BACKGROUND: The P08 Luger pistol was developed by George Luger who has served in the Austro-Hungarian army before gaining employment with the Ludwig Löwe & Cie armaments factory in Berlin in 1891. While employed with the Löwe firm Luger examined the Borchardt pistol they manufactured which had proven to be troublesome due to its awkward recoil and bolt return system. Luger redesigned the Borchardt pistol with a cleaner design and systems and in 1899 the first Borchardt-Luger pistol was tested. The Borchardt-Luger pistol underwent minor modifications and was accepted by the Swiss army in 1900. Further modifications in 1902 resulted in the Luger being re-calibered from 7.65mm to the standard 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The new Luger pistol was adopted by the Imperial German Navy in 1904 and by the German army in 1908, which led to its official designation, "P08". The P08 Luger pistol saw service through-out WWI, during the Reichswehr era and on into the Third Reich. Although popular, the pistol was expensive to produce and the design of the toggle breech made it prone to dirt entry after firing which affected its performance. In 1938 the weapons firm of Carl Walther developed the P38 pistol as a replacement for the P08. Although the P38 never fully replaced the P08, manufacture of the Luger was discontinued in 1943.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Molded, smooth, blackened leather construction hard-shell holster for the standard 4" barrel P08 Luger pistol. The holster features a scalloped, fold back, top flap with a horizontal stitched seam/hinge to the reverse and a slightly diagonally angled, stitched on, closure strap to the obverse. The closure strap attaches to a leather reinforced, magnetic, pronged, roller buckle which is stitched to the front of the holster body. The holster has an extra magazine pocket stitched to the forward edge with a semi-circular cut-out to the top edge for ease of accessing the extra magazine. The holster has an internal, quick release, pull strap which is inserted through a small, horizontal, slash on the front body of the holster. The reverse of the holster has dual, slightly diagonally angled, belt loops stitched in place. The obverse of the holster is well marked with an impressed manufacturer’s three letter code and date, "jhg 41", indicating manufacture by Gustav Genschow & Co. Lederwarenfabrik Altstadt-Hachenburg in 1941. The interior of the top flap has a small, leather pocket with a steel stud closure for the quick loading tool. Nice worn and used example showing the expected age and wear.