The pair of Ribbentrop Springer's Nr. 10365/10366
I have been looking today a German TV session on the career of the
Nazi-grandee Ribbentrop, ambassador to London , secretary of state,
the first one to be hanged after the Nuremberg trials.
Its told that as ambassador to London he enjoyed his stay there and used Purdeys and Hollands as household items.
He had a hunting estate in Germany and is featuring in the
TV session with a gun in his hands.....
....
H. Riedl one of the 1980's/1990's "Tattendorf-gang" of
hunters/collectors passed away in 5/1997, failing to realize
his already ordered Africa-hunting-trip.
His heritage, a pair of 12-bore self-opener Springer's and
a pair of 16-bore Springer's.
The records of Springer's quote as customer for the 16-bores
"Auswärtiges Amt / Berlin".
The gossip with collectors has been this is the pair
of Ribbentrop Springer's.
I am curious on such statements as it is often just used
to pop-up the value of a merchandise. ("Fetichism-factor")
Given the info from this TV session this could have some
substance and be correct.
The 12-bores landed with an Austrian hunter with ad-business
background, the guns today with his widow and her
partner completed by a genuine Springer cartridge magazine
as present.
B. Lampl , retired manager of the previous Springer-antique
shop, told me that he had sold the pair of 16-bores
to Ukrain.
So what a paradoxon of history, a Vienna-best pair of guns,
once owned by a Nazi-grandee ,finally owned by a hunter/
collector in one of the invaded countries of WW II.
...
Felix Neuberger
http://www.jpgbox.com/page/53564Photo courtesy Joh. Springer's Erben
