German shoulder straps... or one of the German states?

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

Here's a set of straps... well, actually they're slightly different both in size and in base color. Have had them forever and know little about them. Would love to know more. They're nice and go well with my Imperial pieces but always nice to have a bit more info... so if anyone happens to know I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for looking,

Dan

Edited April 24, 2006 by Hauptman

[Chip]

Dan,

Your straps are from the Hessian Leibgarde Infanterie Rgt. Nr.115. The cypher is that of Ernst Ludwig, who had been the Grand Duke of Hesse since 1892. The regiment traced its lineage back to 1621. It was garrisonned at Darmstadt and was part of the XVIII Army Corps.

They appear to be issue quality straps, but they have no button holes that I can see, so my guess is that they were unfinished and at some point in the past, someone decided to complete them. This would account for the mismatched backing material, the aforementioned lack of button holes and the rather irregular sewing and edges. These things just don't look right for an issued shoulder strap. Everything else appears original, so maybe a blacklight would tell you if they have been assembled since the 1960s. I could be wrong about that, but regardless, they are nice shoulder straps.

Chip

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

I know it's been forever and a day since I posted these. Just wondering if anyone can give me an approximate value on them.

Any help would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks!

Dan