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A unique group of medal award documents. I acquired the medals and the documents together 35 years ago, unfortunately, the medals were stolen from me in 1979. I had hoped for years they would surface, and for some time after thought I could just collect the medals individually and rebuild the group. Now, I think it best to leave the task to someone younger with the time to do the job right.

The awards are to Johann Wilhelm Liebenhas, Bandmaster of the Bavarian 1st Infantry Regiment. A celebrated Bandmaster in his time, the regimental band he directed one the Gold Medal for Best Military Band at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1867. The Gold Medal, which was presented to the regiment, is proudly displayed to this day in The Bavarian Army Museum in Ingoldstadt. Smaller versions of this medal were presented in silver to Liebenhaus and in bronze to each of the bandsmen. These are not wearable medals, they are what are are commonly called table medals. They were, as I recall 57mm in diameter.

The medal bar worn by Liebenhaus by the time of his retirement consisted of:

1. The Bavarian Military Merit Cross, the 1866 version in silver and enamel (the one that looks like the Military Merit Order without the flames between the arms)

2. The Bavarian 1866 War Cross

3. The German Franco-Prussian War Medal in Bronze for Combatents

4. The Bavarian 24 Year Service Cross

5. The Bavarian Luitpold Cross

6. The 1897 Centenary Medal

6. The Russian Order of Saint Anne, 4th Class

7. The French Medaille Militaire, Napoleon III issue.

The Document Group Being Sold consists of the following,

1. The Award Document for the Medaille Militaire, dated 1867, signed by the Chancellor of the Legion of Honor.

2. The Award Document for the German Franco Prussian War Medal, dated 1871.

3. The Letter from the Russian Embassy in Munich, award of the Saint Anne, dated 1868.

4. The Document from The Universal Exposition in Paris, 1867 for the Gold Medal for Best Military Band.

After Leibenhas retired, the officers of the regiment decided to mail this to him as a token of thanks. T is an inscrption at the botton, parts missing to this effect. then it was mailed to Leibenhaus as a gesture of thanks. The original mailing tube is also included. This document is fragile, several rips and should (I meant to years ago) be taken to a good paper conservator, because of it's size and condition I carefully scanned in 3 parts, the scans show the upper 75% of the document.

A unique and interesting piece of military/band history.

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