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Kaiser Wilhelm II examines his 1902 Luger Carbine
There is also the original gold-washed functioning key for the lock and the extremely rare original burgundy leather sling with leather-cover buckle making this an absolutely complete and original cased presentation Luger carbine, one of the few known in private hands in the world today. The original Luger was a developmental improvement of the successful Borchardt C93 pistol, and, according to some scholars, early on Georg Luger had a working and/or professional relationship with Hugo Borchardt while developing
the Luger pistol. In well-known historical information, the Luger-Borchardt relationship eventually deteriorated and in the end they were essentially
bitter enemies. Charles Kenyon, Luger scholar and author, photographs and describes this exact Borchardt attributed presentation Luger carbine in two
of his articles in “The Gun Report” magazine, in the November 1998 issue on pages 13 and 48 (photos 4, 5 and 6) and in the April 2002 issue on page 47 (photo 4). In Mr. Kenyon’s article in the April 2002 issue, he also photographs and discusses SN 9109C Presentation Carbine with “GL” marked rear toggle and “H.S.M. March 15, 1903” in gold inlay over the chamber believed to have been presented to gun inventor Hiram S. Maxim. The serial number of the purported Maxim gun is only three digits away from this Hugo Borchardt presentation Luger, SN 9106C. It is a fact that Georg Luger worked for DWM at the time of the presentation of this carbine, and DWM evolved from the Ludwig Loewe firm which had employed Hugo Borchardt during the production of his famous Borchardt C93 pistol, the predecessor to the Luger pistols. It is likely that either DWM or Georg Luger himself made presentations of these special carbines to both Hugo Borchardt and Hiram S. Maxim. After all, the toggle design in the successful Luger had been modified from Borchardt’s design. Borchardt’s toggle design had been taken from Hiram S. Maxim’s design for his famous machine gun which preceded the Borchardt pistol. DWM or Luger was therefore acknowledging and, in some way thanking, both of these individuals for their influence on this improved design utilized in this Luger pistol.