Drawing Of German Soldier

[SteelhelmJim]

I just bought this on eBay and I was wondering if anyone can give a little more info on it. Perhaps someone would like to do a little research for me? It would be much appreciated.http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...1&d=1375987182

[SteelhelmJim]

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...1&d=1375987223

[Brian L.]

F. Bastian is nobody. This is just an amateur drawing, not that well done, but ok.

[SteelhelmJim]

bolewts58, I didn't think he was anybody. The drawing is actually a competent one of a soldier whistling. While it would be nice to know the backstory on it, I'm mainly interested in finding out anything about, not only the artist, but the three Americans listed on the back. I have already found out that Michael Nassif is listed on an Iowa honor roll of soldiers who fought in WW1 and George Chicerco was killed later on in the offensive.

[römischIX]

I found something on our volksbund homepage.


May be it is the Franz Bastian, Serg. - he fell on 3.10.1918
and was buried in western flandern.

In Okt. 1918 there was still the Argonnen-Maaß Offensive.

This poor man fell 4 weeks bevor the war was over.

[SteelhelmJim]

Thank you, romishIX. You may have found the right one. The NCO who was captured with the drawing may have been given it by Franz Bastian, the artist. The timeline is certainly correct. So much creative talent was lost in the war.

[SteelhelmJim]

Still looking for info on C. Lawrence Buchanan and Michael Nassif.

[SteelhelmJim]

Also, can any of you German folks out there give me a guess as to what the bottom part of this signature, below the date, says?http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...1&d=1376168263

[SteelhelmJim]

I think that this soldier was probably a popular whistler in his unit - this is why he is shown whistling. "Whistling can be musical: many performers on the music hall and Vaudeville circuits were professional whistlers, the most famous of which were Ronnie Ronalde and Fred Lowery. Both had several notable songs featuring whistling." Do any of you German folks out there know anything about popular German whistlers?

[Kaleun]

"Im Felde" = at the front ( literally: in the field) and the date of day he finished the sketch.

A nice find: while theses drawings often lack artistic merit, they offer a unique and personal insight into the world of the soldier of the trenches. I like it!
BTW: I don't think this shows a "whistling" soldier, more a man in a pensive, forlorn mood. In August 1918 the only things that were whistling were the grenades over their heads!

[SteelhelmJim]

Kaleun, thanks. Pensive or whistling, I like it too. In fact my favorite items are the ones with a personal touch and story. They are like time capsules that link us to real people. For me, having these items enables me to, in a sense, travel across time. The history and physical artifacts by themselves are great, but when you can link them to particular people, they vibrate with an intensity that brings the reality of there time and place back to life in the here and now.

[SteelhelmJim]

Here is another shot of the drawing, taken from an angle to avoid the glare of the flash.
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...1&d=1376186512

[morel5000]

I like it.
BtW Montfalcon is Montfaucon-d'Argonne in the Meuse.

Best regards,
Michel

[SteelhelmJim]

Thanks, Michel. Yeah, he spelled Montfaucon wrong. He also reversed Michael Nassif's name. Nassif is a Syrian name, and Chicerlo was born in Italy. We are a nation of immigrants.