u/ExLibris68

Hello everyone,

I’m trying to break through a brick wall regarding a German couple: Eugen Maier and Kätchen Maier (maiden name Schemm). I have a large collection of their field post and letters dating from 1900 up to September 24, 1916, but I am entirely missing their official vital records (birth, marriage, and death dates).

Here is what I know from their letters:

Kätchen (also spelled as Käthchen) Maier (Schemm):

• In 1904, she also had an address in Würzburg at Friedenstrasse 23.
• She had deep roots in Mainbernheim (Bavaria / Lower Franconia), specifically living at house number 314.

Eugen Maier:

• He was highly mobile before the war, likely a commercial traveler. In 1900 he received mail in Bad Kreuznach (c/o Webel Zuckerwarenfabrik) and Heidelberg.
• Between 1904 and 1906, they lived in Saarbrücken (Kronprinzenstrasse 4, later Eisenbahnstrasse 28 III) and Strassburg.

His WWI Military Service: Eugen was older (served in Landwehr and Landsturm) and fought in several Bavarian units:

• Infanterie Landwehr Regiment 4 (12. Bataillon, 3. Kompagnie).
• Landsturm-Infanterie-Bataillon Hammelburg (1. Komp.).
• Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Jäger-Bataillon (Aschaffenburger Jäger).
• From March to September 1915, he was a patient at the Vereinslazarett Mainberg near Schweinfurt.
• His last letters (in the collection I own) date from September 1916, sent from the Eastern Front in Galicia (Podhajce / Zlota Lipa), where he complained about severe heart problems and was trying to get medically discharged. The letters abruptly stop on September 24, 1916.

The Mystery: Despite Kätchen’s deep roots in Mainbernheim, Eugen's name is not on the local WWI memorial for fallen soldiers. This leads me to believe he might have survived the war and was medically discharged, or he was officially registered in another town.

My Request for Help:

1. Bayerische Kriegsstammrollen: Could anyone with access to Ancestry check the Bavarian military personnel rosters (Kriegsstammrollen) for Eugen Maier? Finding his entry (specifically with the 4th Landwehr, Hammelburg, or 2nd Jäger-Bataillon) would finally give me his exact birth date, birthplace, and tell me if he died in 1916 or was discharged.
2. Archion (Dekanat Kitzingen): The Protestant church records for Mainbernheim are available on Archion and go back to 1543. If anyone has an active Archion subscription, could you possibly look for the baptism of Kätchen Schemm (likely late 1800s) or their marriage record (roughly between 1900-1904)?

Any lookups, hints, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance!

I collect books with recycled parchment (upper shelf) and early modern books that are printed in Antwerp (now Belgium).

This was in a large breviary, printed in Antwerp in 1762 by the Plantin Press. Its a rod with (in this case) 4 silk ribbons (red and blue).

The scale wasn’t accurate enough for my smallest book 😕.

Asparagus setaceus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asparagus\_setaceus

#Pentecost from a Missale Romanum (small folio - 1574 - Plantin). The woodcuts are designed by Pieter van de Borcht (PB) and executed by Antony van Leest (AVL).

#Plantin
#bookhistory

The book is from 1665, but the print is probably a little older because the maker Michiel van Lochom lived from 1601 to 1647. There are several copper engravings in this book by an anonymous artist. The illustrations are cleary inspired by Otto van Veen (Otto Vaenius), Peter Paul Rubens’ teacher.

This book is advertised dated from 1599, but that is the date of the translation.

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/103151709-het-oude-testament-en-het-nieuwe-testament-1599

This is the Google Books scan of the New Testament with a date of 1834, printed by Enschede (Haarlem). I expect the Old Testament is from the same date. How can I report this?

https://www.google.nl/books/edition/Het_Nieuwe_Testament_ons_Saligmakers/5Kw8AAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

I could add this Bible (1567) to my collection. It is my oldest Bible published by Christopher Plantin (1520-1589) so far. Unfortunately it has a rather ugly (in my opinion) much later binding (20th century). Well also an ugly bookbinding is part of the history of a book I guess.

This is a two colored woodcut (chiaroscuro) made by Hubert Goltzius in 1557. Often Goltzius made his designs after coins of collectors. Do you know a coin with this design?