Paul Mauser Private Archive

[Vlim]

Here you go:

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Vlim

Here you go:

Thank You!

I don't suppose you'd open it up and show us one??? No, I suppose not...

[Vlim]

This may help

[mauro]

Hello all,
As described in the article, Mauser started writing the sight graduation from 1927 on.
Alvin, you found the good example in the great Jon Speed book and maybe you like see the original...



What it is interesting analysing the inventory and sales records is the amount of "special" configuration Mauser was doing following the request of dealers and clients.

You can notice in this list is 33 Engraved examples and one Super interesting example that says with Extra MAGAZINE !!

[alvin]

Could the word magazine in this context actually mean extra magazine spring, abbreviated to magazine ??

Just a guesstimation. But only in this way, it would make sense to me. Removable magazine on C96 had lots of design implications.....

[mauro]

Dear Alvin,
Hard to say.
Mauser made tests with pistol with removable magazine but ...
As you can notice the analysis and correct interpretation of the documents it is not always easy.
It takes time and sometimes needs the correlation of different documents (technical notes, blue prints, photos of the period...).
Sometimes we found notes in the Paul Mauser diaries referring to specific tests performed to validate a technical solution...

[Vlim]

If the spring was discussed, there would be a reference to a Magazinfeder. Since this was recorded somewhere around 1927, and the M1930 didn't follow that much later, I'm pretty sure it refers to the box magazine version of the C96 pistol.

You may also find the references to 'Holzgriffschalen' (wooden grips) and 'Hartgummi' (hard rubber) interesting

The top of the page is marked 'Diverse' or 'Miscellaneous'.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Vlim

This may help

Gerben, I am curious...Do you know who originated the 9mm bullet for automatic pistols??? Was it Mauser, Luger or some other entity??? Who came out with a 9mm first???

[alvin]

9x19 was DWM 480, 9x25 was DWM 487. Smaller number should come first.

I thought extra magazine again while having dinner..... You are probably right. On inventory list, it's a separate entry, that must refer to something significant (a separate entry for an extra spring? highly unlikely). Most likely, an experimental Broomhandle with removable magazine, in 1927.

[Vlim]

About the development of the 7.63 Mauser, 7.63 Borchardt, 9x19 and 9x25 you can probably write an entire book.

Basically, the Paul Mauser notes show that he himself was constantly in touch with developers at RWS, Rottweil and DWM Karlsruhe about the development of new, and experimental, cartridges and the powders needed to propel them. Of course, Max Duttenhofer, of the Rottweiler Pulverfabriken, was one of his main financers (and he had a thing or two to say at DWM, Loewe and RWS), so development wise it was one big family.

This is why I take the 'Mauser stole the Borchardt-design' story with a large pinch of salt, the communication between the companies involved was simply too efficient. Luger and Mauser faced the same problem, and came up with the same solution (probably suggested by a DWM ballistics expert). Removing the neck of their cartridges and coming up with a design that would not interfere with the safety of the barrels when rebored to 9mm.

I'm pretty sure that the real designer of the 9mm rounds was a DWM Karlsruhe engineer, not Luger or Mauser themselves.

[alvin]

Vlim, was DWM 403a for Borchardt (as mentioned on page 335 of "Mauser Pistolen"), or for Mauser Carbine C96 ?

[Vlim]

In the DWM catalogs, 403 is mentioned in combination with Mauser pistols, so I guess the latter.

[alvin]

Thanks. Any info on Borchardt cartridge's DWM # ? I could not find it anywhere..... Could it be same as Mauser Carbine?

[Vlim]

I don't think so. I think that initially the standard 403 was used in both the Borchardt and the Mauser C96. It is difficult to distinguish between one or the other without the available packaging. To make things worse, the earliest rounds didn't have the case number on them, just a mere 'D.M. K' (Deutsche Metallpatronefabrik Karlsruhe).

The one on the left is such an early cartridge, it predates 1900, compared to a later 403 round.

[Douglas Jr.]

Originally Posted by Vlim

Here you go:

Oh man, I could kill for a box like this one...
These rounds are so rare down here.

Interesting to note the lacking of examples of 9mm Mauser cartridges and guns in my area of the world in spite of most books written keep the theory that they were developed to be marketed in South America and other "exotic" markets.

Douglas.

[alvin]

Very rare. Full box 9x25 (two rounds on two clips, sealed) is listed for sale, but it's a C96 price.

A major cartridge collection is listed on collectorfirearms.org

[Vlim]

His prices are a bit steep, but he has nice items for sale.

I paid about as much for the box of 9mm Mauser rounds as he is asking for a single round

Here are some scans of different head stamps:

IX | 19 | 35 | Eagle (Hirtenberger, Austria)
2 - 41 - dnh - * (RWS, Germany)
5 - 40 - P635 - * (from the box shown earlier, Hirtenberger, Austria)

[mauro]

Dear Friends,
I would like introducing another interesting category of documents from the Paul Mauser archive: the glass plates.

If you have the opportunity of reading the reference books of Jon Speed, like “The Mauser Archive” or the “Mauser Pistolen” you can see that Jon refers to these documents quite often.

One of the most astonishing parts of the archive is for sure the glass plate’s collection. The Mauser Company kept a glass plate’s archive until the end of the Second World War.
It certainly has been a long journey from the first successful attempts at primitive photography to the present. Long before mega pixel digital cameras the state-of-the-art was the glass plate negative. The first photographic processes have been discovered between 1826 and 1839, and Mauser quite soon started using this new technology to photograph his production…

This archive has an important historical value not only for the Mauser enthusiasts but also for the photography followers.

Often, we see glass plate photo in the books after his digitalization process therefore we do not appreciate the “old” document itself.

For this reason I have decided presenting one of these glass plates that will be interesting for the C96 enthusiast because shown the C96 assembling facility with the workers…

More images here:

http://www.paul-mauser-archive.com/glass%20plate.htm

You can see the different phase of analysis.

For the Parabellum enthusiast, it is interesting that together with the C96 and 1910 model glass plates, some plates of the Luger Swiss Model number 01 (!!) has been found… most probably these glass plates arrived in Oberndorf with Weiss in the 1930… An evidence that also DWM was using the same tecnology to keep trace of the most important gun...

I hope you enjoy.

Cheers,

Mauro


The glass plate in his original envelope... it has more that 100 years!


The glass plate extracted from his original envelope. A first analysis looking at the plate against the light.


The negative obtained scanning the plate with a good scanner...


C96 production factory. The negative is then reverted using a graphic software like Photoshop... Note the detail of the two C96 carbines around the clock and calendar visible at the end of the central corridor magnified on the top right for better analysis..
The analysis of the picture scanned in high resolution (1200 dot per inch) shown interesting details. It is possible reconnaising workers assembling C96 and stocks...

[sheepherder]

A lot of the workers seem interested in the photographer...

Sawhorses for tables???

What are those parts lined up on the left??? Can you tell???

[mauro]

Here some close-up, more if necessary...

Cheers,
Mauro