Just picked up another Imperial Medal Bar. Nothing rare or exceptional, but look at the medal hooks. All three have NICHOLLS stamped on the front of them. I've never seen this before. Have you?
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Uncommon, but not unheard of. These orders jewelers used up old stocks of whatever they had in the drawer.
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Thanks for looking.Comment
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Interesting...A first for me as well: never seen maker (or tailor?) marked medal mounting hooks before...
These hooks are not always used (medal ring sewn to an old piece of ribbon that also acts as a padding/backing or the mounting hook is integrated into the backing plate) but continued to be used during the TR period as well. None of my mounts with apparent hooks are marked but these hooks are often hidden by the ribbon folds so its hard to say how common the marked ones are
Regards
JCComment
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The only reason I noticed the "named" hooks was because they were exposed. I've no issues with the construction, materials or medals themselves. I am tucking the ribbon rings back under the folds and covering the hooks with the ribbon before I display the medal. The ribbon has ben tucked in against the hooks for a very long time. There is slight staining (greying) from the steel on the bit of ribbon that was pressed against the hook. Thank you again for looking and sharing your thoughts.Comment
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Your call Dwayne but your bar looks great as is with the exposed hooks & rings and you see a lot of medals that were period mounted that way. IMO your ribbons look tight enough on your bar that "tucking" the rings in behind the ribbons may actually result in streatching the tight ribbon opening where the hook sticks out to fit in the ring
Attached are 3 example of period mounts with hooks. The one at left is a drapery mount 30mm ribbon with "tucked in" hook & medal ring; in the middle the same medal on a similar 25mm mounted ribbon with an exposed hook & ribbon like yours and the Flandern Kreuz at right has the hook actually piercing the ribbon to secure the medal ring so it was definitly not intended to be tucked in
JCComment
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Jean-Claude:
You've certainly given me some food for thought! I just assumed that on this style of bar, the hooks and rings were meant to be covered. I admit that I prefer the look that the covered hooks and rings provide, but concede your point that maybe it wasn't meant to be covered. So far, I've not had a problem covering the Bavarian Merit Cross and the Hanseatic Cross (aside from the slight discoloration). I've yet to do the EK, but I will post a picture of it this weekend when I finish. Please let me know what you think then.Comment
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I've finished trying to pull the ribbons over the hooks and rings...with mixed results. The Hanseatic cross covered nicely. The EK a little less well. The Bavarian Merit cross was the least successful, in part because of the shape of the award. You can see the red backing material behind the very tip of the crown. Notice the slight staining where the ribbon rested against the steel hook for so long. What's your opinion...leave it like this or go back to the way it was when I bought it?Comment
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Well, wait for opinions from more knowledgeable guys (I mostly collect TR single mounts) but personally I think it looked a hell of a lot better before
For one thing the medals no longer align (at the rings) as before; not sure how this happened if you only "tucked them in" but the EK II is now much higher than the other 2 medals. The bavarian cross ribbon definitly looks stretched & even if the EK II & Hanseatic cross ribbons dont look as stretched you can still see "something" happened there because on this mount style the inner ribbon edges are supposed to just touch each others unlike the typical cross over drapery mount which overlaps. As a result, you dont really have enough loose ribbon material here to properly "tuck in" the hook & medal ring.
More importantly in this case is the fact you had a nice bar with 3 exposed marked hooks which made this bar special & stand out from the rest and now that's gone
Regards
JCComment
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I agree.pseudo-expertComment
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Gentlemen:
First of all, I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to evaluate and comment on the medal bar. It's one of the main reasons we're here... to look, listen and learn.
I'll admit that I like the clean look of the hooks and medal rings being behind the ribbons, but I am more than a little sympathetic to the other viewpoint of leaving it as it was when I purchased it. My darling wife, who thinks this whole hobby is stupid, also agrees with Don & Jean Claude.
The ribbon rings can be pulled out as easily as they were put in, so I don't think that any harm was done either way.
I do appreciate your opinions. Thank you.Comment
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Hello,
The maker-marked hooks are often encountered. This style of mounting was also not uncommon, as it allowed the recipient to remove the medals and to just wear the ribbon bar to represent his awards. This is a genuine pre-1934 Bavarian enlisted veteran’s group. The way that you found the group is correct. To manipulate the ribbons would alter the historical significance of the piece.
Best regards,Comment
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Hi,
Sometimes you can find those "Nicolls" stamped hooks on bars of the ~ 1930s.
I think they only produced the hooks or the bar plate.Comment
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Okay. I'm out voted and convinced I am wrong. Here is how I am displaying it. It will remain this way (except for the slightly out-of-focus part). I thank you again for the discussion. I enjoyed it.Comment
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Great! Now it looks as it should for this style mount & I'm sure the original owner will rest easier in his grave ...Originally posted by Dwayne Schmidt View Post. Personally, I prefer "tucked in" mounts too but not all of them came that way and since they are probably the most common configuration you'll have plenty of opportunities to find some
Take care
JCComment
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