April 9th & 10th Premier Firearms Sale (MFIRE)
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/9/2016
Offered is a time capsule into the World War II life of John D. Hogan of Bristol, Rhode Island. John served in Europe during the Second World War. This trunk load of World War II mementos were kept within the family since that time. Items included are too numerous to mention each and every piece. The crux of the collection are two German bring-back pistols. The first is a standard Walther P38 (9mm with a 5” barrel) with all matching numbers. It was manufactured at the BYF factory and dated 1944. Left side of frame has the Waffenamt “WaA 135” stamp as well as three Nazi stamps on right side slide. Has brown composite grips. Retains approximately 90% of the original factory finish. John engraved his initials “J.D.H.” on left side of slide and left grip panel, as well as “J.D. Hogan” on right grip panel. The second pistol is a Sauer (7.65mm, 444555 serial number, with a 3-1/4” barrel) with blued finish. The original grips were replaced with a set of clear Lucite ones that allows one to see the various internal parts. The front grip strap exhibits minor corrosion, as does the back grip strap. Balance of gun retains 75% original blue. The Walther is accompanied by an original bdr43 holster with Waffenamt stamp. It has two magazines. The green army trunk is stenciled on top “Lt. John D. Hogan Jr.”, as well as both sides and the back, and “J.D.H.” on the front. The bottom of the trunk is filled with original military clothing: underwear, pants with suspenders, socks, seven soft hats, jacket, etc. Also includes a pup tent. The top drawer has a fully equipped engineer drawing bag, a 10K gold plated 17 jewel pocket watch, 10K gold ring, rifle cleaning rod, Gillette shaving kit, three sets of dog tags, name badge, shoulder holster for the Sauer, instruction booklet for firing the Colt .45, packet of original photographs, two boxes of smalls (pins, boxes, badges, first aid kit, etc.), 1911 Colt holster, leather gloves, a Sam Brown belt, postmarked Christmas card 1945, and a letter to Captain John Hogan written on February 20, 1946. Some of the paperwork dates to just after the war. An incredible offering.