Chris Liontas

I love your articles! I understand the idea of "preaching to the converted" but I don't think it totally applies here. On this forum rather than one topic, we have a multitude of subject matter. I learn so much I never knew about military history on this forum, compared to say, the US militaria forum which deals specifically with one country. You guys bring up British campaigns in India that I didn't even know existed. More than once, I have read an article on this forum, and immediately gone and researched what you guys were talking about. On this forum I think you are always getting a willing audience that appreciates the work you put into your blogs. The people around here like history; they have their own niche per say, but they love overall history. On other forums it always seems the mentality is either: 1. we are only interested in this one topic 2. you posted something else than topic X, BANNED!!! While converting the unconverted is always enjoyable and fun to do (when you finally see the lightbulb go off in someone's head), don't downplay the appreciation your love of history has here!

It is only a matter of time until the attempt to get monetary gains as well. How long before one of these guys requests vet benefits or va help. It is sad how there are no rules anymore People used to be appalled by this sort of thing, but now it only matters how the individual "feels" rather than what is right or not. How on earth is this ok with people?

Awesome info Peter! Thank you so much! Lighting is my biggest fear. I have the room fairly dark during the day, but the overhead lights are a pain. Right now, my next project is to replace the overhead lights and address the humidity in the room. We are very dry where I live, and I am working with some painting conservationists to determine what the best humidity levels and storage options are. I'm going to check out the lights you mention. No UV and infrared would be huge.

Wonderful collection! Love it! Question though. What is the Cuirassier armor that is painted black? I have seen them in gold, but not black. Is that a specific unit? Also what unit is your full dark blue (or black) Hussar??

Wow those are fairly good. For the inexperienced that is getting dangerous. I'd be fooled as well

This is a hard subject to broach. I agree with Paul, what is that badge worth? Is it worth the money, then Herr Wietze made himself a heck of a deal. If not, it still sold which is the symptom of another problem all unto itself. There are many guys with large pockets out there that don't either have time, or don't want to go out and find items. The dealers become their sole way of attracting and obtaining the big ticket items; so they are willing to shell out the cash for items without a second thought. The problem with this market strategy from Weitze, is it is a short term strategy. More often than not I have seen the dealers get excited after a sale like this, and begin to pass this philosophy to all their items. The dealer begins to believe their own hype and soon everything is getting more and more expensive because dealer "X" has it for sale. The same goes for name brand clothes, the name adds to the price of anything for sale. Over time however, the dealers, in reaping the immediate profits from such sales, and applying them to all their wares, are driving out collectors. Not too many people can afford such a medal, and lets face it Weitze's Tsachapkas, 'Haubes, and Shakos aren't on the cheap side either. The hobby wont survive without fresh blood, and unfortunately it is severely lacking right now. You can almost smell the panic over at the WAF right now. Every week there is a post about " the state of the hobby" or "where will the hobby be in twenty years". Collectors are getting worried there wont be a market in the next decade; and lets face it, deals like this are helping that fear to become a reality.

Thank you guys for the comments!! I appreciate it! I agree with you, the sunlight is a pain. I block out that window usually with a blanket so nothing gets through. I bought blinds for the whole room, except that window for some reason....completely overlooked it. I appreciate the comments on the canvases. I have been very lucky and been able to get several that are named to the pilot and traceable to the plane/loss/scrap date. I've not shared my collection online yet, but if there is interest I will start a new thread about what I have. Each canvas is stabilized a little differently, depending on condition. Jean's Croc was in pretty good shape, so after a week of stabilizing the linen, it was framed with acid free V brackets on the corners and the canvas was stabilized with pressure from the matting. The matting doesn't touch the paint, there is a layer of something in-between so nothing touches the fabric. The glass is out from the fabric as well, so the paint has a small room to breathe. Honestly I should have these framed open, so the vapors can exude, but with the amount of dust here, that would damage them more. In the photo the German and the 91st Aero Squadron (the knight chasseing the Devil) are glued to wood, and were done so years ago. I have had them cleaned and will try to put some glass around them soon. There unfortunately is nothing I can do to remove the silk 91st or the linen German from the wood The eagle (27th Aero Squadron) is mounted a tad differently. It was at the bottom of a trunk for years and was torn and wrinkled heavily. We decided to attach it to a heat stable conservation foam board that doent allow the fabric to wrinkle. It is the same idea the Smithsonian uses with their rolled fabrics. The Rabbit from Escadrille SAL 39 was framed in 1920 and is a beast to lift. Iron frame. It looks good and is stable, so I have not taken it apart yet. A different shot of a few other fabrics

Finally got it up and framed. Very happy with conservation mount and the whole process.

Feel kind of sorry for these guys. They are doing a great service to in theater ops/CIA stuff, but it just isn't the same as the guys that go down range. They will never get the credit that say the fixed wing Air Force jet jockey get, even though the drone guys have had really successful support operations as well. As for this medal being equal to the bronze star argument; unless the bronze star has a "V", it is simply an Army/Navy/Air Farce achievement medal. I cant tell you how many Maintenance/supply officers I saw in the Chair Force with the bronze star for pushing paper in Al Karj during DS1. I'd grown up with stories from guys from Vietnam about how they got their bronze star, and it was not the same.

That is an amazing tunic!! Very nice find!

Wow Chris, that is exceptional!! I'm late to the party, but let me congratulate you!! Now my dumb question, were these awarded or bought? You state the flag was presented by "the Krieger Verein in Morlautern in 1913"; did every unit get a flag? Were these regional items or was this a gift to a more elite unit? Wonderful flag!

What if you split the work between a few people. I could help type some of it. Kickstarter is a great way to get funds for the book. We could have dealers advertise as well. Is be down for 2 copies as well

I remember I had a iii Reich tunic with cord under the shoulder board. I was told this denoted company or even platoon within a regiment. Could a stripe like this be the same basic idea within a unit? I would think in the Argonne that would be useful. The wound stripe doesn't make much sense does it in a unit standpoint? Those are awesome helmets! Was the red (not the stripe) standard on helmets like this?

Here are some photos of one that might help. This has been in the same collection for years, a good friend owns it. I know it is from Uffz. Hans Kleinschred, Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 23. It might help as a reference. I don't personally know enough about the German enlisted guys to comment.

I always laugh at movies like that. One thing that always cracks me up, is that when the people in a film fire off a whole clip at someone, the bullets kind of disappear. A guy shoots 1000 rounds at someone, and you might see one "ground strike" as the hero runs through the hail of other invisible bullets.

WOW!! If only that watch could talk!

Hey all!! Thank you so much for the replies! The tunics you guys posted are fantastic! Thank you so much! German stuff is so nice, but so darn hard to ensure the originality. I didn't add the pilots named at first, because it was one of those situation where the instant reply would be "fake". Sometimes a person is so famous, that is will instantly cast doubt on an item due to the impossibility of it being original. I figured that would be the situation, so I left the name out for the time being. Here is the whole story. The Enthusiast was a nice guy and never would mean to default, so I will leave his name out. Lets call him John Doe. He lived in a time when they did not have the references we have today on uniforms and regiments of the German military. This is a good example how never to buy the story, even though the story is true; it sometimes doesn't have anything to due with the item. The tunic was named to Alfred Gerstenburg, friend and pilot with von Richtofen, and organizer of the Ploesti defense in WW2. John Doe met Alfred Gerstenburg when he was in the hospital dying from Tuberculosis. They would talk about WW1 and his service during the war. Alfred was assigned originally to Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander der III. von Russland as was von Richtofen. This is where they met. Here is the first part of the problem, their piping was red, not yellow. Gerstenburg transferred to flight troops along with Manfred and their served in the same squadron until Alfred was wounded in the throat and scratched from flight duty. I would assume, when Alfred was flying and was promoted to flight status, he would have still worn his Uhlan uniform. The piping would have been red though, not the yellow seen here. Additionally, it appears the Gerstenburg's had some money through farmland. This tunic looks to be enlisted quality, not high quality officer tunics you guys have posted. The lining looks very basic and reminds me of a standard enlisted mans tunic in the III Reich period. After Alfred was wounded in the throat, he recovered for some time and then was assigned non flight duties in von Richtofen's squadron. Now upon this assignment, why would he not have purchased or obtained a tunic like the one ccj posted above? Why on earth would Alfred get an enlisted man's tunic, piped in yellow when his regiment was originally in Red. The flight troops did have yellow piping for sections, but why would Alfred then buy an enlisted tunic for the Uhlan piped in the color. It makes no sense. After Alfred died, John Doe was presented a tunic from Frau Gerstenburg as a thank you for talked to Alfred before he died. Now this part of the story is totally true. I've seen photos of Gerstenburg and John Doe talking in the hospital. This tunic had been in the same collection, and on display for years. So I know Frau Gerstenburg presented a tunic, but I highly doubt it was this tunic. I have a sinking feeling that whatever was given to John Doe was either mixed up, or lost (possibly stolen) at some time. Frau Gerstenberg may have given this tunic to John as a thank you, knowing it was not Alfred's. Alfred was Prussian, was captured and interned by the Soviets post WW2, and his family farmland was overrun but the Red Army in WW2. There is a high probability that everything he had stored at home was annihilated by the Soviet Army as it steamrolled Prussia. The kicker to this idea, the markings in the back of the tunic are from a California Costume shop that rented stuff out during "Hells Angles" timeframe. John Doe had several of their costume tunics was reenactment pieces. Some of the costumes were made from originals, altered originals, or parts. This tunic appears a original type, possibly altered. The shoulder boards are not sewn on any way resembling German craftsmanship. They are connecting with maybe 6-8 stitches external to the seam of the shoulder. I really had hopes for this tunic. The story was iron clad, and I know something was actually presented. What was given is still a mystery. I'm going to get to go through the original records and see if I can find a mistake somewhere. The original tunic may be hanging in a corner closet somewhere still.

Hi all! This tunic came to me just today and I don't know what to think about it. The tunic is standard field grey Ulanka with yellow piping and flight boards. The tunic history, came from the family, been in same collection since 1970 (no doubts to this). However several things confuse me. 1. This individual was a pilot, but started in Ulanen-Regt. Kaiser Alexander II von Rußland and then became a pilot in 1917. The piping colors for von Russland is red, yet this tunic has yellow piping. I know pipings came in different colors for "regiments": for aviation troops during the war, and some individuals kept their piping from their original units (von Richtofen being a prime example). This individual was wounded in 1917 and was relegated to desk duty for the remainder of the war. Could he have switched his piping yet retained his uhlan uniform? 2. This tunic looks like an EM tunic rather than officer. I know some guys wore EM tunics as a work tunic or combat tunic rather than their nice officer one. Was that standard? The depot marks are on the back of the tunic yet very faded. Was this a common practice for officers and field grey tunics from WW1 (my experience comes with German WW2 where anything was possible) 3. One board popped off so you can see the stitching, The boards look good to me, the piping is more vibrant than the lower parts of the tunic which could indicate wear or replacement later on. I'm at a loss for this one. I don't know if the individual would have changed his piping after getting wounded, and kept his uhlan tunic rather than switching to the standard tunic in 1917. The story from the family is the tunic came from the deceased pilots wife in the late 60's/70's. The guy who had it was a huge enthusiast for WW1 aviation. There are photos with him and the pilot in the hospital, but no records of the tunic from the wife. I know the old adage, don't buy the story; but this story is pretty good. There would also be very little reason for the individual to fake the tunic and the story, especially in the 70's/80's. I'm just at a loss to why it is not officer quality, why the piping is yellow rather than red.

That is a beautiful hat! With textiles that old, how to you keep it safe? (bad choice of words). Is there a special way to store something like this. I cant imagine it takes too well to being handled. How do you display it without damage? A wonderful hat!

very nice Paul, I;ve never seen the Luft Admin tunic. She is a beauty

Claudius that is a beautiful badge. I've always loved looking at these badges, especially the ones that can be actually attributed to WWI. What a history also.

Honestly I don't know which is cooler to say. The coolest thing I have seen during the centenary of WW1 is that uniform you posted of the French LT in the field where he was killed. Coolest means different things to different collectors. But here on this forum, anything with a personal connection to the Frist World War, to me, is much cooler than any special "thing" no matter what the rarity. I love the canvas, but that is what I collect. Do I think it is better than the uniforms, no not at all. WW1 is one area of collecting where items are massively undervalued I think. Chris B's uniform in field where the LT died, other named uniforms of a Chevauleger, Uhlan, Poilu, or commonwealth soldier are just as equally valuable and interesting in my opinion. the canvas is pretty cool isn't it though??