Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - Mauro

Pages: [1]
1
Mauser Revolvers / The Experimental Paul Mauser C78 (Zig-Zag) revolver.
« on: February 10, 2019, 11:23:38 AM »
After spending much of his time in an important collection in Germany, the Paul Mauser experimental C78 Zig-Zag revolver in calibre 10.6mm used for the Patent 3903 “Innovations in Revolvers” (Additional patent to No. 2564 of 2 March 1878 - Patented in the German Empire on April 9, 1878, and effective through 1 March 1893) is available for detailed analysis.

Additionally, most of the original letters exchanged in 1878 between Paul and Wilhelm Mauser and Wilhelm and his wife Josephine concerning the development of the C78 revolver are available in the Paul Mauser Archive.


This gives us the opportunity to describe the genesis and the chronology of the C78 revolver and the different patent models and prototypes made by Paul Mauser himself.


In the Paul Mauser Archive, the original patents are preserved and I present here one page of the USA patent granted on the 11th of March 1879 that shows above the early hinged-frame model and on the bottom the latest design. Why this late patent and not the original 3903, it is because in one page you can see both hinged-frame patent models.


A very detailed article was prepared and sent to Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector magazine and will be published in one of the next issues.


However, I present an abstract with some nice photos in the Paul Mauser Archive web site, you can see here:


http://www.paul-mauser-archive.com/paul_mauser_revolver.htm


As you can read and see in the comparative photos of the abstract, the most evident differences between the Paul Mauser experimental C78 revolver and the standard model are that:


• the experimental revolver is in general bigger and the barrel is longer;

• it is designed for a unique necked concept ammunition that Paul Mauser tested but never put into production;
• the safety is not present;
• the machining of the cylinder grooves is different;
• the dismounting lever is affixed with a screw;
• the hammer is attached to the frame with a screw and not with a pin (note that the two screws are quite visible in the patent drawing, see figure seven).
• The experimental revolver is marked PATENT. on the hinge in order to highlight the primary reason this specific firearm was produced and GEBr MAUSER & Cie OBERNDORF a/N on the left side of the frame similar to the mark found on the solid frame C78 revolver.

I will let you know when the full article will be published.


Mauro Baudino

Mauser Company and Firearms Historian
www.lugerlp08.com
www.paul-mauser-archive.com
www.theparabellumisback.com
www.facebook.com/PaulMauserArchive/


2
General Discussion / A Paul Mauser photo can tell us many things…
« on: January 27, 2019, 05:16:59 AM »
Quite a long time ago, when discussing with Jon Speed the Paul Mauser prototype target rifle, Jon passed to me a copy of this great photo, which he has in original form.
Of course, initially interest was focused on Paul and his experimental rifle… 
However, a more detailed analysis tell us many things…. First of all this is the only picture, I have seen with Paul and some of his children (Paul had 12 children); this photo was taken in front of the Oberndorf shooting club with other members of the club.
To the great pleasure of people interested in the Mauser Turkish rifle, on the left you can see Major Mahmoud Fethi who is also encountered in many activities related to the rifle testing performed by the Ottoman Committee in Oberndorf.
One key person is missing in this photo - Paul Mauser's wife Maria Magdalena Spiegelhalter (1843-1908) and this is a pity because this photo was taken for their 25th year of marriage (Silver Wedding anniversary) on the 6th of June 1892. From the Paul Mauser diaries, we learn that Paul had a very good relationship with his wife.
If you look carefully, you will notice that Paul and others members of the shooting club wear a medal. In those days, it was quite normal to offer medals for special occasions. For example, we know of the medal offered by the Turkish Committee to Paul and others, in Oberndorf, for the 18th years of the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II; as well as the medal offered to Paul in 1908 for his 70th birthday and others…
Now the last discovery: on the right you see one of the medals which has been found in the Paul Mauser Archive, worn by Paul and the people in the photo, offered by/to the shooting club members to celebrate Paul and Maria's Silver Wedding Anniversary. It is a very nice medal and on the front, you see the interlaced letters PM, not for Paul Mauser but for Paul and Maria!
We must certainly wonder what else this picture will unveil in the future...

3


Dear All,
One of the most intriguing aspects of studying the Paul Mauser Archive and early Mauser Company Archive, is the tracking of presentation rifles and pistols that Paul Mauser offered to important people.
Specific documentation and evidence is available in Paul Mauser’s diaries and in letters exchanged with the recipients of these special rifles or pistols. In most of the cases, the sale books also track presentation events.

As an example of this interesting study, I have enclosed a set of documents related to presentation rifles offered by Paul Mauser to the German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Paul Mauser met Kaiser Wilhelm II, on several occasions. These meetings lead to a relationship that went well beyond just demonstrating Mauser firearms.

For pistol historians, probably the most important presentations were of a C96 pistol and C96 carbine in Potsdam on the 20th of August 1896. This event is noted in Paul Mauser’s diary of that year and also the glass plates of the C96 carbine and pistol showing them before and after testing. These are available in the Paul Mauser Archive.

In this example, you see one of the 4-page letters written by Paul Mauser for communication to Kaiser Wilhelm II. To be more precise here, Paul was not writing directly to the Emperor but rather to his Imperial correspondent the Emperor’s Wing Adjutant Graf von Moltke.

This letter is quite interesting because tells us that Paul prepared a special hunting rifle for the Kaiser that was ordered as a gift by his wife the Empress and Queen of Prussia Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. As a consequence of the rifle’s satisfactory hunting results, Paul Mauser subsequently received another request to offer to the Kaiser a special Target Rifle in 6mm caliber.
In the attached photo, you see the first page of the 4-page letter. The next photo shows Kaiser Wilhelm II proudly standing by one of the deer he took with the rifle. Finally, the record of the Special 6mm rifle in the Original Mauser sale book for the year is shown.

It is interesting to highlight the importance of this small caliber rifle. From 1895 until the finalization of the 98 action, in cooperation with the German GPK acceptance committee, Paul Mauser experimented with several small caliber rifles including versions in 4mm, 5mm, 5.5mm, 6mm and 6.5mm.
The full letter translation as well as additional samples of presentations pistols and rifles are available in the Paul Mauser book. More information here:
www.paul-mauser-archive.com

Mauro Baudino
Mauser Company and Firearms Historian
www.paul-mauser-archive.com
www.theparabellumisback.com www.lugerlp08.com

4
Non Gun Items / Paul Mauser medals and awards...
« on: November 05, 2017, 12:06:23 PM »
Dear All,
Paul Mauser was a very important person already during his life. He received several awards, medals and presents during his life.
For his 70th birthdays, he received quite a number of presents and books, celebrating this event.
I have shown some of them here (bottom of the page) : http://www.paul-mauser-archive.com/studies-d.htm

A more complete description of the awards and presents received by Paul Mauser is available in the Paul Mauser book.
Here some additional info:
http://www.lugerlp08.com/mauser%20parabellum%20certification.htm
I hope you appreciate.
Cheers,
Mauro

5
Mauser Revolvers / Mauser C77 Hinterladung and Wilhelm Mauser
« on: May 07, 2017, 05:17:30 AM »

Dear All,
In our new book on Paul Mauser, the German inventor and industrialist is for sure the main actor of the book however we also spend time analyzing in details the relationship between Paul and his brother Wilhelm (chapter The Mauser brothers and Oberndorf – page 75 - 83).


The relationship between the two men was a difficult one and we use Paul Mauser diaries notes and original letters exchanged between the two brothers to explain this. This difficult relationship will continue also after the death of Wilhelm (1882) between Paul Mauser and the son of Wilhelm, Alfons.


In any case, in the first years of the Mauser story, until Wilhelm passed away in 1882, the two brothers worked together and, speaking about pistols, Wilhelm was involved with Paul in the design and production of two models the C77 and the C78 (Zig-Zag).


In the book, the Zig-Zag revolver enthusiasts can find an interesting amount of original letters, for the first time available, fully translated, between Paul and Wilhelm related to the production and marketing of the C78 revolver (chapter Marketing the Zig-Zag Revolver – page 191 - 203).


I am presenting here a very rare set composed by the single-shot Hinterladung (rear-loader) Mauser C77 pistol together with the unique letter available in the Paul Mauser archive where Wilhelm Mauser describes this pistol to a Swedish governmental representative – note the Wilhelm signature at the end with “Waffenfabrikant”.


The letter is quite long and in the beginning Wilhelm discussed about rifles but, almost at the end of the letter, he introduces the “new” pistol, stressing the advantage of the his design. The full translation of the letter is available at page 90 of the book.


The Mauser c77 is the first pistol produced by the two Mauser brothers and only a few are today reported. The total production is around 150 pistols concentrated in 1877-78. The complete explanation about the very effective loading mechanism is available in the book.


In the book, the reader can also see when the first C77 has been sold and to whom based upon the data of the sale books.


I guess all the Mauser collectors will be happy to see together this rare pistol and the even rarer unique letter. See also: www.paul-mauser-archive.com


I hope you enjoy,


Mauro

6
C96 / C12 Broomhandle / Mauser - Turkish Relationship
« on: April 02, 2017, 12:05:00 PM »

Dear All,
Several topics have been opened with regard to the Mauser productions for the Ottoman Empire, mainly for the fascinating Turkish C96 pistols.

In our recent book (Paul Mauser - His Life, Company, and Handgun Development 1838 - 1914), for the first time, we provide a very detailed history of the Turkish – Mauser relationship based upon historical documents available in the Paul Mauser and early Mauser archive.

We describe this relationship from 1886 until April 1911. In fact, we complete our analysis in 1911, showing for the first time the original letters exchanged between Paul Mauser and his nephew Paul Mauser II that was in Turkey to follow comparative tests between Luger, C96 and Browning pistols. These documents will be of interest also for Luger and Browning collectors interested in this history.

Mauser collectors have a unique opportunity to access original historical documents never published before.

You will discover the Paul’s happiness for the first rifle contract and his disappointment for the C96 contract…

Paul Mauser himself was aware that the first Turkish contract for rifle and carbine signed on the 12th of February 1887 changed forever the history of the Mauser Company.

For Paul Mauser the first Turkish contract was so important that a specific celebration was done for the 25th anniversary of the contract and a special note is available in his 1912 diary as reported at page 155 of the book (see the page of the 1912 Paul Mauser diary below).

The translation, from Gerben, says: "Monday The 12th of Febr. 1887 Saturday have signed contract for 500,000 Infantry rifles and 50,000 carbines in Constantinople. 100 Million rifle rounds."

This morning I was busy reorganizing material about the Turkish C96 contracts and I have decided to take this picture showing some unique items in the Paul Mauser archive that I think collectors will appreciate - more photos of different documents are available in the book.

It shows some very interesting object together with a Turkish C96 pistol.

The booklet in the center, written in German and old Turkish, has been offered to Paul Mauser for his 70th birthday in 1908 by Husny Bey, President of the Imperial Ottoman Commission in Karlsruhe and very good friend of Paul. Husny Bey is the Turkish person in the middle of the photo and on the left, Mr. Doll, Mr. Schmid – Mauser managers. The photo shows also 1893 rifles and it has been taken most probably when an “active” contract was amended to incorporate the improved design.

The complete translation made by Gerben of the booklet is available at page 163 of the book.

The medal in the center is a rare one offered to Paul Mauser, Feederle and others Mauser representatives by the Turkish committee in Oberndorf on the 31st of August 1894 to celebrate the 18th years of the reign of the Sultan Abdul Hamid II. For this celebration, there was also a shooting competition in Oberndorf. The entire story at page 153-165 of the book.

I am sure collectors will appreciate the Turkish – Mauser history available in the book.

Regards,

Mauro


7
General Discussion / New Paul Mauser Archive Web Site
« on: March 12, 2017, 01:55:57 PM »
Dear All,
In conjunction with the availability of the new book on Paul Mauser (Paul Mauser - His Life, Company, and Handgun Development 1838 - 1914) the Paul Mauser Archive web site has been updated with a (I hope) nicer graphical interface.

The web site has been simplified and information is directly linked to the book that contains a very large amount of detailed material.

Please when you have time, have a look:

www.paul-mauser-archive.com

I hope you appreciate the new updated web site.

Cheers,
Mauro

8
Mauser Lugers / Mauser Parabellum Certification Service
« on: February 08, 2017, 01:24:36 PM »
Dear Fellow Collectors,
If you have a Mauser Parabellum pistol made after 1970, you will be probably interested in receiving a certificate.
Some of the original Mauser Parabellum production books are still available and this allows verification of when your pistol was produced, tested and delivered. Almost 95% of the Mauser Parabellum production in .30 Luger is documented in the ledgers and this is very good news for all the owners of the Mauser Parabellum in this calibre. The production of the Parabellum in .30 Luger is very limited (around 5000 pistols) making it a rare collectible when compared with 9mm Luger calibre pistols. Unfortunately, only a few hundred 9mm Mauser Parabellum pistols are documented in the ledger so documenting and tracking this model will be more difficult.
Some ledgers are also available for commemoratives as well as sport models.
This is a unique aspect of Post WW-II Mauser Parabellum production. In fact, these are the only Luger variations from any manufacturer for which the production books are even partially available.
Based upon this, I have decided to provide collectors with a useful certification service. If it is possible to track your Parabellum in the production books, you can receive a high quality certificate. It is a very nice document to associate with your Mauser Parabellum. Together with the certificate, you receive also a nice document containing high quality copies of some original Mauser Parabellum blue prints.
The cost for this service is $50  per certificate. There are no costs for verification in the ledgers, only for creating and delivering the certificate when your pistol is found in the factory documentation.
You can also ask for specific research in the archive.
Contact me via Email and provide the full serial number of your pistol:  mauser.archive@gmail.com
Visit also www.lugerlp08.com to see samples of the certificate and blue print document.
Best Regards,

Mauro Baudino
Mauser Company and Firearms Historian

www.lugerlp08.com
www.paul-mauser-archive.com
www.theparabellumisback.com

Pages: [1]