Hello - A new member and militaria collector

[ChinaSailor]

Hello,
First let me apologize for joining your forum and I do not even speak German, I am in the U.S. I will trust that most of you are more educated than I and speak English.
 
As I am from New York and many Americans don't think I speak English - (it's an American joke!)

However I am a former sailor in the US Navy and I now collect naval antique officer and enlisted mess dinnerware and tableware from the worlds navies. I currently have plates, bowls, cups etc etc from the Kaiserliche Marine, Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine and am hoping to find similar that was used in the Volksmarine/DDR and the Deutche Marine Federal Navy.

I also collect naval cutlasses (entermesser) and boarding axes (enterbeil) from many navies of the world as well, but that's another more expensive story.

My collection is mostly online and I will not give the link here because I dont know if it is against your rules and I dont speak German to read them! And I do not want you to think I am another nervy American.. perhaps a nervy Sailor!!

So perhaps some of you can help me find some plates, cups and bowls to help fill holes in my collection that were used by the Volksmarine and Deutche Marine either in the Officers or Enlisted Mess (Kantinen?) that have the proper Naval Insignia (waffenamt?) on them.

I will check here from time to time, but my email address is sales(at)thepirateslair.com.  Thanks for your patience. Regards Michael

[kgvm]

Hello Michael,
there is no need to apologize for joining the forum  , you're wellcome even if neither speaking German or English.

[Leandros]

Hello Michael,
there is no need to apologize for joining the forum  , you're wellcome even if neither speaking German or English.

Welcome aboard, Michael. Looked into http://thepirateslair.com  - is that your website? I am a newbie here, too and I can tell you here is a bunch of extremely helpful people.

Regds
Fred

[Captain Hans]

Hi Michael

a warm welcome also from me

I hope you will find lots of help in our Forum.

greetings from Costa Rica

Hans

[Hurvinek]

Hello Michael

I agree to Leandros, and want to add this:
You will not find more knowlegde about all german navies in other places on the web! It seems, you're just right in here. 
So, welcome aboard, old mariner, have fun!

With best wishes to NY!
Hurvinek

[ChinaSailor]

Hello and Thank You For the Warm Welcome.

Yes, I believe I have found the right spot for people who appreciate naval discussions, especially about the German navies.

If you have gone to my website you probably have seen that it has alot of naval information from many navies in the world, including the German navies.

Hopefully I will be able to help you all as well and if you ever want to email me directly please do. The Pirate's Lair is a home based business and my commute to work is stumbling down the basement steps with a cup of coffee. So I am mostly always here working on Antique Trunks, or researching cutlasses or boarding axes, shipping/receiving, or making web pages.

If you ever find something on my website which is wrong or misleading do not hesitate to contact me. I try to make the information on my website as accurate as I can.

Many of the items on my website have never been made publicly available before as they were either in private collections or completely undiscovered until we found them - mostly in plain sight!

An example of this was finding a KuK Marine dinner plate a few years ago which somebody was selling as "nautical plate maybe British navy", I did some research on the crown/anchor nsignia (or topmark) used on the plate and the backstamp, or manufacturers information, on the back of the plate and determined that it was made in the 1890's by a British porcelain company for a German/Austrian porcelain designer/distributor (Wien Porzellan Manufaktur, Josef Boeck ) who designed the plate but had the British make it because back then Germany/Austria designed alot of china/porcelain but did not make too much.

Anyhow, here is a link to that web page for "Austro-Hungarian Naval Dinnerware" http://www.thepirateslair...pire-navy-dinnerware.html

BTW, I was a sailor and sailed on heavy cruisers, guided missile destroyers, light cruisers in Vietnam, West Pacific, eastern Mediterranean in Oct 73 Mid-East Crisis, North Atlantic up to Iceland/Norway, South Atlantic.... I imagine that perhaps you and I may have crossed bows from time to time!!! <eg> I was also stationed in Vietnam on the ground there as well as off shore in 1972!

Well gentlemen, thank you again for the kind and warm welcome and look forward to fun chit/chats about our naval experiences.

Kind Regards,

Mike