Trench Art from Lens?? (Letter Opener)

[Bexinthecity247]

Howdy all - me again with another bit of (I think) junk from my hoard of stuff.

Now I bought this on eBay 2 years ago by accident.. well I desperately wanted a letter opener (one to actually use but the functionality of this item is 0 as the hilt slides apart from the bullet when you try to use it). Anyway I was told it was WW1 which is why I put it in this forum but I know next to nothing else about it.

I tried to google the marks on the casing and couldn't find much and I've been meaning to post it on some kind of forum for the entire time I've had it but I've never gotten round to it until now.

Anyway my brother in law thinks it looks too new and shiny (and bullets don't have crowns on them he reminds me!) to be that old but I thought I'd rely on more expert opinions from you fine people!








Any info would be great and obviously as to whether it is actually as old as it was stated on the sale page.

[Bexinthecity247]

Okay so I resumed my digging into this case and I have finally cracked the code on the bottom! How moronic I have been because I've the reason I was having so much trouble trying to figure it out was because I was mistaking the lines that separate the markings as 'i' so now I know it reads:

ART. D (top), VE. S (bottom) and 2, 05 across the middle suggesting (if this is an original and genuine piece) that it is a French Lebel, made by Cartoucherie de Valence in the 2nd quarter of the year (I've seen referred to as trimester online?) and made in 1905.

Do I win a cookie? XD

[kradman]

The crown part is a German button top

[ackworth14]

I dont see much wrong with the round itself, nice bit of trenchart possibly by a German/French soldier but my gut feeling is that the blade is a marriage added at a later date, crudely done & may explaine why it falls apart ... but others here will have better knowledge than I do.

[Bexinthecity247]

The crown part is a German button top

Oh really? Now that is interesting! Thanks!

[Bexinthecity247]

I dont see much wrong with the round itself, nice bit of trenchart possibly by a German/French soldier but my gut feeling is that the blade is a marriage added at a later date, crudely done & may explaine why it falls apart ... but others here will have better knowledge than I do.

Interesting . .that makes sense - the blade is very crude compared to other examples I must say.

I am very happy to know the round is okay! that was the bit I was not convinced about.

[Anderson]

The blade may be crude but I believe it is a complete set and WW1 "trench art". The blade shaped from an artillery casing. These bullet letter openers were very commonly made during WW1. Also agree a Prussian (crown) button has been soldered on, but nationality of who made it, is up in the air, was it "Len"? Not all who made these were obviously craftsmen.

[Bexinthecity247]

The blade may be crude but I believe it is a complete set and WW1 "trench art". The blade shaped from an artillery casing. These bullet letter openers were very commonly made during WW1. Also agree a Prussian (crown) button has been soldered on, but nationality of who made it, is up in the air, was it "Len"? Not all who made these were obviously craftsmen.

That is very good to hear I'm pleased that this piece (which I had thought junk for the junkpile) is not indeed junk! Now I'll be able to display it proudly.

I don't collect WW1 things and don't intend to start but I do like having a genuine piece

[Watchdog]

The blade may be crude but I believe it is a complete set and WW1 "trench art". The blade shaped from an artillery casing. These bullet letter openers were very commonly made during WW1. Also agree a Prussian (crown) button has been soldered on, but nationality of who made it, is up in the air, was it "Len"? Not all who made these were obviously craftsmen.

Well, I agree that this is a "complete" original piece of trench art. As for the soldier who made it I suspect he was a Canadian.

Why? Because I think the inscription is Lens the town not Len's the possessive form of Len (Leonard) and of course the Battle of Hill 70 was near Lens and was a huge Canadian effort in Aug 1917 to draw German resources away from the 3rd Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).

We don't seem to hear much of this battle even from Canadian authors but is was significant so check it out.

This is a nice piece and slighly off the norm! I don't know where your brother-in-law gets the "too shiny" thing from and of course "bullets don't have crowns on" but trench art does along with any other kind of embelishment the maker thought cool at the time

Regards

Mark

[Bexinthecity247]

Well, I agree that this is a "complete" original piece of trench art. As for the soldier who made it I suspect he was a Canadian.

Why? Because I think the inscription is Lens the town not Len's the possessive form of Len (Leonard) and of course the Battle of Hill 70 was near Lens and was a huge Canadian effort in Aug 1917 to draw German resources away from the 3rd Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).

We don't seem to hear much of this battle even from Canadian authors but is was significant so check it out.

This is a nice piece and slighly off the norm! I don't know where your brother-in-law gets the "too shiny" thing from and of course "bullets don't have crowns on" but trench art does along with any other kind of embelishment the maker thought cool at the time

Regards

Mark

I suspect my BIL doesn't know much about older ammo and casings etc, at least as much as he led me to believe anyway.

My first thought had been Canadian when I first did research into the Lens connection when I first got it but everything fell flat because I couldn't interpret the markings until I realised I was reading it wrong.

What a fascinating little piece this is turning out to be.

Thanks Mark!