Family photo album

[Jeanin]

Help appreciated in identifying rank / regiment. Photo on a carte de visite (square edge) taken about 1875 - 1879 at the 'Photographisch Artistisches Institut of Theodor Vehling & Co.Hamburg Grindel - Allee 182.  I believe this to be a photo of my maternal Gt. Grandfather.
Also can anyone read the complete inscription?

[Treetotal]

Hi Jeanin and welcome to RootsChat...I have asked a Moderator to move your post to the Armed Forces Board for a more informed response.
Carol

[neil1821]

German uniforms aren't my thing, but the inscription....
Christmas [remember?] 1879
from ??
C.T.

[Chasing-fireflies]

Christmas time ? 1879
from William(?)
CT

maybe??

[Polldoll]

Hi Jeanin ... I met you at the  WDYTYA show and asked you to post this so that we could maybe get a closer look  at it ... I  have a good look at  the  words that you posted and it was just the one word that you were struggling with as I recall ...I don't think it's someone's  name, as you said the CT  fitted in as the abbreviation of his name( as I  recall it was Carl T.....? )  I think it may say " window "...  Was this referring to a scene ... Remember Christmas 1879 from window ? I can't quite remember the context in which I saw it ...was it on the back of that photo  or another one that you had?

Glad you made it to the Forum though ...welcome to Rootschat .. You'll love it here . I'm having a look at the other pics to see if I can retrieve any badges / insignia on the shoulder epaulettes etc ...and will get back to you ..
 
Polly
 Hi Carol ... It's my fault Jeanin has posted on here... I told her to try us on the photo board first   when I met her at the show to see if we could  retrieve anything for her ...and then pass it to the army board 
I hope Jeanin can find this post .....  It's her first posting and I'm not sure  that she will find it easily ...

[Polldoll]

Here is the epaulette enhanced Jeanin It looks like it is a number 7 ...which denoted he was Captain if that  is what it is .. The Cap was an Officers cap too I think ...


http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~worldwarone/WWI/Uniforms/index.html

Scroll to last item on the page for German insignias
 I hope you find this .. I cannot send a pm yet  to guide you back here as you need three posts before the Personal message system kicks in ....

[Chasing-fireflies]

I would assume he was an NCO as he has a single cockade on his cap but as he has a peaked cap that leads me to the conclusion that he is a senior NCO.

Someone who knows a bit more might possibly identify this as a German Colonial army uniform by the piping on the jacket but it's really hard to determine what colour that would have been due to the sepia photo.

colony colours: white for East Africa, blue for South West Africa and red for Cameroon

[apwright]

The collar button indicates that he is a Gefreiter (Corporal).
The shoulder board looks to be that of Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.91 - white with a red (or gilt) crown above the monogram "P" for Grand Duke Peter of Oldenburg.

https://www.weitze.net/onload/shop/gastfotos/92/107192/107192.jpg

The date could be any time from 1870 to 1895. His tunic is the dark-blue 1867-pattern Waffenrock, worn through until 1895. After that, it had smaller buttons. Also, after 1897 he would have had two cockades - the black-white-black cockade of Prussia (which he is wearing here) was replaced by the red-white-black of the German Empire plus the blue-red-blue of Oldenburg.

The regiment was largely employed in coastal garrison duties in this period, which might explain the Hamburg photographer.

Adrian

EDIT: A Feldwebel (Sergeant) of the same regiment here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66923469@N05/8436033814/in/photostream

[Jeanin]

Thanks Adrian - will do some more research to see if I can get anymore information about his regiment.
The family story is that he 'was in the Kaiser's army - but swam a river to get away!' I think I've managed to find his marriage (Carl Taube)to my G Grandmother (Marie Schneider) Dec 1880 in St James Clerkenwell but after that nothing! The marriage cert. shows him, his father and father-in-law as hairdressers.
I believe he died between 1888 - 1901 but can't find a death cert. I know that my g'mother and her brother were brought up in Germany (probably near Wolmirstedt, Saxony-Anhalt) as their mum had to go back into service (not sure if that was in England or Germany) They were back in England in 1901 (census & school records) No trace in alien immigration records of their movements. Seems like I've hit a 'brickwall'
As I am very new to this I'd be grateful of any suggestions of my next steps.
Thanks