WW1 Trench art lighter with Crown Prince caricature

A lighter featuring a profile of Crown Prince Wilhelm (William of Prussia—heir to the German Empire and military commander on the Western Front); one side shows him smiling as he thinks of Paris, while the other shows him weeping as he contemplates Verdun. This amusing "Laughing Jack/Crying Jack" style caricature incorporates the distinctive features of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s son as depicted in the satirical press of the time: an emaciated face, a monocle, a prominent nose, and a receding chin. This satirical profile—resembling a "rat's snout" and evidently a popular motif—appears on other examples of trench art. The design symbolizes the German defeat at Verdun in 1916.

The lighter consists of a reservoir containing a piece of cotton (originally soaked in fuel), topped by a striking wheel and a flint, both of which are missing. It has a fine overall patina.