Posted 8 years ago
Hyp-storian
(40 items)
Absolutely magnificent WW l trench art (?) letter opener. It is intricately hand carved from wood which has a beautiful color and patina to it, and inlaid with what appears to be brass and silver wire. It's clearly dated 1914 and has a detailed silver inlaid monument with the letters "L" and "G" on either side (which, thanks to Scott, I now know stands for the city of Liege, Belgium). It's made in the likeness of a rifle or shotgun and has absolutely incredible detail. I believe it's a shotgun if only because of the dual trigger. The stock has carved designs at the grip (with tiny gold metallic dots which I only just noticed under a magnifying glass!) and an inlaid silver I.D. plate (underneath the stock) as well as on the butt plate and grip cap. A superbly crafted piece of workmanship in spectacular condition for its 103 years.
I only wish I knew the name of the Master carver who made this...
Thanks for looking!
The "L.G." and monument are the coat of arms for the Belgian city of Liege.
Here is my shrapnel letter opener with the same symbol:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/28186-ww1-trench-art-shrapnel-letter-opener-wi?in=user
scott
Thanks Scott- that was REALLY helpful in (at least partially) identifying this!
Now if only I could identify the artist/carver......(probably never gonna happen).
Glad to help out-- I was passing on information that was relayed to me from another CW user several years ago!
scott
That's what I love about CW- we're a bunch of fanatical collectors who all have a lot of knowledge about our specific chosen fields and are more than happy to share it with others!
Very interesting article:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-mystery-of-the-phantom-page-turner/
Thanks for sharing that article, Gillian- it made for fascinating reading!