DANZANVILLIERS, Eugène. - La Pieuvre Germanique.

Scarce lithographed plate not dated, by Eugène Danzanvilliers, printed by Grandremy in Paris. The plate listed by Adhemar is dated 1874. Eugène Danzanvilliers was a draughtsman and lithographer.

The plate figures a lying octopus crowned with a spiked helmet surrounded by seven fishes. On the tentacles are inscribed in red the names of the member states of the Confederation of North Germany as well as the former French regions of Alsace and Lorraine (part of the German Empire since the treaty of Frankfurt in 1871). In the middle of the body is written "Brandenbourg Hohenzollern", that refers to Prussia as the leading state of the German Empire. Three fish embody the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Dukedom of Baden and the Kingdom of Württemberg which belong to the Empire. Four other fish embody the bordering states of Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland and Denmark.

The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, where its capital was Berlin. The kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern.