Hans Tauscher article, part 2

Anytime new Hans Tauscher correspondence is discovered, new information about Hans Tauscher and his operation is learned. The following 1909 Hans Tauscher envelope and contents is no exception. Cover letter on fine transparent paper found in 1909 H. Tauscher envelope. In the 1909 Hans Tauscher envelope was a typed cover letter on fine transparent paper lauding the virtues of the Luger (shown above), a post 1906 four page advertising "booklet" as described by Tauscher, featuring a 1906 new model 9mm Luger pistol and the 1902 old model Luger carbine as "The Sportsman’s Favorite" (shown below). The 2nd and 3rd page is dedicated to old and new model Luger parts and prices. The 4th page advertises Haenel Mannlicher Repeating Rifles. Post 1906 four page advertising "booklet". Also in the cover letter, Tauscher states of the Luger: "I also enclose endorsements to prove its standing with hunters and sportsmen." The 1 page 2-sided extensive list of endorsements flyer is very interesting inasmuch as there are so many testimonials from all over the country that some readers of this article may be able to identify with a relative. Included in the testimonials is the ultimate testament a German shooting contest, including test results of the Luger held by the German Pistol-"Bundesschiessen" or Government sponsored shooting contest, Monday, May 4th ,1908, attended by, no less than, one has to assume, the German Crown Prince himself, Crown Prince William or Wilhelm III, son of Kaiser Wilhelm. Testimonials from 2-sided endorsements flyer. Interestingly in the cover letter Tauscher emphasizes that the Luger has three safety devices. Only two come to mind, the Thumb Safety and the Grip Safety. Possibly the new model extractor could be considered the third safety device. The bottom of the 2nd page has an added blue ink stamped address 320 Broadway - Hans Tauscher in addition to the 10-12 Thomas Street address. Seeing that all of the testimonials are dated 1907 or 1908, there is no doubt Tauscher was operating out of 10-12 Thomas Street as late as 1908. The envelope and enclosed material is 1909 or earlier as evidenced by two US Postmaster 1909-dated cancellation stamps. The cover letter must have been typed in haste as it includes several typographical and grammatical errors. Note the 1909 post mark dated Hans Tauscher envelope shows the New Model Luger in hand whereas a 1908 post marked Hans Tauscher envelope has a logo with the Old Model Luger in hand. Also note the hand written in pencil in the lower left side of the envelope "New Agent A.F. Stoeger 606 w. 49th St." address which could not have written on the envelope no earlier than 1921 when Stoeger and Co. Inc., established in 1918, became the "self proclaimed -sole agency- for the Luger" and inasmuch as the term "New Agent" is used suggests that it is exactly, the 1921 time frame when the Stoeger address was written on the 1908 dated envelope. A curious notation being applied to a 1908 dated Hans Tauscher envelope 12 years later. Even though several of the 1907 dated testimonials in the Hans Tauscher flyer talks about the 9mm Luger pistol it is the September 5, 1907 dated testimonial on a 9mm navy Luger presumably purchased/acquired directly from Tauscher, which is definitely a new model Luger, indicates that the new model Lugers were being sold to the public prior to 1908. Nevertheless the 1908 vs. 1909 Hans Tauscher envelopes with the "old" and "new" model Luger logos, a term coined by Hans Tauscher in America only, to distinguish the models, would still be a convenient benchmark, at least in the Americas to define the broader public introduction of, or transition to the New Model Luger. In a previous Hans Tauscher article on this site it was stated in the conclusion that no pictures of Hans Tauscher had survived and the date and the location of his death was unknown. Since then several original pictures of Hans Tauscher have been added to the collection, including the 1910 dated picture in this article. Also the Hans Tauscher date of death and location have been identified in the New York Times obituary archives. Hans Tauscher died in New York city at St. Clare’s Hospital on September 15, 1941. He was 74 years old. Born in 1867, Tauscher in 1910, the date of the picture in this article, would have been 43 years old, one year after he wrote the subject 1909 letter. Interestingly, at the time of his death in 1941, he was more remembered as a WW1 German spy, rather than what Luger collectors remember, as the man that put the Luger on the map in the Americas at the turn of the 20th century. Click here for the complete New York Times obituary.