Mechanical game

Mechanical paper game satirising the German leader Kaiser Wilhelm. Comprising a sheet of card cut and printed to represent the head and shoulders of the Kaiser wearing a military Pickelhaube helmet with an oversized moustache. At the back of the card is attached a lever that when pulled lifts the Kaiser's helmet to reveal horns and a pointed head and changes the moustache to a forked tongue thus transforming the Kaiser into the Devil. Below is printed 'Found out at last!' Discovered. Lift his helmet or pull his moustache'. The souvenir made in England by 'B Ld T' was purchased by Ernest King for one penny (1d) from a London street trader on 21st November 1914. War with Germany was declared on 4th August 1914 and, within one month, satirical souvenirs mocking the Kaiser appeared for sale on London's streets. Such souvenirs, mass produced and sold for a penny, capitalised on the public mood of patriotism that seized London on the outbreak of war and mocked and satirised the Kaiser with the misplaced confidence that he would soon be defeated.