Book DWM 1894 - 1907

[Edward Tinker]

Well, I broke down and bought this off of eBay. It was $125 and with a sob story of how grandfather has cancer, probably true so thought what the heck and bought the book.

I actually feel guilty writing this up...

Rare collection of books written by Author Jesse L. Murray, who has spent a lifetime studying Lugers.
Color Picture collection of over 300 select Lugers, including their serial ranges.

Over 300 pages.

DWM Pistole Parabellum Lugers (1987-1907)

I had been told by several collectors last year that the book was a guys fairly extensive collection, but based only on that collection and not worth the money.

In short:

1. Book has a great cover and nice color photos
2. Pictures are too dark many times
3. Huge inaccuracies in the book; huge
4. Shows the same pictures, again and again and again
5. He shows the same "perfect" with VERY gold, perfect strawed guns, again and again. This is a personal peeve of mine, hey these are old guns.... no patina, then something is wrong to me...
6. He blatantly puts certain serial number ranges into certain years, i.e. 1902, 1903, 1904, etc and states this is right, the last 50 years everyone else has gotten it wrong. Okay, I am okay with that, show me the proof, some documentation...
7. I assume some to many of these other carbines and such are or were in Ralph Shattuck’s collection, because I recognize them.
8. Again and again he shows a luger and then gives a title such as 1905 and a serial range. Why not the specific serial number? As an author, some of your privacy is gone or else you are just showing a picture book and not a historical book.
9. He tells very few serial numbers and when stated, no futher info, such as proofs, etc.
10. His writing is very choppy, short sentences and then repeats himself, sometimes verbatim for a page or two in different places in the book (I can live with that)
11. His serial numbers that he shows, well, at least two are different models than what Dwight has in his database, obviously one is wrong... example; one says and shows it is an American eagle and Dwight has it as a Swiss contract. A bit of a difference there...

Overall, and I hate to say this, it is a waste of money to buy this, I have to assume that the Swiss book is the same.

Ed