Found An Interesting Grouping!
 

Beer Drinkers, ~~~Eric

Would love to have that Schutzenschnur in my collection the guy in the center is wearing.

Noticed the slash through the 7 in 1907? I started doing that after serving in Germany and continued to do it until my Fed tax returns was ejected for audit and I found out when I went for the audit, that was the reason why.

Can anyone translate the two sign?

I was thinking I'd like that 'portable radio' on the left...But I see there's no dials; just what looks like a lever...Any guesses what it really is??? :D

I'll take a shot:

For Honor Service in Landwehr unit 15 in 1907. Sometimes they say, "Dienst Siet" Duty Time.

I believe to be a radio also.

with Thunder, Hail, Lightning and fear of God.

That last part is really wierd, something to do with the 'desert'

Heres another that was interesting!

Yes! That caught my eye, also.


Marconi spark radio came in the very early 20th Cen. Voice radio not until ~ circa 1919...what IS that thing?

Maybe and early microwave oven. :evilgrin:

Regards,

Gunny John

it could be that this was a reunion of Soldaten, some years later, who had served at the time mentioned on the sign... instead of it being the date of the photograph. That would allow for voice radio that appears in the photo.

John, I had thought the same by looking at their uniforms, they look more Wiemar than Imperial, but from 1907 to Weimer Republic is a long time, especially during four years of trench warfare and that being seven years after they served together in 1907. The photo raises all kinds of questions I'd be interested in knowing the answers to.

I don't think it's a portable radio, early radios were massive affairs. The picture looks like a staged studio shot and the furniture and accessories are props. The mysterious device might well be a full-plate camera body with the lens removed.
Regards, Norm

I noticed also, they are all noncoms. Could be they are the german equilvelant to a british "Pals Bn" that survived the war....................

Here would be a good place to start..................

http://www3.telus.net/radiomuseum/index.html

or here:

http://www.radiomuseum.org/

Notice how they are all Noncoms but only one is wearing any sort of award, a marksman lanyard? Maybe it is a 1907 photo, pre-war? Who knows, I'm starting to sound like a news reporter.....a speculator in plain english!!!!!

They are wearing model 1907 uniforms and they are enlisted rankers. Don't be confused by the collar Litzen.

Where the get the beer mugs? Where they half litres? The photographer kept them all happy!

I think Norme nailed it...it looks like a camera to me, and I think that is a camera back on the right hand stand.

They are 1/3 Litres.

German Airial Cameras
 

1918 France~~

Here's a photo I found. Notice the levers.

What's on the left side in Eric's photo is the front of a studio camera and the object on the right side is the rear of a studio camera.



http://i41.tinypic.com/34xhnk0.jpg

Its a trip seeing old photos like this and seeing how much things have changed in the past 100 yrs. I really enjoy seeing these kinda pictures. Thanks for posting these old photos. If history class in school was more like this I probably would have stayed awake more in school.

Did Germany have a seperate airforce?

Manfred Von Richthofen 2 May 1892 to 21 April 1918, shot down over France after 80 air victories!

Found another essential!

...Or a signal lamp...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-WWII...-/230988515518

German WWII signal flashlight
This was general purpose model that proved very reliable and was used by the Wehrmacht during the war.

This one is labeled as WW II, but the appearance is similar...

Perhaps a signals battalion???

“With thunder, hail and lightning, god created the desert of Döberitz.” Döberitz was a village near Berlin where pilots were trained for WWI. Apparently, Döberitz was a large flat area, I can’t make out the second sign. I'm thinking that the area was probably used for basic training too.

Maybe a radio!!

His biography confirms thats where he trained!

another pic;
 

This is another pic with an airplane in it, or at least a picture of an airplane.