Got to know this lady

[CARL]

Hello Jesper,

The meetings that you have had and hopefully will continue to have, with this lady are precious indeed. It's nice to hear you appreciate it. Now, regarding your question about a value estimate for a photo album with a signed picture of Hermann Goring, I remembered that several years ago I saw a nice item at an arms fair in England. The item was a photograph album previously owned by Hermann Goring's niece and included about 50 photos of various family members, herself and of course, HG. The best shot of the album was HG standing proudly over a dead stag with his hunting gear on, smoking rifle in hand grinning from ear to ear. He signed it also, which was nice! I remember the price as I wanted to buy it but (isn't it always the way!) on the day I didn't have the funds. Then, several years ago, it was 600GBP/1,000USD. I believe that yours will easily surpass that mark, especially with the Carinhall connection and photos in addition to the fact that you have such wonderful provenance.

A great story and I do hope that you keep us all updated. Thanks again for sharing the experience.

Regards

Carl

[Walkwolf]

Ok lets get things into perspective here , is it a special presentation clamshell by Eickhorn awarded by Goring to the Forestry master of Gorings estate, Ive looked through all my books and cant find one like it, so is it a one off, if so its unique, and will be worth a small fortune, i hope some of the other guys will comment on this rare item and give their opinions, not withstanding this one item, the photo album alone will be worth a great deal of money and i woud seriously consider having the dagger fully appraised and insuring it appropriately, its a dagger collectors dream item especially with the provenance supplied

......A dagger collector's dream..........!

[jesper]

update...

We're coming closer, her family and mine. I have met most of hers by now and "chemistry" are real good... it's such an experience and theres no doubt that she enjoys this friendship as much as i/we do!.
The dear lady gave my son a trophy the other day when we where visiting.
A 3year old deer's antler, on a mount n all...backside has small sticker with all data on the animal.

I myself was given another, one her father "stole" the day they moved from Carinhall.
That particular buck was one of, if not the, most sought after by both Göring and his staff at Carinhall as it was 18years and huge!

Story goes that as the "servants" where loading the last of the familys belongings onto the truck, her father and a friend had come running out of the woods carrying a big bloody bulky canvas-covered "something" between them which turned out to be that particular buck :-D

I'm going there soon to help her put the "summerstuff" away for winter.
She said that when we're going to the attic anyway, we might aswell look for the diaries and the medals.

Btw...Had a guy claiming the the dagger be false

[jesper]

And...Can anyone tell me who, preferably on mainland europe, to ask for a realistic appraisal of the dagger?

[davejb]

Jesper, whoever claims that this spectacular dagger is fake, either has no idea concerning military daggers or none concerning the collecting community per se, there are various signs that are looked for when dealing with daggers especially well known makers and this one ticks all the boxes, although we havent seen the likes of this particular dagger before or that its not listed in the many books that are available , the intricate design and workmanship plus the provenance that associates itself with it, is in my opinion enough to warrant nothing but good comments and an air of authenticity, you have been fortunate enough to be the recipient of a persons personal history , confirmed by a family member with documents to prove the statements being made and the items themselves, it is really a once in a lifetimes opportunity and i daresay it will be a very long time before we see the likes of such a collection again, the more research taken to help prove the voracity of everything in the collection will surely be beneficial, and i look forward to seeing the many other items this good lady has in store for you, however an appraisal on the dagger alone would prove difficult in my opinion, it is worth what a person is willing to pay, and seeing there are no real guidelines to work with, i would say this item would be ranked among some of the rarest daggers that have ever been found, and most probably be in the many thousands of pounds. The type of appraisal needed would be one for insurance purposes and if this is a one off unique item, will be treated accordingly, but as to who to appraise it, might prove a little difficult, it would need to be a pure dagger collector who only has the rarest high end examples, i would suggest contacting Ltc Johnson who has written many books on the subject of third reich daggers, his collection is vast and contains some very rare items, he also advertises on this forum, good luck to you , hope you are able to find what you need, regards Dave

[CARL]

Good, honest advice from Dave. Very sound words indeed. This dagger must be cherished, the like of it may never be seen again and thus it should be treated accordingly. Protecting the item financially is a must too Jesper, we all know how many bad people are out there. Thanks again for the update, keep them coming...it is a wonderful story!

Best regards,

Carl

[Chopperman]

That is a magnificent dagger a great piece of history. All I can say is WOW.

I don't look in the TR forums very often and would have skipped right over this one
but the thread's title got me curious . I had a similar thing happen to me.

When I was a young teenager, There was a lady who had a summer home next door
to where my grandparents lived. She became a very close family friend. She was also
a very accomplished artist as as I was taking some art classes in school, I would spend
hours and hours with her, trying to learn anything she was willing to teach. We became
good friends.

Her husband had died many years before and I never met him but I did know that he had
served in ww1. On my 16th birthday, she gave me a German sawtooth bayonet and steel
helmet that he had brought home as souvenirs. I still have the bayonet. Sadly the helmet
was lost in a house fire. These items are not as impressive as the ones in this thread but
because the bayonet was from a dear friend, it is the one item in my collection that I will
never get rid of.

[rbminis]

Even without provenance, this would certainly be the focal point of any edged weapons collector's collection!
Congratulations on aquiring such a fantastic piece.
Ralph.

[Alan M]

Jesper , what an absolutely amazing story , thanks for sharing it , i await in anticipation of the forthcoming chapters ,

[Billy G]

What was the reason someone claimed the dagger to be fake? It's generally accepted that Eickhorn forestry/hunting daggers that are pre-1945 have stamped makers marks & the squirrel's rear end is supposed to face the blade tip, this one has the opposite. Eickhorn continued to make these daggers well into the 1960's so such a dagger wouldn't be a reproduction, per se, but post-1945 daggers w uld be worth considerably less. This dagger clearly has provenance but also has a feature of post-1945 manufacture. Is it possible the gentleman had more than one dagger?