Example of a Cordon Rouge cigarette tin from A. Batschari Company. |
Jakobs was carrying a packet of Cordon Rouge cigarettes. The packet contained 20 cigarettes and was marked American Blend (No. 3525).
Cordon Rouge simply means Red Ribbon and is most commonly associated with Cordon Rouge champagne and Cordon Rouge Grand Marnier.
There was cigarette manufacturer in Germany who manufactured a Cordon Rouge brand of cigarettes, A. Batschari. The company was based in Baden-Baden and operated from 1834 until World War 2. There are very few pictures of Batschari cigarette cases and it is conceivable that they also made an American Blend version.
Leather Cigarette Case
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Red leather ZEKA WETTIG GEDER cigarette case advertised on Ebay. |
Several years ago, a reddish leather cigarette case, from ZEKA, was listed for sale on Ebay in Singapore.
Another leather case, slightly different in style from the first one was recently listed on the UK Ebay site.
Black leather ZEKA WETTIG GEDER cigarette case advertised on Ebay. |
Jakobs' leather cigarette holder is lost to history. He may have given it away to one of the witnesses at his trial (perhaps one of the farmers or Home Guard soldiers) or passed it along to one of his Military Police guards.
Cigarette Holder
Cigarette holders were fashion accessories in the early to mid 1900s. They were considered an essential part of lady’s fashion, although
men used them as well (e.g. Noel Coward, Franklin D. Roosevelt). The cigarette holder
could be made of silver, jade or even Bakelite and came in different
lengths, suitable for different occasions:
- opera length - 16-20 inches
- theatre length - 10-14 inches
- dinner length - 4 to 6 inches
- cocktail length - shorter holders
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An example of a shorter cigarette holder. |
Cigarette holders were also practically useful. In the days before cigarettes contained
built-in filters (pre-1960s), the cigarette holder contained a filter. Plus, a cigarette
holder would prevent nicotine staining on the fingers.
Automatic Lighter
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An example of a Karl Wieden lighter showing the initials KW on the base. |
Karl Wieden was a German company based in Solingen that manufactured lighters from 1905 to 1980. The trademark initials of the company were KW, later becoming KAWEE. Those initials were often inscribed on the bottom of Karl Wieden lighters.
Jakobs may have given his lighter to one of the witnesses at his court martial or to one of the military police guards. It too was lost to history.
References
National Archives, Security Service Files - Josef Jakobs - KV 2/24, KV 2/25.
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nice post
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