7360 - Otto Prince of Bismarck (1815–1898)—a congratulatory message from the Viennese Association of the “Ottonen” on his 80th birthday in 1895

Otto Prince of Bismarck (1815–1898)—a congratulatory message from the Viennese Association of the “Ottonen” on his 80th birthday in 1895 Large, carved wooden portfolio. In the center is a depiction of Germania in armor and wearing a winged helmet, holding a sword and a laurel wreath in her right hand. The frame is adorned at the corners with four steel rosettes, each surrounded by a raised oak leaf motif; above them is the inscription “Otto v. Bismarck” in a cartouche, flanked by the years “1815” and “1895.” The interior is lined with brown damask silk. Attached to a black-white-red cord is a double-leaf card containing a calligraphic birthday dedication to Bismarck in black and red ink; it is dated “1st Ostermond 1895/2008” (Ostermond is an old Germanic term for April) and bears the stamp of the “Verein des Germanenbundes” in Vienna’s 18th district. The second page contains another calligraphic dedication in black and red ink, stating that representatives of the “Ostmark tribes” must not be missing from among the Germanic well-wishers. Like the first page, this page is also dated and bears six signatures, written in ink, from the committee of the Ottonian Society. Dimensions of the folder: 52 x 45 cm; of the document: 50 x 39 cm.The 113-year difference between the years 1895 and 2008 refers to the famous Battle of Noreia in 113 B.C., in which the Germanic tribes of the Cimbri and Teutons defeated the Roman army under Consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo on Celtic territory (present-day Austria and northeastern Italy). This lot is located in the United States Condition: II