19th Century bouteniere w/ miniature medals

[fackerman64]

This bouteniere with miniature medals was one of the heirlooms I inherited from my grandfather upon his death. I believe it was passed on to him by one of his older cousins, Otto Zipp based on the date. One of the medals appears to be the K?nigsgr?tz Medal/Battle of 1866 between Prussia and Austria. Any help in clearly identifying the medals would be appreciated.

[fackerman64]

This is the back view of the medals and bouteniere. The round silver medal says "Kriegs Verdienst" on the back.

[fackerman64]

The box of medals that this bouteniere was found in, also contained larger versions of some of the medals like this...

[fackerman64]

...and this one which is a cloth stick pin version.

[fackerman64]

This is a portrait of Otto Zipp whom I believe may have been the recipient of the medals.

[Tom Y]

The first medal is the Milit?r Ehrenzeichen II Klasse, roughly the equivalent of an EKII for wars where the EK was not awarded. You're right, the second appears to be the K?niggratz Kreuz from the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The third, the Centen?r Medaille of 1897, and finally the Landwehr Dienstabzeichen as are the 2 singles, the pinback being official and the other a private purchase. The metal one was made to hang on a medal bar. I don't know a lot about uniforms, but his buckle is of a Hessian regiment.

Edited March 17, 2009 by Tom Y

[Mike Dwyer]

Uh......I thought a buckle with a large crown was from the Grand Duchy of Hesse, not Hannover????

[Tom Y]

Uh......I thought a buckle with a large crown was from the Grand Duchy of Hesse, not Hannover????

My mistake I've edited it.

[Guest Rick Research]

The photo is post-1897 (2 cockades on the cap) and cannot possibly be the recipient of those medals. He is a Vizefeldwebel-- close to 1914 probably. It is a massively retouched, over-painted image so hard to tell, but appears to be a Feldgrau cap.

[Chip]

Hmmm. Wonder why his whole right side had been painted in? His coat and right arm are totally added.

Chip

[Naxos]

Hmmm. Wonder why his whole right side had been painted in? His coat and right arm are totally added.

Chip

I have seen this before.

The image of Vizefeldwebel Zipp is from a group photo that has been taken back to the 'Kunstmaler-Photograph" to make a portrait of the Vize and since the left half was covered by another person - the Kunstmaler had to hand-paint it in.

Hardy

[Chip]

Thanks Hardy. I never would have thought of that.

[fackerman64]

Hi guys, thanks for your input. Very interesting information about the portrait (3'X5'). I had been wondering about the touch-ups myself. The background is a total painting. As far as Otto Zipp being a member of a Hessian Regiment, you're right. My grandfather, his two brothers and his sister were all born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. I believe most of the family on my mother's side hailed from Frankfurt as did I. Based on your comments I think I can rule him out as the recipient of the medals. I guess I'll have to do some further research on Ancestry.com (the international version) to try and track down just who in my family was the actual recipient.

As far as his rank, I don't think I've ever heard of a rank of Vizefeldwebel. Is that equivelant to a Sergeant E-5, Staff Sergeant E-6, or a Master Sergeant E-7 in the US Army?

Regarding the K?niggratz Kreuz, would that have been awarded as a Unit Citation or as an actual participatory medal?

[Ulsterman]

Vizefeldwebels were senior NCOs (Unterofficer mit portapee: Militarwochenblatt of 1862). In todays' terms they'd be close to a US E6/7 I reckon. They were the backbone of the army.

The Koniggratz cross was a campaign medal; you got it for being there.

What is interesting is that your buttonaire lacks the Franco-Prussian war medal, so your ancestor was out of uniform by 1870.

The war decoration was a serious award-given for real merit and sometimes, bravery in the field. I would guess it was probably a bravery award for the Austrian war and I think there's a list of total awards out there for the war.

If you can find out your ancestor's regiment, maybe we can help you find more information.

With the Kaisers' Centennial medal (1897) and the swanky enameled long service schanlle, the buttonaire must date from @ 1900. All veterans who applied received the Centennial medal. The US consul was kept busy at the end of the 19th century handing these out. At the time, the German war veterans associations in the USA were quite large and very,very popular.

Edited March 18, 2009 by Ulsterman

[fackerman64]

My mother, sister and I were the first members of the German side of our family to reside in the U.S. We moved here in 1972 with my father who was in the Army. None of the awards were issued by the US Consulate.

As far as the awards being from about 1900, that could be since the ribbons are in excellent condition, no wear at all. I'm starting to wonder if they might have been awarded to my great-grandfather Karl Wilhelm Zipp who according to my grandfather, was a member of the Marburger Jaegers (Marburg in Hessen). This would also explain why my grandfather would have had all of them in a box. I could sooner see him keeping medals from his father and older brothers (his immediate family or direct decendents) than ones from his cousins.