Hiram Maxim autobiography

Vlim · 05-02-2005, 11:16 AM

Hi,

As most of you know, Hiram S. Maxim, U.S. born inventor stood at the cradle of the toggle-lock mechanism, the famous Maxim machinegun and thus the Luger as we know it today.

I have developed an interest in the product range developed and marketed by DWM, amongs which was a copy of the Maxim, built in license. This machine gun was initially known as the 'Parabellum Machinegun', later better known as the MG08.

Several Luger sources, amongst them John Walter, refer to Maxim's autobiography more than once and I also found a interesting 1930's publication by Engelbrecht and Hanighen which discussed the international arms market during the interbellum. This publication 'Merchants of Death' provides a reasonably objective (in spite of the title) view into 1920's and 1930 international arms dealing and it again referred to Maxim's 1915 autobiography 'My Life'.

I decided to see if I could hold of a copy and after some searching I found one lurking at a New York antique book auctioneer.

The book arrived today and turned out to be somewhat of a surprise. It is in a very good condition, especially for a 90-year old copy and is littered with annotations and remarks in pencil. Apart from that, on the first page the text 'Maxim's own copy -- corrected notation' is handwritten.

The book also contained two newspaper clippings, also dating from 1915, from a newspaper discussing the memorial service of Elbert Hubbard and his wife, who died when the Lusitania was sunk by a German sub. Both articles have references to Maxim's brother, Hudson Maxim, who urged the USA to join the war against Germany.....The page where the clippings were stored has discolored as a result of the clippings being there for a very, very long time....

It appears that I did not get 'a' copy of Maxim's autobiography, but rather one from the Maxim family....I wouldn't dare to hope that the handwriting is Hiram S. Maxim's, but I do suspect it to be Hudson Maxim's.

From one of the cover pages: 'Maxim's own copy -- corrected notation'

Annotated page with the remark 'Original **** and bull story'

Last page, cover. List of pages with remarks.

Newspaper clippings, found in the book, dated may 24th, 1915.
'NY Times'

05-02-2005, 11:16 AM	#1
Vlim Moderator Lifetime LugerForum Patron Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Europe Posts: 5,053 Thanks: 1,036 Thanked 3,989 Times in 1,205 Posts	Hiram Maxim autobiography Hi, As most of you know, Hiram S. Maxim, U.S. born inventor stood at the cradle of the toggle-lock mechanism, the famous Maxim machinegun and thus the Luger as we know it today. I have developed an interest in the product range developed and marketed by DWM, amongs which was a copy of the Maxim, built in license. This machine gun was initially known as the 'Parabellum Machinegun', later better known as the MG08. Several Luger sources, amongst them John Walter, refer to Maxim's autobiography more than once and I also found a interesting 1930's publication by Engelbrecht and Hanighen which discussed the international arms market during the interbellum. This publication 'Merchants of Death' provides a reasonably objective (in spite of the title) view into 1920's and 1930 international arms dealing and it again referred to Maxim's 1915 autobiography 'My Life'. I decided to see if I could hold of a copy and after some searching I found one lurking at a New York antique book auctioneer. The book arrived today and turned out to be somewhat of a surprise. It is in a very good condition, especially for a 90-year old copy and is littered with annotations and remarks in pencil. Apart from that, on the first page the text 'Maxim's own copy -- corrected notation' is handwritten. The book also contained two newspaper clippings, also dating from 1915, from a newspaper discussing the memorial service of Elbert Hubbard and his wife, who died when the Lusitania was sunk by a German sub. Both articles have references to Maxim's brother, Hudson Maxim, who urged the USA to join the war against Germany.....The page where the clippings were stored has discolored as a result of the clippings being there for a very, very long time.... It appears that I did not get 'a' copy of Maxim's autobiography, but rather one from the Maxim family....I wouldn't dare to hope that the handwriting is Hiram S. Maxim's, but I do suspect it to be Hudson Maxim's. From one of the cover pages: 'Maxim's own copy -- corrected notation' Annotated page with the remark 'Original **** and bull story' Last page, cover. List of pages with remarks. Newspaper clippings, found in the book, dated may 24th, 1915. 'NY Times'