Regimental stein fron Infantry Regiment 117, 9th Company

To start this new section I am posting a composite image of a very interesting regimental stein that shares a unique feature found on a very rare helmet. The stein is from Infantry Regiment 117, 9th company and belonged to Reservist Reichert who served from 1912 - 1914. Located between the portraits of the Hessian Duke & Duchess is a tradition badge consisting of pioneer tools. The 9th company of Infantry regiment 117 is the only unit in the entire German army authorized this badge. The badge was also worn on the front plate of helmets from this company. Anyone owning a helmet fron I.R. 117, 9th company with the tradition badge is very fortunate.
Reservist1
 
Excellent Stein! I love the Prism.

I will post my first souvenir tomorrow, I am looking forward to this catagory, have lots to share!

James
 
Hi R1;
Thanks for being the first to post in this area. That is a very nice piece. I love the steins for thier colour and history. Unfortunately, I do not have one, there are only so many dollars to go round and spikey hats take precedent. I am looking forward to some great pics and posts in this area. One last thing R1, you mentioned that you are concentrating on stein collecting, perhaps you could tell us what to watch out for on the repro copies? Brian
 
Brian: As a basic primer in determining a reproduction stein the following may be helpful.

Stein body: All but very early regimentals have straight sides that are parallel. The most common reproductions have bodies with tapered sides.

Lithopane: Only porcelain steins have lithopanes(picture visible through the bottom when the stein is held up to the light). If the lithopane is a bare chested lady in the process of removing her stockings, the stein is a copy. There are several different lithopane scenes in original steins, most are variations of a soldier saying goodbye to his wife or girlfriend. Very early regimentals, 1900 and earlier, may have lithopane scenes that depict a couple in traditional clothing.

Large figures on the stein body: Details such as buttons, belt buckles and helmet front plates on original steins were hi-lighted by hand after the stein was fired. When you run your fingers over the stein body you can definitely feel these painted in details. The bodies of reproductions will generally be perfectly smooth.

Lids: Original lids were cast in multi piece molds. There will be obvious mold seams on the outside of the lid. Most reproduction lids were stamped out of a single piece of thin material or cast in a one piece mold so there will not be any mold seams.

Incorrect thumblift:

The most common thumblifts on original steins are:
Crowned lion on Bavarian and Hessian steins
Winged Griffin(like a miniature Baden helmet front plate) on Baden steins.
Eagle on Prussian steins.
Saxon coat of arms on Saxon steins
Wurttemberg coat of arms on Wurt. steins.

Many reproductions have an uncrowned lion thumblift.
It is also very common for a reproduction to have a thumblift that does not relate to the unit identified on the stein. For example, a Baden thumblift on a stein to a Bavarian unit.

If nothing else, the study of regimental steins will make you learn about the uniforms and shoulder straps of the German army. The uniform and shoulder strap sections of Tony's superb website will be a most helpful tool.

The above covers the basics and is enough to digest for the time being. There are lots of other red flags to look for that can be discussed as this section grows.

Reservist1
 
reservist1 said:
// The stein is from Infantry Regiment 117//

IR117.jpg
 
Dear R1,

Thanks for your interesting item on steins and especcially the IR117 stein. I have one IR 117 stein at home of the year 19/19, a men from the Leib regiment, called Reichert!!!. The stein looks original, but I wander if the whole IR 117 was called Reichert. His name is written between the men:
Ochsenhirt
Prass (ringel S)
Reichert
Reiv
Risser
Roder

I am curious if we have two steins of two brothers, or we have to open an item on sophisticated fakes.

Regards,

Ad
 
Hello Ad: I believe that there were 2 different reservists named Reichert who served at different times and possibly in different companies. This would not be unusual.
On my stein Reichert's name appears on the roster as follows
Rath
Reith
Reichert
Reyer
Rothenbohm
Rubeck

I am puzzled by your reference to the years of service as "19/19". Do you mean the year 1919? The normal service span would be 2 years.
The service years on my stein are marked as follows
1912
1914

If yours is 19 over 19 and nothing else, the actual years may have been removed or worn off.

Is your stein also from the 9th company?

Reservist1
 
Hi reservist1,

Thanks for your quick reply. The year mentiomed at the stein is:

19
----
19

No text is removed. Just 19 over 19. Possibly this means the reservist did his duty in the year 1919 only, since the regiment stopped to exist in 1919??. The regiment of this Reichert-stein is the Leib regiment (At this moment I don't know which number the Leib regiment used to have) It wasn't the 9th. Between the archduke and his wife, there is no anchor, but the logo as used at the epaulettes: a crowned A.

I am looking forward to your reaction.

Regards from Holland.

00.30hr local time
 
Hi Ad: The tradition of reservists purchasing commemorative steins pretty much died out once World War I started. I doubt the 19/19 on your stein indicates the year 1919. It is possible that the stein was never finished and the actual years of service were not filled in.

German Infantry Regiments were composed of 12 companies numbered 1 through 12. If the regiment had a machinegun company it would have been designated as the 13th company. In addition to the regiments designation, in this case 117, the company to which the owner of the stein was assigned would also be indicated on the stein. The company designation normally is directly in front of or behind the regimental name.

A typical abbreviation would be 9 Comp. Inft. Leib Regt. Grossherzogin 3. Grosh. Hess. Nr. 117. Mainz 1912/1914.

If there is no company designation, that could also indicate an unfinished stein. If by chance your stein is marked Lieb. Comp. Inft. Lieb Regt.....
It would be from the first company as the first company in Lieb regiments was often referred to as the Lieb company.

If you could post images of your stein I may be able to give you more definite information.

Reservist1
 
I know that this is an old post, but just in adding a conversation piece, I have a ceramic pipe bowl for IR117, company 5 for a soldier named Rinker. The date is 1911-13. The art work on this piece is really quite nice. In addition, the bowl cap is a brass replica of a pickelhaube with moving chin scales.
 
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