Sadly, the longer stories aren’t interesting and add nothing to the the pre-Thor history of the gun. It was in pursuit of that history which led me to reach out to Ted in the first place, but my understanding is that he knows little of its past. I also know nothing of its path after Ralph and have to admit to being uninterested. Therefore, the only things I think I could add here are these:
1) The remarkable amount I know about Lugers, which is certainly vastly less than any of you, is because people like you have researched and shared so much. Thank you.
2) Ted’s three-dot signature is every bit as important to me as any of the other markings on the gun. I believe, as someone else said, that having a TLSS restoration will someday add significant value to the gun, if it doesn’t already. For me this isn’t terribly important. I think wars are atrocious and the Third Reich an appalling reminder of our ability to be led to commit acts of unmitigated evil. When you have the chance to hold in your hands a Luger as pristine as this one or feel the crescendo of a Merlin as a P-51 flies overhead, you are forced, in a way no book or movie ever could, to confront our ability to both create works of astounding and functional beauty and wreak unimaginable horror. A peaceful society will be made up of people who have come to terms with this conflict that lies within each of us and the ones who lead us will be artists like Ted.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0q...13Z2VtZ1k/view