holstcollection
#1We all have quite some knowledge about the restraints in our collections. This Forum have proved to be a very good place to gain knowledge and information. The Handcuff Annuals and books are also good sources.
But honestly, how many of your restrains have a “story” behind them? Speaking for myself, just very few. Many years ago I bought a set of Carberry from the family of the first owner who was a sheriff in Butte Box Butte County NE, Fred Shelmadine. To me, this information adds a feeling of history and put the cuffs in a context.
You have seen these cuffs posted here before but not the story from the seller. A story that of course cannot be verified but still unlikely to have been made up. These cuffs also happen to be very rare and they once belonged to our much missed fellow collector Ray McKee. Ray won them on eBay only one year before he sadly passed. They were also one of the “Cuffs of the year 2012”.
This is story the seller stated. “Mr. Frank Zimmer (deceased now) was an army interpreter in WWI. His nephew, now 81, said he was mustard gased in what he pronounced, "Shawdow Turi". We believe this was the town of Schalkau (Thuringen), Germany. Evidently, Frank was in a fairly high ranked position. In 1921 he was sent to Germany, along with an associate to extradite a Mr. Birdal (or Birdel) for desertion. Evidently, the small town where Mr. Birdal resides were quite protective of him and the local authorities arrested and jailed Mr. Zimmer and his associate. We are told that this ended up to be quite a scandal and was front page news in the Denver Post and other major newspapers. The US Army threatened to send troops to the town to force the release of Mr. Zimmer and his associate. We believe Frank Zimmer was cuffed with these and he somehow kept them as a memento. The key was remade in 1945 by Norman Zimmer, known to have great locksmithing skills.”
Later, a collector added this information: ”Hello, these handcuffs was produced by Karl Schwertfeger in Hannover 1882 (both bows are marked "82"). Kind regards Hanseatenhans.” I never got the opportunity to communicate with Hanseatenhans but I know Michael Busch once met him very briefly. This story helps make these shackles one of my absolute favorites in the collection.
If you have a cuff with an interesting story, please post it!
Lars
But honestly, how many of your restrains have a “story” behind them? Speaking for myself, just very few. Many years ago I bought a set of Carberry from the family of the first owner who was a sheriff in Butte Box Butte County NE, Fred Shelmadine. To me, this information adds a feeling of history and put the cuffs in a context.
You have seen these cuffs posted here before but not the story from the seller. A story that of course cannot be verified but still unlikely to have been made up. These cuffs also happen to be very rare and they once belonged to our much missed fellow collector Ray McKee. Ray won them on eBay only one year before he sadly passed. They were also one of the “Cuffs of the year 2012”.
This is story the seller stated. “Mr. Frank Zimmer (deceased now) was an army interpreter in WWI. His nephew, now 81, said he was mustard gased in what he pronounced, "Shawdow Turi". We believe this was the town of Schalkau (Thuringen), Germany. Evidently, Frank was in a fairly high ranked position. In 1921 he was sent to Germany, along with an associate to extradite a Mr. Birdal (or Birdel) for desertion. Evidently, the small town where Mr. Birdal resides were quite protective of him and the local authorities arrested and jailed Mr. Zimmer and his associate. We are told that this ended up to be quite a scandal and was front page news in the Denver Post and other major newspapers. The US Army threatened to send troops to the town to force the release of Mr. Zimmer and his associate. We believe Frank Zimmer was cuffed with these and he somehow kept them as a memento. The key was remade in 1945 by Norman Zimmer, known to have great locksmithing skills.”
Later, a collector added this information: ”Hello, these handcuffs was produced by Karl Schwertfeger in Hannover 1882 (both bows are marked "82"). Kind regards Hanseatenhans.” I never got the opportunity to communicate with Hanseatenhans but I know Michael Busch once met him very briefly. This story helps make these shackles one of my absolute favorites in the collection.
If you have a cuff with an interesting story, please post it!
Lars