 |
Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Madison Avenue & 45th St., New York City is a long-established sporting-goods distributor, with some origins stretching back into the 19th century. A&F sold parabellum's prior to the emergence of Stoeger is the sole agent of DWM. |
 |
At the end of World War I German gun manufacturers were desperately trying to reestablish their commercial market in many including DWM had thousands of assemblies not completed ready for production and sale. Old contacts were reestablished and A&F imported a few 7.65 mm German-made Swiss styled pistols in 1922, apparently by the way of Hammersli whose barrels they bored. |
 |
This is a 1906 Model with the squeeze grip
safety, the DWM (Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabriken AG) log on the
first toggle link and the Swiss Cross over the Chamber. |
|
|
| This weapon
has the no stock lug and clean grips. The grips are original and made
of walnut. The magazine is the "Swiss" type with the distinctive discs in
the magazine. |
|
 |
|
Serial number placement is in the
commercial ("hidden") style; displayed on the left side of the
receiver, the bottom of the side plate, the locking bolt, the front
of the frame, under the barrel, and on the side of the trigger. This whole gun has
matching serial numbers. |
|
 |
There is much discussion about the "Made in
Switzerland" on the barrel without any Swiss proofs. Today's
information suggests they were made by Hammerli (circa 1922). The bore is excellent and the overall
condition is very good. This is a collector grade gun and a welcome
addition to anyone's private collection. |
 |
These guns were made to the highest standards for commercial pistols and they were competing with all the other European arms makers who are struggling switch from wartime to civilian markets. This gun reflects the deep blue processing and is a beauty to be displayed. |
 |
 |
That all of those found were in the "i" block and had four digit numbers. The post WWI production
of guns is particular with the suffix of the guns. The "i" block is
generally believed to be used for contract guns and was a distinctive
suffix before the "alphabet" guns which were parts guns left over from
wartime production. |
 |
At the bottom of the magazine is a metal desk found on the very early Swiss guns. The disc that is employed on the "Swiss"
magazine is decorative only. There was an early attempt to "dress
up" the Lugers for the Swiss with bordered grips and discs in the grips.
These magazines "pop up" on various commercial guns and there is little
documentation as to when they were ordered or supplied. |
 |
These were extraordinarily well finished
Luger with minimal tool markings and highly polished before bluing. The
proofs and icons are well struck and give this Parabellum the
distinctive look of the Classic Luger. |
 |
There is a continuing dispute, because no files will documented the production numbers so the anecdotal information is between 50 and 100 of these A&F Luger's were assembled.
Whether it be 50 or 100 these pistols are very rare and when found are usually deep in someone's collection. Finish on this gun is minty and represents a significant contribution to anyone's collection.
|
 |
The 'Extractor' is marked Geladen which in German means "loaded". This device made very early on in the semi auto pistol development was raised by the bullet in the chamber and told the shooter both visually and tactily in the dark that the gun was loaded. |
 |
Here we have the parabellum in full recoil. You can see this is the long frame and long sear from the early models. The long frame with the long sear and original '06
parts were taken from old stock and used the fill the order for the
American market after the war when DWM was searching for customers. |
 |
 |
The Swiss Cross in Sunburst was the original chamber mark that was used by DWM during their introduction of the Parabellum to the Swiss. It had no other purpose other than to make the gun attractive to the Swiss test team and its success was mirrored by what collectors call the contract guns; American Eagle, Bulgarian, Russian, and Portuguese Luger's just to name a few. The old frame reveals the indent (which was in the white) to indicate that the gun was safe. These old-style Parabellum's thumb safety was changed in 1904 to reflect a more intuitive come up to fire. |
 |
See Kenyon, Lugers at Random Page 198, or
Jones, Luger Variations, Page 163 The
extractor is marked "Geladen" on the left side and the safety is
polished
with the safe position being upward. The
rear sight is a "V" cut fixed and front dovetailed sight and the frame
comes without the stock
lug. |
 |
SThe inside of the gun is
very clean and shows that someone has cared for this fine Luger for over
80 years. This is a very difficult
variation to find in such fine condition. Clean inside and out from many
years of care by previous owners. This Luger is looking for a good home
and custodian to preserve a unique piece of history.
See Kenyon, Lugers at Random Page 198, or
Jones, Luger Variations, Page 163 |
| It is entirely subjective to
give any Luger a rating of excellent or fine, just as it is to declare it
xx% blued or strawed. Few Lugers are out of the box new and these are
premium priced. Bluing percentages is like Beauty, in the eye of the
beholder. We strive to provide pictures
so you can judge for yourself if the gun meets your criteria. |
