A letter opener made for Otto von Bismarck - image-1
A letter opener made for Otto von Bismarck - image-2
A letter opener made for Otto von Bismarck - image-1A letter opener made for Otto von Bismarck - image-2

Lot 523 Dα

A letter opener made for Otto von Bismarck

Auction 1169 - overview Berlin
24.04.2021, 11:00 - Prussian Sale
Estimate: 800 € - 1.000 €
Result: 6.625 € (incl. premium)
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A letter opener made for Otto von Bismarck

Designed as an officer's sable, the pierced guard emblazoned with Bismarck's coat-of-arms and the device “In Trinitate Robur“. The blade monogrammed “WR“ and inscribed with a dedication “Dem Fürsten v. Bismarck, Herzog von Lauenburg zur Vollendung seines 80. Lebensjahres am 1. April 1895“, verso “Wir Deutschen fürchten Gott, aber sonst nichts auf der Welt.“ L 26.5 cm.
Late 19th C.

Prince Otto von Bismarck (since 1871), Duke of Lauenburg since 1890 (Schönhausen/Altmark 1815 - Friedrichsruh 1898), was German Chancellor from 1871 to 1890. The Prince's 80th birthday on 1st April 1895 was celebrated with jubilant festivities throughout the German Empire. The Bismarck Museum, which was set up in Schönhausen Palace in 1891, had amassed 3,600 gifts, memorabilia and donations following the celebration. The quotation reproduced in part here, "We fear God, but nothing else in the world" was the closing remark Bismarck's Reichstag speech on 6th February 1888 reacting to the publication of the Dual Alliance between Russia and France on 3rd February 1888.

Provenance

Collection of Renate and Tono Dreßen.