"THE KING'S" bright osd bz

[GTB]

Is there anything at all odd about an officer's osd bz cap badge in bright bronze condition? Doubt it has been polished as back and blades are not the usual chocolate/ dk bronze colour. Blades N & S.
All comments welcome.

GTB

[Alex Rice]

Maybe somebody has cleaned it in a dip of some sort to give the all over shiny finish?

[Frank Kelley]

Just from the photograph, I would think a good original badge, you do certainly encounter very pale bronze OSD badges, in particular, some of those made in the Great War, I would be happy with it anyway.

Originally Posted by GTB

Is there anything at all odd about an officer's osd bz cap badge in bright bronze condition? Doubt it has been polished as back and blades are not the usual chocolate/ dk bronze colour. Blades N & S.
All comments welcome.

GTB

[GTB]

Frank

Thanks for that. Back is a nice die-cast matt 'pale bz', including the blades. Unfortunately, am unable at moment to provide clear scan of back.

I expect a dipping would affect both front and back whereas only the front is bright.

I'm happy with it too, I'm just trying to visualise it on an SD cap with, I expect, similar finish collars.

GTB

[KLR]

Although you do not mention any maker's mark, there are significant details that identify it as a Gaunt production - or somebody else sharing Gaunt dies. Gaunt OSD badges tend to be a lighter 'brown' than eg Firmin's.

[GTB]

That could be a clincher! There are no markings, I've scrutinised under a magnifier.
I'll have a look at other OSD badges in my collection.

GTB

[Peter Brydon]

I would make a couple of points.

Firstly in "The History of the British Army Infantry Collar Badge " Colin Churchill says ( page 49 dealing with the Kings Regiment ) "As with other regiments, the bronzed OSD badge was officially polished and worn on the Khaki drill uniform ". If that was the case with collars, would the cap badge not have been polished as well ?

Secondly, I have a picture ( which I currently cannot lay my hands on ) which shows the officers of a Territorial Battalion on the Kings in 1919, they are wearing a variety of badges in their caps, all of which seem to have a shiny finish and I wonder if the badges were polished to celebrate the end of the war ?

You pays your money and ............

P.B.

[GTB]

Very enlightening, Peter.

One thing really does lead to another in this hobby. Sometimes it is humbling, the more one thinks they know turns out to be only a pinch. But perseverance, coupled with a great team ready and willing to share what they have, pays.

Thanks all. A lot of food for thought here.

GTB

[GTB]

I am revisiting the thread as I am still in a quandary as to how to definitively caption this badge. I have consulted material in my library (K&K, Gaylor, Cox, Churchill, Dress Regs 1900) as well as googling but I am obviously missing something - perhaps not seeing the wood for the trees!
Should it be (a) 'Officers polished version for KD'; or (b) 'Officers pale bz OSD'; or even (c) 'Officers polished 5th Bn'. I mention this latter as I am noticing what apparently is a faint black residue trapped in the lower parts of the design, especially the background of the scroll and the ground, but this could be innocent patina and only on the face.
Another sticking point is the regimental title as appearing on the scroll: THE KING'S there are no inverted commas. Would this be an officer affectation or of unit significance?

Any further assistance greatly appreciated

GTB

[Frank Kelley]

That is very true and a most interesting observation.

Originally Posted by KLR

Although you do not mention any maker's mark, there are significant details that identify it as a Gaunt production - or somebody else sharing Gaunt dies. Gaunt OSD badges tend to be a lighter 'brown' than eg Firmin's.

[Frank Kelley]

I certainly don't think, just from the photograph that the badge has been "polished" in any way whatsoever, I believe it is more or less untouched and a really superb example.

Originally Posted by GTB

I am revisiting the thread as I am still in a quandary as to how to definitively caption this badge. I have consulted material in my library (K&K, Gaylor, Cox, Churchill, Dress Regs 1900) as well as googling but I am obviously missing something - perhaps not seeing the wood for the trees!
Should it be (a) 'Officers polished version for KD'; or (b) 'Officers pale bz OSD'; or even (c) 'Officers polished 5th Bn'. I mention this latter as I am noticing what apparently is a faint black residue trapped in the lower parts of the design, especially the background of the scroll and the ground, but this could be innocent patina and only on the face.
Another sticking point is the regimental title as appearing on the scroll: THE KING'S there are no inverted commas. Would this be an officer affectation or of unit significance?

Any further assistance greatly appreciated

GTB

[Peter Brydon]

Inverted commas, apostrophes and the lack or presence of them are nothing more than manufacturers variations and not ( as far as I am aware ) indications of particular battalions.

P.B.

[KLR]

I have a very similar one and it appears in my catalogue as

Officer's Service Dress cap badge, 1896 Pattern (1902), Gaunt Type
-The White Horse of Hanover rearing upright on a ground. Below, a scroll inscribed THE KING’S in Roman letters. The front hooves are joined, die cast in light bronze, NS blades 29, (S broken in half) H 42, W 38, Wt 8.66g. <19>

For the record, Gaunt has the legend THE KING'S whereas Firmin has THE "KINGS" (as does 99% of the OR badges Patt 4362A/1896). The ground of G badges is composed of neatly cut grass in rows, F has a 'ridges' of less tidy grass. The front 'elbow' of the G badges project below the body of the horse. the F one does not. I already noted that F badges tend to be darker. J&Co OSDs tend to be very similar to G (though their elbows do not project). There are unmarked badges to G, F and J&Co and those made by imitators.


PS GTB, the King's OSD illustrated in Dress Regulations is a typical Firmin production, you can compare it to your Gaunt type.

[GTB]

Superb information. Grateful,

GTB

[GTB]

Attaching better photos (if nothing goes wrong)!

GTB