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Home , Medal ribbon, Order of the Garter

OF THE (Continued from page 6) on the book. Between the crown and the gar- ter is a sma!l compartment containing the royal cypher. Garter Principal has a fine large in gold and enamel, embody- ing St. George’s Cross combined with the arms of the within the garter and with the crown above. This is worn at the neck from either a Garter-Blue riband or a thin gold chain, according to the occasion. This is worn in addition to his King of Arms gold of SS. The Usher is "The Gentleman Usher of the " who has a badge and chain of office and carries the baton-like gold-mounted Black Rod. He is usually a retired admiral or generah His badge is a gold knot, as in the Garter Collar, surrounded by the Garter with a crown over it. It is worn from a thin neck chain.

The magnificent St. George’s Chapel at Windsor is the official Chapel of the Order. On either side of the choir are the carved stalls of the , each with a canopy supporting the particular ’s sword, mantle, helmet, and , while above it hangs his ~mbroidered banner. Foreign monarchs who are Knights have crowns instead Of .crests over ~heir cano- pies. These crowns and the crests of other Knights are perquisite of the Garter King of Arms when a Knight dies. Every Knight also has a gold plate decorated with his arms in enamel. I cannot find the reference but I re- member reading that when the restoration of St. George’s Chapel was completed in 1930 the

10 surviving gold plates- about 340, I think - were rescued from the cellar, re-furbished, and placed on vh~.w in a rack. A part of the cere- mony when a Knight is struck off the Roll of the Order, is the destruction of his gold plate. The Germanic Knights were struck off the Roll by order of King on May 13, 1915. There must have been some fine plates hammer- ed to bits that day. As the Garter insignia have to be handed back to the Sovereign on a Knight’s decease, strictly speaking, no insignia should ever be available to the collector. However, consider- ing the many depositions and abdications of European sovereigns since 1918, it is possible that impoverished relatives of the deceased ex-monarchs have been glad to sell the insignia in their possession. Garter stars, Georges, and velvet have appeared in the auc- tion’rooms from time to time, but these may

have been items the Knights had privately ordered to be made by their jewelers. Massive old stars may have been uncomfortable for evening dress wear, so probably most of the Knights in the 19th century had small, lighter stars made to their private order and sometimes set with diamonds. An old magazine illustra- tion depicts the Garter insignia be!onging to the first and second Marquesses Camden in the 19th century. It shows six Garter stars in different sizes, so the Lords Camden had plenty of spares. A piece of Garter insignia which a collector might come across is the embroidered velvet Garter itself. Until knee- breeches went out of fashion many Knights wore their Garter below the knee every day. An old peer might have got through a dozen or more Garters in his lifetime and the worn ones would probably be cherished by someone in his household and not thrown away. Possibly his womenfolk had made and embroidered his

JANUARY, 1955 11 everyday ones for him. In the earlier years of the Order the insignia belonged to the Knights as their private property but few of these an- cient Collars, etc., could have survived in ggiBitary

Decorations

Enameled Orders

U. S. AND FOREIGN

COLLECTIONS, ACCUMULATIONS

PURCHASED

PERIODIC PRICE LISTS ISSUED

SENT FREE ON REQUEST

_Kenneth LOJ. £ee 623 SECURITY BUILDING

GLENDALE 3, CALIFORNIA

private hands. A few richly-jeweled old Less- er Georges still exist in English ducal collec- tions, COINS AND MEDALS OF THE WORLD A. A. Miller BOUGHT AND SOLD

CURIOUS CHINA Not long ago President Mohler showed me an unusual "home-made" medal which he found in some store. This medal is made of a Chinese silver dollar with the reverse scraped and crude- (o t ¯ ) ly engraved "PRESENTED TO / blank space / YANGTSE PATROL / FOR ENDURANCE / DURING YANGTSE / BLOCKADE / 1937-1938." The medal has a lug-type suspension at- tached at the top, and it is suspended from the obsolete China 1857 Medal (first type). 37 TURNEY ROAD, WEST DULWICH LONDON, S. E. 21, ENGLAND If any reader knows anything about the of this medal - by whom, for whom, etc. -will he please write the Editor.

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