Last spring, I picked up a massive collection of WWI and WWII arms, parts, bayonets, holsters, and all sorts of other related material. And I do mean massive! I’ve been selling the arms in every sale since, but never had a chance to go through the other stuff until last month. It was quite an experience!
Years ago, before the internet if I was looking for something I wanted for a gun (like a bayonet, holster, spare magazine, a sling), I would go to every show in the area digging for it. Now I have a ton of it here. As I opened boxes of stuff to organize it all I was stunned. There were literally piles of things I then organized into lots for my next auction. In a way it was great fun going through the mountains of material culture. There were pieces I didn’t know much about, and it gave me a chance to learn more about them. A good example would be Polish Viz 35 Radom magazines. The pre-war made magazines have a little “G/2” on the bottom in an oval. The later magazines look exactly the same with the exception of that marking, and that little mark means the magazine is worth quite a bit more than the one without. Speaking of magazines: there were boxes and boxes of them! I put them into group lots for those that might want a set of like examples.
Did I mention bayonets? We have hundreds of them, and going through those has been interesting! Having reference books covering each country is a must. With greasy hands from handling the bayonets, I’ve spent a lot of time in Paul Kiesling’s Bayonets of the World. I think I’d be lost without it. There are some really nice examples of K98k, U.S. Model 1917, Japanese Type 38, and many other obscure bayonets from around the world.
There are also lots of web gear and leather holsters. We had separated them by country initially to box and store them, but we went through and put lots together of those also. Need any P38 holsters? How about Colt 1911? They’re here!
But the antique arms we have are great also. There are M1 Garand’s in great condition, M1 Carbines, and all sorts of bolt-action military arms from the late 19th century through WWII. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but cataloging all of the bolt-actions would have been a real pain without having Stuart Mowbray’s Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World. My first copy is really worn, and I keep a second copy handy for when the first completely breaks down.
While I have looked at the boxes of stuff in dread sometimes over the past six months, I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed setting up tables and going through it all. It’s always a great opportunity to learn about things I never really would have had a chance to before.
