Posted 10 years ago
bluemax1914
(71 items)
Historic, Rare and lovely Imperial German Navy Reservist’s stein of Seaman 1st class Henschke. Artwork decorating the stein includes a zeppelin and a very nice rendition of the armored cruiser S.M.S. Prinz Adalbert in addition to the usual patriotic flags, stands of arms combined with soldiers drinking beer and working the ladies. The stein was owned by a member of the cruise crew as the banner reads "An Bord S.M.S. Prinz Adalbert". Comparing to photographs of the Prinz Adalbert it is clear that this is the ship pictured on the stein. Henschke is listed at the top of the muster list after which it goes in alphabetical order. The large banner at the top reads "Wir dienten treu dem vaterland an fernen Nord u. Ostsee Strand" or "We faithful served the fatherland from the far north to the Baltic Sea coast". The bottom script reads "Volldampf Voraus! Jetzt gehts nach haus." or "Full speed ahead! We are going home." Clearly a reference to service time being finished. The top of the handle reads "'Gesetzlich geschützt,' which is the proprietary warning which is often abreviated to 'Ges Gesch'. The thumb thumblift is a prow figurehead which is in keeping with the naval motif. The lithophane in the bottom shows a sailor shaking hands with his lady as he prepares to board his ship (Again the naval motif).The time of service for this fellow was 1908-1911. In 1915 while serving in the Baltic, the Prinz Adalbert was torpedoed twice by British submarines (first, in July 1915, which she survived, and again fatally on 23 October 1915. The second incident triggered an explosion in the ammunition magazine which destroyed the ship and killed 672 of her crew. Only three seamen survived. A wonderful top notch stein related to an interesting yet tragic ship.
Fab stein and history!
Tragic death toll......672!