Description
CIGARETTE CASE – PRINZ ADALBERT von PREUßEN
Prinz Adalbert was the only one of Kaiser Wilhelm’s six sons who served in the Kaiserliche Marine. All the other boys served the Army in one capacity or another. (The Kaiser’s eldest son, Kronprinz Wilhelm, served as an Armee field commander).
This unusual wooden cigarette case sports Prinz Adalbert’s royal cypher, and measures 3 3/4″ x 3 1/4.” The wood (it might be cedar, judging from its grain) has a burled finish. It shows some scratching, but one must search carefully to discover it. Prinz Adalbert’s crowned “A” cypher appears in GOLD on the obverse.
The case has a silver frame that secures its wooden sections.
The case’s side is hallmarked with .925 silver, a moon, and a Hohenzollern Crown per Kaiser Wilhelm I’s 1885 royal decree. To the right is the manufacturer’s hallmark, a triangle, which appears within a circle, along with two more circles and marks in the triangle’s three corners. I am not familiar with this manufacturer (readers?).
This is a terrific cigarette case, either owned by a royal, or given by one as a gift to a lucky recipient. Kaiser Wilhelm II was far more liberal in giving gifts than any of his sons. Gifts from any of the Hohenzollern Princes are quite scarce. I have had the privilege of offering royal gifts from the Kaiser and the Kronprinz, but this is the first time I have had anything from any of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s other sons. The simple reason is that there were not near as many gifts from the sons. Especially from the sons other than the Kronprinz.
