Original German Pre-WWII Hindenberg Administration “Adventurer” Silver Presentation Cigarette Case dated 1931 Original Items

Original Item: One of a Kind. This was just acquired from a collector at a large military collection. This is a very nice silver presentation Cigarette case, presented to Lt. Frank White in 1931. This was during the administration of President Paul von Hindenberg, the famous WWI General who was President during most of the Weimar period, and was the President who appointed AH as Chancellor, setting the stage for total NSDAP domination of Germany.

The case has various emblems on the lid, including one from the DLV, another of a 1914 Iron Cross, and even one from the Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler (Order of the Black Eagle). There is the word ADVENTURER in the middle of the case in an arc, with additional emblems above and below. As far as we can tell, Lt. Frank White must have been a pilot training with the Deutsche Luft-Hansa, and was most likely not a German pilot. This was presented to him most likely as a memento of training in Weimar Germany.

There is a very nice inscription on the inside of the top lid, which reads:

Ueberreicht dem
Lt. Frank White
von der
„Deutsche Luft – Hansa“
Berlin – Tempelhof
Flughafen
25. Okt. 1931

This translates to “Presented to Lt. Frank White from Deutsche Luft – Hansa, Berlin – Tempelhof Airport, Oct. 25, 1931”. Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. (from 1933 styled as Deutsche Lufthansa and also known as Luft Hansa, Lufthansa, or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout Germany, when it had close links to the Party. The name of the company means “German Hansa of the Air”. The Hansa or Hanseatic League dominated maritime trade in the Baltic Sea area for hundreds of years, and is well regarded in Germany to this day.

The case itself measures approximately 4″ x 2 3/4″ x 5/8″, and the hinge is fully functional. On the left outer “lip” of the lower portion, there is are German hallmarks followed by 800, meaning that the case is made from .800 purity silver. Pure silver is quite soft, so almost all silver used is alloyed with harder metals to increase the resilience.

A wonderful piece of German Hindenberg Administration Era Militaria! Ready to research and display!