Venice Navy Arsenal and Italian C96 Contract

[mauro]

Dear All,
I am back from a short vacation in Venice and, as a Paul Mauser biographer, it was mandatory to me visiting the Navy Arsenal in Venice.
Paul Mauser and Felice Grondona, the Italian Mauser representative which had a crucial role for the Italian C96 contract definition, were in the Navy Arsenal in Venice on the 17th of August 1898 to finalize the contract.

On the new Paul Mauser book, you can read the complete history of this contract from the Italian requirements definition until the maintenance phase of the pistols (page 371-409).

In particular, following an intense exchange of letters between the Arsenal in Venice and the Mauser fabrik in Oberndorf, it will be clear why most of the Italian C96 are not matching.

Below some photos I have taken in front of the Arsenal.

Additionally, a very nice set of historical documents from the Paul Mauser private archive: on the back, one of the letters sent for the Arsenal to Mauser in 1908, a Paul Mauser diary summarizing an activity with Grondona related to the contract definition, and the business card of Felice Grondona, found in one of the Mauser pocket diaries.

Have a good read of the Italian C96 history in the new book.

Best regards,

Mauro