Orders of Anhalt, Monograms and Merit Medals, Plate II, Wood Engraving, 1844

An original antique wood engraving, colored by hand with watercolor, showing seven insignia of Anhalt on green and white ribbons. At the top a single ribbon carries two medals: a gold medal (11) with a crowned letter H within a laurel wreath, and a silver medal (12) with a crowned shield of arms showing an eagle beside bars. Below are two jeweled monogram badges, each hung from a green and white ribbon and topped by a crown with a small cross: a Gothic letter H (8) and a Gothic letter F (9), both set with rows of stones. Across the foot are a dark medal (6) with a crowned Gothic monogram in a laurel wreath, a bronze colored cross (10) with a crown on the upper arm, Gothic lettering across the arms and a green laurel wreath behind, and a second dark medal (7) with a crowned letter L in a laurel wreath.

The plate is headed "ANHALT." at the upper left and numbered "II." at the upper right; the items are numbered 6 to 12, continuing the numbers of plate I. The silver medal (12) is lettered "FUER VERDIENST ANHAENGLICHKEIT U.TREUE." (For merit, devotion and loyalty). The cross (10) carries the name "Franz" in Gothic letters on its arms, with further Gothic initials.

The plate comes from Ordres de Chevalerie et Marques d'Honneur, published in Brussels in 1844 by the Librairie Historique-Artistique, rue de Schaerbeek, 12, with the title page reading "publié par Auguste Wahlen"; the half title is Histoire, costumes, décorations de tous les ordres de chevalerie, et marques d'honneur. Auguste Wahlen was the pen name of the Belgian writer Jean-François-Nicolas Loumyer (1801 to 1875), and the title page lists his own knighthoods in orders of Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hanover, Greece, the Roman States, Saxe-Coburg and Brazil.

The dark medals, the gold and silver pieces and the green and white ribbons make a balanced, quiet plate that suits a small frame.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.