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MEXICAN REVOLUTION ERA GERMAN ARMS DEALER’S ADVERTISING PAPERWEIGHT PICTURING A MGO8 MAXIM MACHINE GUN – UNIQUE HISTORICAL PIECE:  Recently surfaced from a very old collection of material related to the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th Century, this bakelite paperweight featuring a brass relief of the famous MG08 Maxim Machine Gun was an advertising “gimme” from that historic period.   

The barrel of the machine gun is etched with the name “MILIMEX”, probably the name of the parent company in Mexico.  The side of the paperweight is embossed with the name of the dealer or salesman and his address in Mexico City.   

The arms trade into Mexico, both legitimate and clandestine, to the government and all the of the factions in rebellion was a booming business in the first two decades of the 20th Century, attracting representatives from around the world, including Asia, Europe and North America.   

The name of the dealer, Bruno von Rosendal, is obviously German which coincides with the manufacture of the MG08 Machine Gun and the known supplies of arms that involved German manufacturers and shipping companies.  The most famous of these shipments became known as the “Ypiranga Incident”, occurring in 1914 when a steamer of German registry carrying a consignment of arms destined for the Mexican Federal Government was detained in Vera Cruz by U.S. troops who had only recently occupied the city.  The arms were eventually delivered to the Mexican government, including twenty “rapid fire” machine guns, the make of the guns not specified in the records.  Nonetheless, the Maxim was a well respected machine gun of the era and that one is featured on this paperweight would have made an impressive statement about the dealer’s ability to deliver modern arms to the perspective buyer. 

The paperweight, measuring 5 ¼” long, 2 ¾” wide and ¾” thick, is made of black bakelite, an early form of plastic.  The figure of the Maxim Gun is fashioned from 1/8” thick brass plate and there is a considerable amount of detail highlighting the features of the gun. 

This is definitely a one-of-a-kind piece from the exciting period along the U.S. – Mexican Border, and one that would fit nicely into a Mexican Punitive Expedition or Mexican Revolution collection.  SOLD

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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