Lighter, WW1, Dog urinating on G. Picklehaube
Lighter
Material: Machine metal, brass
Construction: Assembled, screwed pinned.
Marks: None
Colors: Brass
Features: Propaganda Trench Art WW1 lighter. Brass cartouche on each side, one depicting a Military dog in stance wearing a red cross patch with a British soldiers hat proudly in his mouth, on the flip side depicts the same dog urinating on a German Picklehaube Helmet. The lighter itself is Octagon shaped plated brass, screw on flint cover.
Period: Range 1914-1918
Provenance: James and Miki Mangan
Size: 2.25" L x1 3/4"
Weight: 1.6 oz.
Condition: Extremely light wear to the brass plating around the bottom of wick cap.
History: This major conflict saw the first large scale use of war dogs in military history, and it was no longer more or less haphazard but organized and specialized. During World War I, vast numbers of dogs were employed as: sentries; messengers; It's estimated that Germany alone employed over 30,000 dogs for purposes and about.20,000 served with the French Army, the Italians fielded 3,000 dogs for the Allies, the British, Belgians and the Russians thousands more! The United States (with the exception of some sled dogs, kept in Alaska) had no organized dogs units, but borrowed a limited number of dogs from the French and British forces for casualty, messenger and guard duty, ammunition, pigeons, and food carriers; scouts; sled dogs; draught dogs; guard dogs; ambulance dogs; ratters; Red Cross casualty dogs: and even cigarette dogs.
Meta: Lighter, WWI, war, tobacco, brass, copper, dog, canine, military, octagon