{"product_id":"kaiser-wilhelm-i-of-germany-presentation-cigarette-case-1885","title":"Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany Presentation Cigarette Case, 1885","description":"\u003cp\u003e9cm (3.5in) x 7.5cm (2.8in)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSilver, silver gilt and enamels. Cigarette case with \u003c\/span\u003enavy blue and yellow enamelled sprung lid of convex and rectangular form, the lid applied centrally with the gilt crowned cypher of Wilhelm I, German Emperor. Gilt interior. Maker’s mark of court silversmith Georg Adam Scheid of Vienna. Hallmarked '900'. Contained in a modern fitted case.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeorg Adam Scheid was a gold and silversmith with premises on the Gumpendorferstraße, Vienna from 1882-1903. He was made Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph and worked in silver and enamels. He participated in the Jubilee exhibition of 1889 as well as the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003eRead More\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e~section 2~\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKaiser Wilhelm I (1797–1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and the first German emperor from 1871. The second son of the future King Frederick William III, he fought against Napoleon in 1814 before devoting his career to the Prussian Army. When his childless brother, Frederick William IV, became king in 1840, Wilhelm became heir presumptive. During the 1848 Revolution, Wilhelm’s support for military force earned him the nickname ‘Prince of Grapeshot’. After a brief exile in England, he returned to command troops that crushed the Baden uprising in 1849. Although naturally conservative, his views were moderated by the events of 1848, English political ideas, and the influence of his wife, Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, whom he married in 1829.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs military governor of the Rhineland from 1849, Wilhelm lived at Coblenz and initially dismissed Otto von Bismarck’s ideas. Becoming regent in 1858 and king in 1861, he promised a “New Era” of liberalism but remained committed to strengthening the army. A dispute over military reforms in 1862 brought him close to abdication until he appointed Bismarck as prime minister. Following Prussia’s victory over Austria in 1866, Wilhelm recognised Bismarck’s importance despite frequent disagreements. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), he acted more cautiously than Bismarck and mediated between him and Helmuth von Moltke. Though uneasy with Bismarck’s policies, including the Kulturkampf, he consistently supported him. In 1871, Wilhelm was proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles, marking the creation of the German Empire. He accepted the imperial title reluctantly, preferring ‘Emperor of Germany’ to ‘German Emperor’. After surviving two assassination attempts in 1878, public sympathy for Wilhelm helped strengthen support for Bismarck’s anti-Socialist legislation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Armoury St James","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57508236755317,"sku":null,"price":2000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/7008\/3014\/files\/L1700593_0d9d92c9-a43c-4c52-9e77-127603dd94b1.jpg?v=1787054966","url":"https:\/\/armoury.co.uk\/products\/kaiser-wilhelm-i-of-germany-presentation-cigarette-case-1885","provider":"The Armoury St James's","version":"1.0","type":"link"}