Beschreibung:

A silver Royal presentation cigarette case by J. W. Benson Ltd, London 1921, plain oblong, the cover applied with a gold chrysanthemum mon and engraved 'Lieut. Col. H. W. M. Bamford Commissioner of Police Malta' the back with 'Presented by the Emperor of Japan in memory of the visit to Malta of Prince Hirohito April 1921', 9.2cm (3.5in) high, 103g (3.25 oz), in a leather covered fitted case from Hunt & Roskell Ltd in alliance with J. W. Benson Ltd Provenance: from the collection of the late Michael Wilson and June Hudson Col. Henry W. Bamford, OBE was Commissioner of Police of Malta from 1919 to 1922. He then became Commandant of the Northern Territories Constabulary in the Gold Coast. Crown Prince Hirohito, heir to the Emperor, sailed from Yokosuka at the begining of March 1921, the first member of the Imperial Family to go abroad, for a six month tour of Europe. On Malta, he attended the theatre for the first time: to watch an Italian opera company perform Othello.