Riesengarde / Giant Guard (colour litho)

Riesengarde. Eine der Liebhabereien des Soldatenkonigs Friedrich Wilhelm I war die Bevorzugung moglichst grosser Soldaten. Hochster Stoz waren seine langen Kerle, die Riesengarde des Potsdamer Grenadierregiments. Gegen seine sonstige Sparsamkeit zahlte er hohe Summen fur Werbung grosser Rekruten; August dem Starken uberliess er kostbares Porzellan gegen eine Reihe langer Kerle. Translation: Giant Guard. One of the hobbies of the soldier king Friedrich Wilhelm I was the preference for soldiers who were as large as possible. His tall fellows, the Giant Guard of the Potsdam Grenadier Regiment, were extremely proud. Against his usual thrift he paid large sums for recruiting big recruits; he gave valuable porcelain to Augustus the Strong in exchange for a series of tall fellows. Illustration for Deutsche Kulturbilder, 1400-1900 (Cigaretten-Bilderdienst Hamburg-Bahrenfeld, 1934).