Andy_D Posted 29 July , 2004 Share Posted 29 July , 2004 Hello! Firstly,i'd like to apologise for asking this question,as you probably think,"oh no,not again!" every time you see it! I have recently obtained a First War trio to a guy in the MFA,i'm presuming that the ribbons attached are original,due to the state of them! The 14-15 Star and Victory ribbons are tatty,so tatty in fact that they have frayed and are close to tearing in two,while the BWM ribbon is slightly grubby,but intact. I'm tempted to re-ribbon them all with original ribbon(my head says do it,my heart says don't!),keeping the originals in a safe place. But..... if I don't re-ribbon them i'll have difficulty in displaying them,(I use 2 pins through the ribbon to display them). So.....what would you do? All opinions gratefully accepted! Kind regards, Andy P.S I can post a pic of the medals if anyone would like to see them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gem22 Posted 29 July , 2004 Share Posted 29 July , 2004 Keep the original ribbons, to maintain the character, and find a different way to display them. Garth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCLI Posted 29 July , 2004 Share Posted 29 July , 2004 I asked the same question a short while ago and I got different responses. And you're going to hate this. I say change them but keep the originals safe somewhere. As someone said to me, it is the medals that are important and they should be displayed to their best advantage. Think about it. If you had a vintage car, a soft top, which was all ragged and tatty, you would have no qualms about replacing it. I believe HMS Vistory is only about 10% original - it's still HMS Vistory. I know my opnion will annoy the purists, but if you are buying to display - make them look great. Unless you live in a musem. regards Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDick Posted 29 July , 2004 Share Posted 29 July , 2004 They are your medals, so treat them as you will: if the veteran was alive today and was the type that wore his medals, I am sure that he would have them cleaned and on bright new ribbons rather than heavily toned and upon grubby ribbons; others consider that any such interference with aged medals destroys their 'character', so it is entirely a matter of personal taste and sensibilities. You might want to find original silk woven ribbons rather than their modern synthetic counterparts; I believe these are occasionally on sale on ebay etc. and are also available from specialist ribbon dealers - try World Medals. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 29 July , 2004 Share Posted 29 July , 2004 A matter of taste really - nothing wrong with replacing them with original ribbons. the modern nylon type is really tacky especially the Victory ribbon yuck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBettsMCDCM Posted 29 July , 2004 Share Posted 29 July , 2004 As it is apparent the Medals were well worn,there is no guarantee that your MFA Man hadnt replaced his ribbons X number of times before you ever got them,so I'd be of a mind to replace them,most museums would do this anyway to maintain a continuity of display,A work of art wouldnt be displayed without having been sympathetically restored & as was stated above a Vintage car would be brought up to scratch before being entered for the concourse,You would replace ribbons that were missing,so its sensible to replace frayed perished ones too.{I would however agree with Ian & others & try if possible to find Contemporary silk weave Ribbon if @ all possible,if only for esthetics} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_D Posted 29 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 29 July , 2004 Hello Again! Well,I finally decided to replace the ribbons. I've kept the old ones in a safe place should I ever need them again. I'll post a couple of pics of the medals,before and after! Kind regards, Andy Firstly,the medals as I received them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_D Posted 29 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 29 July , 2004 Secondly,after the re-ribboning. All views/opinions gratefully accepted. Kind regards, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 29 July , 2004 Share Posted 29 July , 2004 Super - shame you didn't have an original BWM ribbon Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_D Posted 29 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 29 July , 2004 Thanks Ian! Just how can you tell it's not original? I think the BWM modern ribbon is the best of a bad bunch! Kind regards, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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