Description
This is an interesting postcard or original photograph album from the Battleship S.M.S. Elass. The S. M. S. Elass was a part of the five-ship Braunschweig Battleship Class (Linienschiffe). She was commissioned in 1904. By the time WW I began, she was considered obsolete. She was assigned to the Baltic fleet under Prinz Heinrich’s command. The S.M.S. Elass participated in a couple of minor engagements with Russian ships, was used for coastal defense, and finally was anchored at Kiel, where she was used as a floating barracks. She was scrapped in 1936.
The album has a pebbled exterior and measures 16 ½” x 11″ x 1 1/4,” Embossed on the front cover is a shield with the S.M.S. Elass’s Coat-of-Arms. [Elass is the German word for Alsace, part of the Alsace-Lorraine territory along the French and German borders, with both French and German-speaking citizens. It was seized by Germany during the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, and returned to France in 1919 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles]. Along with its Coat-of-Arms, the album is imprinted in gold with “Linienschiff Elass.”
The album is massive, with a total of thirty-five double pages. Each page has the capability of housing eight postcards or postcard-sized photographs. The album can accommodate a total of two hundred-eighty (280) photographs/postcards. Each page is shielded by a protective glassine sheet. The inside back cover sports a tag for the Wilhelmshaven shop where it was purchased.
The album is in excellent condition, overall. It is a unique artifact from the Kaiserliche Marine. It is a marvelous album for housing any postcard or photograph collection, especially a Navy one.
