yesterday to acquire, relatively new collectors are much better equipped to compete and in record time. The digital and information age has put the accumulated knowledge of the past right in our hands with collector reference books and websites covering every subject imaginable and in the most minute detail. And while all this is great, there is still nothing that can match the anticipation of standing in that line, waiting to hit the floor, see old friends, talk shop and find some small gem for your collection. Although the internet has widened our reach and opened a new realm of possibilities, sitting at home in front of a computer screen will never replace the face to face relationships that make our hobby so fulfilling. Chip

Paul, My board has a black wool underlay. Now that I think about it, with this underlay, the rank is probably Generalstabsarzt der Marine! Graf, The chart in Zienert's "Unsere Marineuniform" shows two ranks that appear to wear the same epaulette with two pips and the fronds (Franzen), Marine-Stabsarzt and Marine-Oberstabsarzt II Klasse. Since the plates are black and white, I cannot tell if there is a color difference that would differentiate the two. I don't see any with the two pips without the fronds/tassels. Perhas it had something to do with the difference between Gala wear and normal dress. Only the lowest rank (Marine-Assistenzarzt) that wore an epaulette is shown without the tassels. Chip

Charles, It is a Bavarian officer's Litewka. These came in the same colors as the officer's prewar colored Waffenrocks, so they could be light blue, dark blue, steel green or gray green. They were never supposed to be in field gray. They were ordered replaced with the introduction of the new uniforms in (Bavaria) 1916. From that point, Bavarian officers were to wear the Kleiner Rock in its place. Chip

Paul, The medical branch had different names for the doctor ranks. Starting at the bottom, there was the Unterarzt, Assistenz-Arzt, Oberarzt, Stabsarzt, Oberstabsarzt, General-Oberarzt, Generalarzt, Obergeneralarzt and Generalstabsarzt der Armee. These were equivalent to army ranks, just the names were different. There were also some wartime ranks added for doctors recalled to service (Kriegs-Assistenzarzt) and Landsturm doctors (Vertragsarzt, Landsturmpflichtiger Arzt in Assistenzarztstelle, Landsturmpflichtiger Arzt in Stabsarztstelle). There were even more ranks created during the war. Here is an early board for the highest medical rank, Generalstabsarzt der Armee. Chip

Herbert, That photo is too small to tell much of anything. Chip

I have quite a few medical officer should boards, but no epaulettes. Yours, however, are quite beautiful. If you are interested, I have a medical general's board that I could show. Regards, Chip

Chris, This is a German Ersatz model. I have seen several of them over the years. I've got a photo of one in a collection and a guy was selling one on the WA forum a couple of years ago. Chip

The one on the left is a simplified M07 pattern and the other is a M15 for the Bluse. Chip