This is a very fine example manufactured by the Berlin jeweler Wagner & Sohn, circa 1905. The badge is made of gold, finely enameled on both sides, without maker's mark. The center features a finely painted Red Eagle, the swords are made of gold, hollow-embossed in 2 parts and soldered, above which is the movable crown, hollow-embossed in gold and enameled, above which hangs the oak leaves with the jubilee number "50" in gold, hollow-embossed in one piece. The jubilee number "50" is enameled in white, with minor enamel damage to both numerals. Complete with long unmade silk sash. Accompanied by the silver breast star, the medallion finely enameled with the motto in gold running around it "Sincere Et Constanter", the Red Eagle in fine hand-painting. Above the crossed swords is applied the oak leaves with the jubilee number "50". The oak leaves and swords are in genuine gold, triple-screwed on the reverse. On the reverse with gilt pin-back, below the catch with scratch mark "W". The order set, awarded 7 years before von Stülpnagel's death, is virtually unworn, in perfect condition.
Certainly one of the rarest combinations of the 1st Class of the Order of the Red Eagle.

Hermann Friedrich Karl von Stülpnagel (born January 6, 1839 in Potsdam; died March 1, 1912 in Darmstadt) was a Prussian Lieutenant General and City Commandant of Frankfurt am Main.

His parents were the Prussian Lieutenant General Karl Bernhard von Stülpnagel (1794–1875) and his wife Eleonore, née von Bismarck (1805–1876) of the House of Briest.

Stülpnagel came to Potsdam as a cadet on May 1, 1851 and from there to Berlin on May 1, 1854, where he became page to Queen Elisabeth of Prussia. On May 2, 1857 he was assigned as Second Lieutenant to the 1st Guards Regiment on Foot of the Prussian Army. There he was promoted to First Lieutenant on June 25, 1865 and from May 7, 1866 served as adjutant at the General Command of the Guard Corps. In this capacity, Stülpnagel participated in the same year during the war against Austria in the battles at Soor, Königinhof and Königgrätz. On September 25, 1866 he became supernumerary Captain of the Guards. On February 21, 1868 he was appointed company commander in the 1st Guards Regiment on Foot. In the war against France, Stülpnagel fought at St. Privat, the Siege of Paris, and on August 30 and December 21, 1870 at Le Bourget. He thereby earned the Iron Cross 2nd Class.

On June 16, 1871 he was detailed as aide-de-camp to Emperor Wilhelm I. While remaining in this position, on August 6, 1871 he was transferred as military attaché to the Prussian Legation in Munich. On March 22, 1872 he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords. Stülpnagel was promoted to Major on August 18, 1872, received on December 6, 1872 the Russian Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd Class with Crown and Swords as well as the Order of the Iron Crown 2nd Class. On May 8, 1876 he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Bavarian Military Merit Order. On March 22, 1877 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and on April 12, 1881 was placed à la suite and charged with command of the Guards Fusilier Regiment.

On November 13, 1882 followed his promotion to Colonel and appointment as regimental commander. From May 26, 1887 Stülpnagel served temporarily as commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade, before he was appointed commander of this formation on August 3, 1887 with promotion to Major General. He received the Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class with Oak Leaves on September 19, 1888. On June 17, 1889 Stülpnagel was appointed Commandant of Frankfurt am Main and on December 9, 1889 was decorated with the Star of the Crown Order 2nd Class. Wilhelm II awarded him the rank of Lieutenant General on March 24, 1890. Furthermore, he decorated Stülpnagel with the Crown Order 1st Class on March 22, 1898 and with the Order of the Red Eagle 1st Class with Oak Leaves and Swords on September 15, 1905. Upon approval of his resignation, Stülpnagel was placed on the retired list on July 2, 1907 with the statutory pension and the right to wear the uniform of the Guards Fusilier Regiment. He died on March 1, 1912 in Darmstadt.

459975

Prussia Order of the Red Eagle 1st Class Set with Oak Leaves with Jubilee Number "50", Crown and Swords on Ring from the Estate of Lieutenant General Hermann von Stülpnagel

The Order of the Red Eagle represents one of the most significant dynastic decorations of the Kingdom of Prussia, possessing a multifaceted history reaching back to the early eighteenth century. This award of the 1st Class with Oak Leaves, Crown, Swords on Ring, and Jubilee Number 50 from the estate of Generalleutnant Hermann von Stülpnagel embodies one of the rarest combinations of this decoration and documents an extraordinary military career in the late Prussian era.

The order's origins lie in the Ordre de la Sincérité, founded on 17 November 1705 by Margrave Georg Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, modeled after the English Order of the Garter. After falling into disuse, the order was revived in 1712 in Brandenburg-Bayreuth and in 1734 in Brandenburg-Ansbach, where it first received the name Order of the Brandenburg Red Eagle. In 1777, the statutes were reformed and membership limited to fifty knights.

When Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Brandenburg-Ansbach were absorbed by Prussia in January 1792, King Frederick William II revived the order on 12 June 1792 as a Prussian royal decoration. After the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eagle became the second-highest order of the Kingdom of Prussia. As a Protestant order, it was not named after a saint but after a knightly virtue, symbolized by the red Prussian-Brandenburg eagle of the Hohenzollern dynasty and the motto Sincere et Constanter (Sincerely and Steadfastly).

The order's class structure evolved considerably over the decades. Between 1792 and 1810, only a single class existed. King Frederick William III expanded the order to three classes in 1810; in 1830 a breast star for the 2nd Class was authorized along with the introduction of a 4th Class. Finally, King Wilhelm I established the Grand Cross as the highest grade in 1861.

The Oak Leaves were instituted on 18 January 1811 for the 1st and 2nd Classes and signaled prior possession of the next lower class. The Swords, created on 16 September 1848, denoted military merit and war service. Swords on the Ring, as in this example, were worn when the bearer had already received a lower class with swords before promotion to a higher class. The Crown was created on the occasion of the centennial jubilee in 1892 and was awarded personally by Wilhelm II only on special occasions. The Jubilee Number was instituted in December 1851 under King Frederick William IV and honored fifty years of service.

This exceptional set was manufactured around 1905 by the Berlin court jeweler Johann Wagner & Sohn, who had served as royal supplier to the Prussian monarchy since 1855. The scratch mark W on the reverse of the breast star confirms its origin from this renowned workshop. The badge consists of gold with fine enamel on both sides, the center displaying a finely painted red eagle. The swords are hollow-embossed in two parts and soldered together, above them the movable crown in hollow-embossed, enameled gold. The oak leaves with Jubilee Number 50 are hollow-embossed in a single piece, the number itself executed in white enamel. The silver breast star bears a finely enameled medallion with the golden motto and the applied swords and oak leaves in genuine gold, triple-screwed on the reverse.

Hermann Friedrich Karl von Stülpnagel, born on 6 January 1839 in Potsdam, descended from a distinguished Prussian military family. After his education as a cadet and page to Queen Elisabeth, he became a second lieutenant in the 1st Guards Regiment on Foot in 1857. He participated in the 1866 war against Austria at Soor, Königinhof, and Königgrätz, as well as in the 1870-71 war against France at St. Privat, the siege of Paris, and Le Bourget, earning the Iron Cross 2nd Class. In 1871 he became aide-de-camp to Emperor Wilhelm I and military attaché in Munich. His career led him to commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade in 1887 and City Commandant of Frankfurt am Main in 1889, where he was granted the character of Generalleutnant on 24 March 1890.

Stülpnagel received the Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves on 19 September 1888, the Crown Order 1st Class on 22 March 1898, and finally the Red Eagle Order 1st Class with Oak Leaves and Swords on 15 September 1905—the decoration documented by this set. The award occurred seven years before his death on 1 March 1912 in Darmstadt. The set remained virtually unworn and survives in perfect preservation.

With the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II at the close of World War I and the signing of the new German constitution on 11 August 1919, the monarchy ended. All orders and decorations formally conferred by the monarchy ceased to exist legally. Nevertheless, recipients of the Order of the Red Eagle continued to wear their decorations during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the Federal Republic. The order was never revived after 1918.