Lot Essay
This carbine was the first to be built by Mauser and testement to its historical and technical value is provided by the inscription on the frame. In translation it reads as follows:-
'HOLD ME IN HONOUR!'
Kaiser Wilhelm II
has shot out of me
30 Shots at 300 Metre
on 20 August 1896
at Wehrschiessplatz
Kathrinenholz Potsdam
indicating thereby the importance Mauser attached to this beautifully built firearm. Kaiser Wilhelm II was a considerable gun enthusiast and Breathed & Schroeder in System Mauser illustrate on page 10 a step-barrel Cone Hammer pistol with a similar inscription, dated 20 August 1896. Interestingly, Kaiser Wilhelm fired only 20 shots from the pistol illustrated; he fired thirty from Carbine No. 1 - an indication perhaps of the greater 'mystique' that attaches itself to carbines generally. The demonstration at Potsdam in 1896 was the culmination of several years of development, from 1893 to mid-1896 when the design of Mauser's self-loading pistol was finalized. Breathed & Schroeder go on to say:- 'The pistol-carbine was a natural parallel development to the Mauser Model 1896 pistol. Both the ballistics of the cartridge (even the original Borchardt load, with a muzzle velocity of 1260 feet per second, was an impressive performer) and the design of the action itself were well suited for use in a light-weight rifle. Certainly both the magazine system and tangent sight, borrowed directly from Mauser's bolt action rifles, are more suitable for long-arm than pistol use. Early factory photographs depict a variety of design approaches to the concept, and at least a thousand carbines were sold on the commercial market before World War I.
'However, as a commercial proposition the carbine seems to have suffered the same fate as the six-shot and 20-shot pistols and other limited production design innovations of the early production era, since few if any were produced after pistol design stabilized in the 40000 to 50000 serial range. Perhaps Mauser's marketing people decided it was uneconomic to attempt to produce a special model that would account for only two per cent of sales, or (more likely) the research department promised them that they would soon have a full-sized automatic rifle in a true rifle caliber to replace it. Whatever the reason, no more pistol carbines were made for the commercial market, though a few were made up experimently some years later'
'HOLD ME IN HONOUR!'
Kaiser Wilhelm II
has shot out of me
30 Shots at 300 Metre
on 20 August 1896
at Wehrschiessplatz
Kathrinenholz Potsdam
indicating thereby the importance Mauser attached to this beautifully built firearm. Kaiser Wilhelm II was a considerable gun enthusiast and Breathed & Schroeder in System Mauser illustrate on page 10 a step-barrel Cone Hammer pistol with a similar inscription, dated 20 August 1896. Interestingly, Kaiser Wilhelm fired only 20 shots from the pistol illustrated; he fired thirty from Carbine No. 1 - an indication perhaps of the greater 'mystique' that attaches itself to carbines generally. The demonstration at Potsdam in 1896 was the culmination of several years of development, from 1893 to mid-1896 when the design of Mauser's self-loading pistol was finalized. Breathed & Schroeder go on to say:- 'The pistol-carbine was a natural parallel development to the Mauser Model 1896 pistol. Both the ballistics of the cartridge (even the original Borchardt load, with a muzzle velocity of 1260 feet per second, was an impressive performer) and the design of the action itself were well suited for use in a light-weight rifle. Certainly both the magazine system and tangent sight, borrowed directly from Mauser's bolt action rifles, are more suitable for long-arm than pistol use. Early factory photographs depict a variety of design approaches to the concept, and at least a thousand carbines were sold on the commercial market before World War I.
'However, as a commercial proposition the carbine seems to have suffered the same fate as the six-shot and 20-shot pistols and other limited production design innovations of the early production era, since few if any were produced after pistol design stabilized in the 40000 to 50000 serial range. Perhaps Mauser's marketing people decided it was uneconomic to attempt to produce a special model that would account for only two per cent of sales, or (more likely) the research department promised them that they would soon have a full-sized automatic rifle in a true rifle caliber to replace it. Whatever the reason, no more pistol carbines were made for the commercial market, though a few were made up experimently some years later'