Original German Rare Pre-WWII Dutch Navy Contract Brown Hardshell P-08 Luger Holster #21 c. 1935 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. These are very rare! This holster was previously owned by Dr. Geoffrey Sturgess of Zurich, Switzerland, and was sold at auction several years ago as part of a set following his passing. The original auction tag is still inside the holster. These were pictured for the authoritative three volume work The Borchardt & Luger Automatic Pistols, written by by Joachim Gortz and Dr. Sturgess. This holster was featured and described on pages 1207-1209, along with two others.

This holster was part of a Royal Netherlands Navy contract in the mid-late 1930s for pistols and holsters. It features a brass stud on the lid to secure the closure strap, which is attached to the body. It also has the very short lived German Army 1935 pattern strap and pocket under the lid to attach the ring handle cleaning rod over the pouch for the screwdriver/loading tool. 

As a Dutch Navy contract, this holster has a correct brass plate under the lid with the number 21 stamped into it. These numbers could have several meanings, but for a 1 or 2 digit number, they indicated the ship number they were in use on. This means that there could be several different holsters with the same markings, as the ships were equipped with multiple pistols.

The overall condition of the holster is very good, with supple brown leather, intact heavy stitching, original loops, take down tool pocket, and pistol ejection strap. There are some light scratches and handling marks but no major defects, just wear from use and age. 

A really nice holster that will complete any Dutch Navy Contract P08 Luger. Ready to display!

The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger —is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol which was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1948. The design was first patented by Georg Luger as an improvement upon the Borchardt Automatic Pistol and was produced as the Parabellum Automatic Pistol, Borchardt-Luger System by the German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM). The first production model was known as the Modell 1900 Parabellum. Followed by the “Marinepistole 1904” for the Imperial German Navy. The later versions included the popular “Parabellum Pistole Modell von 1908” or simply “P08” (Pistole 1908) which was produced by DWM and other manufacturers such as W+F Bern, Krieghoff, Simson, Mauser, and Vickers. The first Parabellum pistol was adopted by the Swiss army in May 1900. 1904 they were adopted by the German Navy. In German Army service, it was adopted in slightly modified form as the Pistole Modell 1908 (Pistole 08) in caliber 9×19mm Parabellum. The Model 08 was eventually succeeded by the Walther P38.

The Luger is well known from its use by Germans during World War I and World War II, along with the interwar Weimar Republic and the postwar East German Volkspolizei. The P.08 was introduced in 7.65mm Parabellum, though it is notable for being the pistol for which the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge was developed, also known as the 9×19mm Luger. The pistol has been used in fictional works by many villainous characters over the past several decades because of its association with WW2 Germany.