Memorabilia

British & Canadian WWI Mixed Lot: Flying Goggles, Remembrance Art, & Canadian 22nd Battalion Badge

Lot features a British khaki wool sidecap with buttoning neck cape that has some wear and mothing, but displays a nice example of the Canadian 22nd Infantry Battalion badge.  Interior has a name inscription.  Flying goggles are a rectangular leather mask with chenille-lined, spring-loaded goggles, of which one laminated lens remains (cloudy as is often the case), and the other is missing, as are the twill tape ties.  Also includes a RFC "Royal Flying Corps" embroidered souvenir.  A tin metal art partriotic mourning door badge is 31.5cm (12-5/8") tall x 17cm (6-5/8") wide, with wreathed Union flag over plaque with red ribbon tails.  Plaque is somewhat difficult to read, but you can make out "Mort (for) France".  

Raised in Quebec and mobilized at St. Jean under General Order 36 of March 15, 1915, the 22nd Battalion embarked for overseas service on May 20, 1915, under Lieutenant‑Colonel F. M. Gaudet, with a strength of 36 officers and 1,097 other ranks. The unit served in France and Belgium as part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division.

Formed in response to widespread demand for a French‑Canadian fighting unit, the 22nd was the only francophone infantry battalion to see active service with the Canadian Corps during the First World War. It entered the front lines in Belgium in September 1915 and was disbanded in 1920.

$100 - $200

French Lebel M1886/93 Rifle 

Made at St. Etienne Arsenal, M1886/93 rifle has matching numbers on the stock and receiver, mismatched bolt, and the left side of the receiver has faint St. Entienne Arsenal stamp along with "M1886" and "M 93". Bluing is 70%+ on the receiver mixed with dark patina, thinning considerably on the barrel. Barrel has receiver ring which is marked with a capital "N" over the chamber denoting that the rifle has an enlarged chamber throat to accommodate the same ammunition as the Hotchkiss machine gun. Bore exhibits deep rifling but is dark and dirty. Lower bayonet mounting tenon is missing from the underside of the barrel near the muzzle.  Stock shows normal service dings and blemishes, stamped on the buttstock with matching serial number. A decent representative example of the classic French infantry rifle. FFL required; US sales only.

$200 - $300

French WWI M1916 Berthier Rifle

Caliber 8 mm Lebel, 78 cm round barrel, bore good with strong rifling, serial number "16894", matching except for the bolt, receiver side marked "St. Etienne Mle. M1916", retains ~70% blued finish, bolt finished white with age toning and spots of light rust.  Light colored wood stock has numerous dings and dents with dark stained areas, fitted with a five round capacity external magazine.  Production of the M1916 began in the summer of 1918 with finished rifles arriving in the hands of French troops during the last few months of the war.  US sales only, FFL required.  

The Model 1916 Berthier rifle represents a significant advancement over the earlier M1907/15 variant, most notably through the adoption of a five-round en-bloc magazine in place of the previous three-round system. This modification greatly improved sustained fire capability and reduced vulnerability during reloading in combat. A spring-loaded trapdoor was added to the magazine base, minimizing the ingress of trench debris. Further refinements included a short wooden upper handguard for improved handling and, on some examples, radium-painted sights to enhance night-time target acquisition. These improvements responded directly to the challenges of trench warfare and contributed to the Berthier rifle’s effectiveness in World War I service.

$200 - $300

French WWI Equipment Mixed Lot

Includes French maker marked Linneman pattern entrenching tool, a heavily cleaned Petard Racquet Grenade (inert), soiled but good French haversack, and a tin carrier containing a reenactor's recreation of one of the early war gas defense goggles sets.  Lot also includes a simple natural linen knapsack with some modern sewn repairs; interior has a very detailed purple laundry pen inscription of a Lieutenant Edouard Hanquet with an address in Liege (Belgium). 

$100 - $150

French WWI Soldier's Personal Items & Postwar Souvenir Lot

Features a French WWI Compass In Original Pasteboard Retail Box: campaign compass by the firm of "J. Auricoste" is complete with its original pasteboard retail box.  The box has damaged lid corners, but remains intact; lid features the flags of France and her wartime allies.  Lot also includes a single ammunition pouch, cigarette case, soldier's large folding pocket knife, and a "Douk-Douk" inexpensive pocket knife.  Post-war souvenir items include a Verdun table medal, wax and ceramic 'sacred soil' mile marker souvenirs, and a commercial souvenir representation of the train car in which the Armistice was signed.  

$150 - $200

Portuguese Kropatschek M1886 Rifle

8mm Infantry rifle made under contract by OE.W.F.G. (Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft) in Steyr, Austria.  Has serial number "1129" on the receiver, with mismatched bolt.  Receiver is marked with this manufacturer and "M1886", as well as a crown over "LI" designating King Louis I of Porgugal.  Bluing has thinned considerably, with traces remaining, mixed with dark patina and spots of very light rust.  Stock is dark with numerous dings and scrapes.  Round Portuguese issue and acceptance stamps are faint but visible on the left and right butt. Bore still has strong rifling but is dark and dirty.

$200 - $300

Swedish M96 Mauser Rifle

6.5x55mm, has thinning blued finish on the barrel, blued receiver and bolt finished bright, receiver marked "Carl Gustafs stads Gevärsfaktori" with "1911" manufacture date.  Stock is dark with normal light service and storage wear and dings, range table on the buttstock and circular accountability number disc remains.  Receiver is marked with serial number "290638".  Bore is dark but has strong rifling.

The Swedish Model 1896 (M96) Mauser rifle was adopted by Sweden in 1896 for use with the 6.5×55mm cartridge, a round developed in partnership with Norway. Initially produced in Germany and later in Swedish state arsenals, the M96 replaced the Remington rolling block as the standard infantry weapon. Known for its precision engineering and high-quality steel, the M96 embodied Sweden’s tradition of military preparedness, even while maintaining a policy of neutrality through both World Wars. Though it never saw major combat, the rifle served as the primary arm of the Swedish infantry, supplied to Finland during World War II for second-line use, and continued to be valued for military training and marksmanship long after its introduction.

$200 - $300

Swedish Mauser M1894/14 Carbine

The Swedish Model 1894/14 Carbine represents an updated version of the m/1894 carbine originally adopted for cavalry and other mounted troops. Produced at Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori and by Mauser in Oberndorf, this refined bolt-action carbine was chambered for the 6.5×55 mm cartridge, noted for its excellent ballistic performance and moderate recoil. The 1914 modification added a bayonet lug and front band to allow mounting of the m/1914 knife bayonet, bringing the carbine in line with evolving support and specialty troop requirements. Compact, accurate, and finely finished, the M1894/14 exemplifies Sweden’s emphasis on precision engineering and craftsmanship in its early twentieth-century small arms development.  This example has nice strong blued finish throughout, bolt finished bright, receiver marked "Carl Gustafs stads Gevärsfaktori" with "1903" manufacture date.  Side has serial number "20620". Stock shows normal light service and storage wear and dings.  "Has range table on the buttstock, with the circular accountability number disc no longer present.  Complete with leather sling.  Bore is dark but has strong rifling.  Barrel has a ~8mm unrifled extension added to the muzzle (to meet US import requirements).  

$500 - $600

WWI Iron Cross & British Tank Motif Trench Art Desk Display made by German Soldier

20cm x 8.5cm (7-3/4" x 3-3/8") clipped corner wood base is home to a rather elaborate trench art model of a British tank with fired copper artillery shell driving bands for tracks, fitted with small muzzles protruding from side sponsons and decorated by German coins on both sides.  Front has a copper plaque worked with an Iron Cross motif and "WORLD WAR 14 / 18".  The tank has inscription "GEFREITER / FRITZ OPPERT / JR 1/66".  10cm (4") tall overall.  

$50 - $100

Western Front Battlefield Relic Lot Including Lebel Rifle

Lot includes two 12" x 16" collector display frames and one 8.5" x 12" frame, filled with shell fragments, bits of corrugated sheet metal from trench walls, the base of a minenwerfer shell, recovered Bavarian and Prussian spike helmet wappen, barbed wire, etc., much (but not all) of it labeled as to where it was recovered.  Also includes a battlefield relic Imperial German S.98/05 bayonet, and features a battlefield relic French Lebel rifle which has been dramatically twisted, likely by the effect of a shellburst.  The force from artillery explosions can be much like a tornado, turning the once-formidable implements of war into mute testimonials to the effect of being downrange amid the sudden and violent arrival of high explosives.  In this case, we can see that the bolt was open at the time that the shell arrived.  It is interesting to think that as that last fired cartridge was being ejected, a shell landed that not only bent the barrel in multiple directions, but also the back end of the bolt!

Though from a logical, practical perspective this rifle is clearly now lethal only to someone not up-to-date on their tetanus shots.. it is in the eyes of the law still a modern rifle, and must transfer via an FFL as a -nsn- (no serial number) post-1898 firearm.

$400 - $600

British WWI MK IX Trench Periscope & Quick Focus Rifleman Telescope

British MK IX trench periscope is 59cm ~(23-1/4") long with the wood handle installed, brass tube retains 50% olive finish and is marked "PERISCOPE / MK IX / 1918 / R.&J. BECK, Ltd."  Optics are just a bit dark but not cloudy.  Lacks carrying case.

British two-draw field telescope has a rather elegant brown leather carry case with captive end caps and adjustable sling.  Brass tube is marked "QUICK FOCUS RIFLEMAN / J.H. STEWARD Ltd. / 406 STRAND / LONDON".  Optics are a bit cloudy.  Exterior of the case is inscribed "G.M. Walker / 2 Whitby Ave. / Seaburn / Co. Durham"  Closed and capped length is 32cm, (~12-1/2"), drawn length is 62cm (~24-1/2")

US WWI Trench Periscope is a 5.3cm (~2") square wood box periscope which measures 36.7cm (~14-1/2") long with 90% olive drab finish, side with folding wood attachment stake and belt clip. Interior mirrors are present and functional.  Storage wear only, much nicer than usually encountered. 

$150 - $200