Description
1/22/26 - This is an excellent DWM Artillery Luger from 1917 that comes with a grouping of accessories, including a letter of provenance from the family of the soldier who acquired this firearm in WWI, Randall M. Cooley. The listing includes a fairly detailed dossier of information written and gathered by Randall's grandson. The dossier details the life and service of R.M. Cooley, including his involvement in some of the most consequential engagements of the war. The paperwork also includes a typed letter from Randall himself to some of his war alumni. In this letter, Cooley recounts some of the experiences he had with his fellow soldiers during the war. Also included with the paperwork is a photo of Cooley, along with some of his staff. Incredibly, this Artillery Luger grouping has remained in this family ever since Randall returned from the war. Please see the photos of this listing to read the letters and view the pictures. It is very rare to see such great provenance, especially for a gun captured during WWI.
The LP08 (Lange Pistole 08) is a longer-barreled variant of the standard P08 Luger that we most commonly see. While there is very little actual finish loss, there is a noticeable area of discoloration on the left side of the frame. Otherwise, the finish is excellent with minor muzzle wear, hints of high edge wear, and one small area of minor wear on the front strap. Mint bore. Fitted with excellent period-correct wood grips. The right grip is numbered and matching, the left grip seems to only be stamped with a "0". It's possible this is the original grip and the "6" has worn away, but we can't say for sure. The gun comes as a rig with one matching-numbered magazine, 1917-dated pebble grain leather holster (holster is missing the top flap), original cleaning rod, matching-numbered shoulder stock, leather harness, and leather shoulder strap. The shoulder stock has the proper Imperial military acceptance stamp and shows a series of dings on one side - this is often evidence that a soldier used it as a make-shift hammer in the trenches. Along with these items, it comes with a period-correct Type II Bing snail drum magazine, dust cover, and an original canvas magazine holster.
