September 5-7, 2023 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/7/2023
The longtime companion and wife of the most notorious figure of the 20th century, Eva Braun is best known for her relationship with Adolf Hitler. The two first met in 1929, when the 17-year-old Braun was working for Heinrich Hoffman, Hitler's personal photographer, as a model, and the two began dating 2 years later, particularly after Geli Raubal (Hitler's half-niece, with whom he shared an apartment) committed suicide. In 1932 Braun also attempted suicide (generally seen as a cry for attention from Hitler), and in 1933 started working as a photographer for Hoffman, serving as a photographer for the Nazi party and fostering her love of film, which would manifest itself in her well-known home movies. In 1935 Braun would again attempt suicide due to a perceived lack of attention, this time choosing to take an overdose of sleeping pills; as a result, Hitler arranged for her to live in an apartment in Munich and eventually would stay at Berghof when Hitler was present. She continued to stay with Hitler, serving as his personal secretary, and became politically protected: when Hitler's half-sister complained about Braun's presence at the Nuremberg Rally in 1935, she was dismissed as the housekeeper at Berghof. The two were wed on April 28th, 1945, at midnight, and committed suicide on April 30th, giving her the dubious honor of being Eva Hitler for approximately 36 hours. This pistol is a standard configuration Walther Model 5 and has been engraved with near full coverage of Edelweiss, a flower that Eva was known to be particularly fond of, and with the intertwined EB 4-leaf clover motif on the left side of the side, designed for her by Albrecht Speer, and also associated with Eva Braun through other pieces bearing the same monogram, opposite the ejection port. Bands have been used to accent the Walther patent and information markings, and the engraving, on the whole, is well executed. Grips are the standard hard rubber grips. 4 letters accompany the gun: one, an unsigned letter attesting that the gun was recovered by an Official of the State Department who "helped himself" to pieces from Aviso Grille, Hitler's Yacht, and former housekeepers. He also had access to Veldenstein, Goering's chalet, and the homes of other high ranking Nazis; these items were then shipped back to the United States and protected by diplomatic immunity. There are also three letters from noted Walther author James Rankin, discussing the pistol, including noting that the gun had been in storage since 1946, and specifically references recovery from a room below the Platterhof. One other pistol is known with an attribution to Eva Braun, an Ortgies patent .25 ACP, with an inlaid gold strip that has "EVA BRAUN" engraved on it, recovered out of the Munich residence, possibly making this the companion gun that was kept in Obersalzberg. CONDITION: Overall very good, retaining virtually all of the reapplied bluing probably done by the same engraver who cut the engraving. Some minor handling marks and silvering to reciprocating areas and high edges. Mechanically fine, bore is very good with strong rifling. An intriguing pistol with important historical ties.
Item Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 3"