EXTRAORDINARILY RARE AND IMPORTANT CASED ONE OF TWO SURVIVING FIRST PROTOTYPE MODEL 1893 BORCHARDT SEMI-AUTO PISTOL.

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE AND IMPORTANT CASED ONE OF TWO SURVIVING FIRST PROTOTYPE MODEL 1893 BORCHARDT SEMI-AUTO PISTOL. SN 6. Cal. 7.63mm Borchardt. Exceptionally rare pistol with short 6″ tapered rnd bbl, barley corn style front sight that is integral with the raised collar at the muzzle and fixed rear sight integral with the top of the frame at the rear. Chamber area to the bbl is marked in very tiny letters “LUDW. LOEWE & CO. / BERLIN / 1893”. Left forward side, above the trigger is marked “Patent ang.”:“Patent angemeldet” – German for “patent applied for”. Rear of the spring housing is without stock lug and instead has a sling stand & swivel, also with a lanyard ring on the left side of the spring housing. Sear spring screw/eye retained rather than by dovetail slot and lacking the production pistol’s sear safety ridge over the sear assembly to prevent accidental pressure on the sear and involuntary discharge. Mounted with highly figured, smooth, European walnut grips that are matching numbered to this pistol. Trigger is early prototype with coil spring return versus the later leaf style spring. Accompanied by two orig wood based prototype magazines with flat sides, numbered cartridge sight holes, raised ribs to front and back edges and riveted multi leaf main spring. Flanged wood bases have ringed finger grips similar to the much later Navy model Luger magazine bases. SN on the rear bottom flat of the grip is approximately 1mm high, substantially smaller than later C96 pistols. This pistol is pictured on pp. 113 & 114 of The Borchardt and Luger Automatic Pistols, Gortz & Sturgess. On pp. 115 & 116, there are various illustrations of parts of this pistol. Pp. 158 & 585 of the referenced publication mention this pistol by SN. Accompanied by its orig tan suede-lined walnut case that is not hinged but has the lid simply held in place by a swinging latch on each end. Interior of the bottom is French fitted for the pistol, a second orig prototype magazine, a very light colored wooden dummy magazine action holdopen for cleaning and orig tools comprising wooden handle with steel ferrule and fire blued screw, two original prototype hand-made screwdriver blades, two orig punches and an orig 2-pc brass cleaning rod for the handle. This is a most extraordinary pistol, one of only two known to be in existence out of the very few prototypes that were created which eventually resulted in the production model of the Model 1893 Borchardt pistol, which ultimately led to the development of the venerable Luger pistol. It is the earliest known example of the first commercially successful high powered self-loading pistol. Information provided by the consignor shows that this pistol was presented to Gen. Luis Maria Campos, Argentine Minister of War. Consignor also provided a copy of the cover and an interior page of an auction catalog, in Spanish, from Buenos Aires, which lists item #288 as an antique German pistol made by Ludwig Loewe & Co., Berlin, with case and orig accessories from the collection of the Campos-Urquiza family. Luis Maria Campos (June 1838-October 1907) joined the army of the State of Buenos Aires in 1856 and fought against the Government. Then he entered the Argentina Army in 1861 when the country reunited. He fought for the State of Buenos Aires in the Argentine Civil wars, and then for the Argentine Army in the Paraguayan War and again for the Argentine government in several rebellions into 1890. In 1872 he married Justa de Urquiza, daughter of Gen. Justo José de Urquiza, former President of the Argentine Confederation. In 1893 he was appointed Minister of War; in 1895 he rejoined the Army with a promotion to Lt. Gen. and became head of the Army. In 1898 he again became Minister of War and founded the Escuela Superior de Guerra in 1900. He died in 1907. PROVENANCE: Gen. Luis Maria Campos, Argentine Minister of War; Collection of Dr. Geoffrey Sturgess. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus. Overall retains about 98% crisp orig blue with some minor flaking on the toggle system and spring keeper on the sides. Trigger retains about 50% fire blue. Grips are sound with a few minor scratches and retain virtually all of their crisp orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp. Brilliant shiny bore, has been fired, but very little. Magazines have some light discoloration on their polished metal bodies, otherwise retain most of their bright orig finish. Both magazine bases are sound and retain virtually all of their orig varnish. Case is sound with a few light handling and storage nicks and scratches and retains virtually all of its orig varnish. Interior is lightly soiled and is completely intact. Accessories are fine. 4-52096 JR409 (125,000-250,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2013

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	3209	$161,000.00	EXTRAORDINARILY RARE AND IMPORTANT CASED ONE OF TWO SURVIVING FIRST PROTOTYPE MODEL 1893 BORCHARDT SEMI-AUTO PISTOL. SN 6. Cal. 7.63mm Borchardt. Exceptionally rare pistol with short 6″ tapered rnd bbl, barley corn style front sight that is integral with the raised collar at the muzzle and fixed rear sight integral with the top of the frame at the rear. Chamber area to the bbl is marked in very tiny letters “LUDW. LOEWE & CO. / BERLIN / 1893”. Left forward side, above the trigger is marked “Patent ang.”:“Patent angemeldet” – German for “patent applied for”. Rear of the spring housing is without stock lug and instead has a sling stand & swivel, also with a lanyard ring on the left side of the spring housing. Sear spring screw/eye retained rather than by dovetail slot and lacking the production pistol’s sear safety ridge over the sear assembly to prevent accidental pressure on the sear and involuntary discharge. Mounted with highly figured, smooth, European walnut grips that are matching numbered to this pistol. Trigger is early prototype with coil spring return versus the later leaf style spring. Accompanied by two orig wood based prototype magazines with flat sides, numbered cartridge sight holes, raised ribs to front and back edges and riveted multi leaf main spring. Flanged wood bases have ringed finger grips similar to the much later Navy model Luger magazine bases. SN on the rear bottom flat of the grip is approximately 1mm high, substantially smaller than later C96 pistols. This pistol is pictured on pp. 113 & 114 of The Borchardt and Luger Automatic Pistols, Gortz & Sturgess. On pp. 115 & 116, there are various illustrations of parts of this pistol. Pp. 158 & 585 of the referenced publication mention this pistol by SN. Accompanied by its orig tan suede-lined walnut case that is not hinged but has the lid simply held in place by a swinging latch on each end. Interior of the bottom is French fitted for the pistol, a second orig prototype magazine, a very light colored wooden dummy magazine action holdopen for cleaning and orig tools comprising wooden handle with steel ferrule and fire blued screw, two original prototype hand-made screwdriver blades, two orig punches and an orig 2-pc brass cleaning rod for the handle. This is a most extraordinary pistol, one of only two known to be in existence out of the very few prototypes that were created which eventually resulted in the production model of the Model 1893 Borchardt pistol, which ultimately led to the development of the venerable Luger pistol. It is the earliest known example of the first commercially successful high powered self-loading pistol. Information provided by the consignor shows that this pistol was presented to Gen. Luis Maria Campos, Argentine Minister of War. Consignor also provided a copy of the cover and an interior page of an auction catalog, in Spanish, from Buenos Aires, which lists item #288 as an antique German pistol made by Ludwig Loewe & Co., Berlin, with case and orig accessories from the collection of the Campos-Urquiza family. Luis Maria Campos (June 1838-October 1907) joined the army of the State of Buenos Aires in 1856 and fought against the Government. Then he entered the Argentina Army in 1861 when the country reunited. He fought for the State of Buenos Aires in the Argentine Civil wars, and then for the Argentine Army in the Paraguayan War and again for the Argentine government in several rebellions into 1890. In 1872 he married Justa de Urquiza, daughter of Gen. Justo José de Urquiza, former President of the Argentine Confederation. In 1893 he was appointed Minister of War; in 1895 he rejoined the Army with a promotion to Lt. Gen. and became head of the Army. In 1898 he again became Minister of War and founded the Escuela Superior de Guerra in 1900. He died in 1907. PROVENANCE: Gen. Luis Maria Campos, Argentine Minister of War; Collection of Dr. Geoffrey Sturgess. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus. Overall retains about 98% crisp orig blue with some minor flaking on the toggle system and spring keeper on the sides. Trigger retains about 50% fire blue. Grips are sound with a few minor scratches and retain virtually all of their crisp orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp. Brilliant shiny bore, has been fired, but very little. Magazines have some light discoloration on their polished metal bodies, otherwise retain most of their bright orig finish. Both magazine bases are sound and retain virtually all of their orig varnish. Case is sound with a few light handling and storage nicks and scratches and retains virtually all of its orig varnish. Interior is lightly soiled and is completely intact. Accessories are fine. 4-52096 JR409 (125,000-250,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2013 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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