Description:
Of Karelian birchwood, the cover applied with the
conjoined Cyrillic initials of
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (grandson of Emperor Nicholas
I), below a Romanov crown in silver, with spine to accommodate
a tinder cord (missing), the top with hinged match compartment
and exterior match strike.
Circa 1890
3 3/4 x 2 5/8 in. (9.5 x 6.7 cm.)
He was the most admired man in the army,
not only an old fashioned soldier, but deeply Slav. His whole
being exuded a fierce energy. His incisive measured speed,
flashing eyes and quick, nervous movements, hard, steel-trap
mouth and gigantic stature personify imperious and impetuous
audacity. - Maurice Paléologue.
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (1856-1929) was
the uncle of
Tsar Nicholas II and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army
at the outbreak of World War I. He began his career as young
officer during the Turkish War (1877-78), where he was
awarded a Saint George's Cross. He went on to command a
Guards Hussar Regiment and eventually the entire Imperial
Guard. After the Revolution, the Grand Duke went on to the
Crimea, although he was not involved in the Civil War. In 1919
the British Navy evacuated him on the H.M.S. Nelson along with
the Dowager Empress, Marie Fedorovna.
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