Attention! Ron Wood This is kind of neat.
 

Kind of a spendy post card.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

A beauty! Thanks for the link. The postcard isn't all that rare, but the signature will fetch a pretty price. I only have a couple of post cards, but my best one is of Crown Prince Wilhelm saluting Field Marshall Mack who was his commanding general. Both in full 1st Leib Garde Hussar uniforms. Willie was the honorary head of the 1st by virtue of nobility, but Mack was the real thing. The guy is legend and my favorite historical personality.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...lie_salute.jpg

I hunted for years to get a hat like his.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/dh1.jpg

Willieâ??s sister, Princess Victoria Luise, was the honorary head of the 2nd Leib Garde Hussar Regiment. Not a bad looking young lady. The kopak on the 2nd Hussarâ??s busby was white rather than red.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...ess_hussar.jpg

Da MAN!

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/mack_in_color.jpg

Is there any truth to the apocryphal tale that Von Mack is the inspiration for Michael Jackson's wardrobe? Inquiring minds and all that stuff..

Tom A.

Ron, Was he Scotch? Willie's got that, looking down the barrel of a loaded gun expression. Old Mack must have been a Hardass.
Kind of what I looked like when I met Elmo Zumwalt at a CNO inspection at 32nd street Naval station in San Diego. He said " Relax son, I don't eat Sailors".
Other Ron

How did we have a Crown Prince Wilhelm? Unless this goes way way back. Wilhelm I was the first kaiser. When he died his son was already on his deathbed. (One too many cigarettes.) The father died within days so the crown went more or less directly from Gandfather Wilhelm I to Grandson Wilhelm II without the father ever holding it. The father would have been crown prince right up until the crown was passed to Wilhelm II.

Am I missing something here?

PS. Missed a chance to pick up an original photo of Wilhelm I at his cornation as the Kaiser.

The weasel looking Willie in the photo is the eldest son of Wihelm II. All I've read indicates that he was a total a-hole. I believe he also "danced" with the Nazis a bit.

Ron's right about Louisa, she was a real babe. I've got a nice close-up photo of her in a busby...makes me wish I had a full calendar of her in various stages of Prussian martial undress.

A "babe" photo for the rest of you guys to add to your pinup collection (Sorry George, no bikini pics).

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...ssar_busby.jpg

What happened to her?

When Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate on 9 November 1918, he fled to Holland taking his family with him. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands refused to extradite him to be tried for war crimes, so he lived out the remainder of his life on an estate in Doorn, Holland. His family gradually returned to Germany. Some say they hoped that the monarchy would be restored.

Victoria Luise married Prince Ernst August von Cumberland Herzog zu Braunsweig und L�¼neburg in 1913. They had 5 children and lived Austria until 1933. She died 11 December 1980 in Hannover.

Victoria was a very cute 'doll' in her young age. If I had lived during her youth and had the opportunity to date her, I would have married her in a heart beat. One advantage of being married to her would have given me the privilage to order all the Lugers (and Mausers) I desire.

I am attaching another image of her which I have in my image files.

Albert

As far as looks go, Great Britain imported the wrong German family to be their royals. Compare Princess Louise to Queen Elizabeth II.

Did she have the brains to go with the looks?

Steve

I cannot make any comparison between Victoria and Elizabeth in terms of intelligence or prestige, but I would like to mention that I admire the Hussar uniform which Victoria wore on parades or in the field watching military exercises. Being a German myself and appreciating German royalty, I am attracted by her appearance in that uniform (I especially like the buzby) as well as her good looks.

Albert

Where did you end up finding the hat? Ebay?

I would'nt mind being that sash! ;)

For Steve Richards:
Actually, I suspect she was intelligent as well as pretty. She remained quite prominent in European royalty and aristocracy. Her only daughter, Frederica Louise, married King Paul of Greece. Probably through that connection Victoria Luise was named Grandmaster of the Alexander Order for Art and Science, an honorary position she held from 1945 to 1968.

For Snafu63092:
The busby is the result of several years of searching for all the accessories. I purchased the basic busby from Manion's auction. It was in great shape but had only a bad reproduction skull front plate and no bandeau. I acquired the field badge and brush from private collectors. Finally I purchased a trashed out 2nd Hussar busby that had a nearly mint skull and bandeau still attached. Original examples of those two little pieces of metal, particularly the bandeau, are really tough to find. The end result is what you see.

Ron, Is the busby made of bear skin? And the white plume...Ostrich? Jerry Burney

Jerry,
The brown fur busbys were otter and mostly worn by officers and private purchase by senior NCOs. The black were sealskin mostly worn by ratings. But occasionally you see a really upscale black one that was probably worn by an officer, possibly a one year volunteer or reservist. The really fancy high officer parade plumes were feathers, probably egret. The smaller ones were used for less formal occasions, were not as fragile and are made of horsehair...that is what mine is (wouldn't mind having a feather one. I would make one but it is illegal to obtain and use wild bird feathers in the US unless you are a Native American). The field badge on mine is a very high quality and about mint, a nice find.

My wife used to work at Washington State University in the Exotics Ward, they worked on eagles, hawks, owls etc. She is a licensed veterinary technician and here is what she said:

Ed


Subject: RE: game birds

All migratory birds are protected to one extent or another. All raptor's are definitely protected, and it is illegal to harm them or possess any part of them, including feathers. Generally it is permissible to use and possess parts of game birds, including feathers. But, since regulations are different from state to state, it is best to check with your local Fish & Game office. They are generally very helpful with information like this.

Thanks Ed,
Don't believe egrets are game birds but it won't hurt to check with Fish & Game to see if I can keep moulted feathers from the zoo. Just one more project to get around to.

The USFWS rivals the BATF in hunting down even the most innocent of offenders. I am and have been a federally licensed falconer for years. Falconers collect and keep their birds' moulted primary and tail feathers each summer to use in later repairs should feathers be broken while hunting. Falconers are allowed to keep their bird's feathers but if they are kept in a way that might be interpreted as "display", the falconer is subject to fine and imprisonment.
I was once warned to remove from open sight a beer stein with about a dozen Peregrine feathers in it that was sitting on a shelf in my office. It might be considered decoration so I should put it in a cabinet even though feather mites thrive in the dark.