Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Prussian Order of the Crown group of three attributed to Herr F. J. Günther, who served as General Director of the Anatolian Railway Company and was instrumental in the construction of the Berlin to Baghdad Railway

Germany, Prussia, Order of the Crown, 2nd type, Civil Division, Third Class neck badge, 43mm, gold and enamel, maker’s maker ‘W’ to base of cross; Red Cross Medal, Third Class, bronze; Oldenburg, Friedrich August Cross, Second Class, iron, generally very fine, the first nearly extremely fine (3) £140-£180

Franz Johannes Günther was born in 1861, and served as General Director of the Anatolian Railway Company, the company funded by Deutsche bank and tasked with the construction of the Berlin to Baghdad Railway which, when ultimately linked to the port of Basra, would have enabled Germany to transport goods and oil across land from the Indian Ocean, thus bypassing the Anglo-French controlled Suez Canal. He died in 1937.

Sold with the Warrant appointing the recipient General Director of the Anatolian Railway Company, dated 8 October 1917; two photographs of the recipient; and various other research.

For the various foreign orders attributed to the recipient, see lots 1245, 1251, 1316, 1317, 1319, 1321, 1330, and 1331.

For the recipient’s miniature awards, see lot 1242.