trajan Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 A German military text I am studying mentions 'das Gewehr des Schreibers', which literally means ( I think!), 'the rifle of the writers'... I assume it is not some form of rifle disguised as a super-large pencil... Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance for any leads on this! Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 Artists' Rifles? More likely the writer's own rifle... 'des' is the singular possessive. Regards, MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 There used to be a family of gun-smiths in Wurzburg called the Schreibers (whose guns are now collectors items) possibly a rifle made by one of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 29 April , 2014 Author Share Posted 29 April , 2014 The context Artists' Rifles? More likely the writer's own rifle... 'des' is the singular possessive. Regards, MikB Nice one Mike! My mistake there - I just re-checked the text and it is 'des', The context is the weapons allocated to a headquarters staff, and so I am thinking that the clerks shared a single rifle between them? Julian EDIT@ scribe out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 29 April , 2014 Author Share Posted 29 April , 2014 Oh, just found a 1909 listing of the officers and ncos' of the Infanterie-Regiment Vogel von Falckenstein (7. Westfälisches) Nr. 56, and this lists - among others - the following: Regiments-Schreiber: Feldwebel WöhrmannI. Bataillon: Bataillons-Schreiber: Vizefeldwebel Ehlebracht II. Bataillon: Bataillons-Schreiber: Vizefeldwebel Beikirch III. Bataillon: Bataillons-Schreiber: Vizefeldwebel So, perhaps what it really means is that the Headquarter's staff has its own 'Hauptquartier-Schreiber' who has his own personal rifle, his assistants having their regular weapons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 It just translates as 'the writer's rifle'. So if 'Writer' was a post at several levels, it could be any of those - depending on the level of the HQ in context - or in other contexts, whoever happened to be writing the text. Regards, MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 Can you give us the sentence it occurs in, Julian. And perhaps, for good measure, the sentences before and after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 Is it an ironic reference to a pen? 'The writer's weapon' . The pen being mightier than the sword, and all that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 29 April , 2014 Author Share Posted 29 April , 2014 Well, it's in the 'Examples of markings' section of the 1877 Bezeichnung und Numeriren text, in the subsection on markings used for headquarters unit personnel, and here it is between the one before and after: Kommando einer Kavallerie=Division, z.B. der Garde= resp. 3. Kavallerie=Division, Pistol Nr.2. G. C.D.2., 3.C.D.2. Kommando einer Infanterie=Brigade, z.B. der 3. Garde= resp. I5. Infanterie=Brigade, das Gewehr des Schreibers 3.G. İ.B., 15.İ.B. Kommando einer Kavallerie=Brigade, z.B. der 1. Garde= resp. 6. Kavallerie=Brigade, Kavalleriesäbel a/M. Nr.5. 1.G.C.B.5., 6.C.B.5. My thinking is that this refers to the marking necessary for the rifle supplied to what we might term as the 'Headquarters Senior clerk'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 Is it an ironic reference to a pen? 'The writer's weapon' . The pen being mightier than the sword, and all that As Mr Pratchett said only if its a very long sharp pen and an extremely short sword. I think this is another of those cases where having more of the context to start with the answers might have been better. In the meantime here is an early example of at real Gewehr des Schreibers being from 1860 and made by a J Schreiber http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae169/AKMSU/Misc137.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 29 April , 2014 Author Share Posted 29 April , 2014 Is it an ironic reference to a pen? 'The writer's weapon' . The pen being mightier than the sword, and all that That's what I was hoping! A kind of really fancy pen - e.g., http://www.ebay.de/itm/Einzigartig-Weltweit-Jagd-u-Repetier-Gewehr-Schreiber-in-Edelholz-gedrechselt-/310906048854 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 29 April , 2014 Author Share Posted 29 April , 2014 As Mr Pratchett said only if its a very long sharp pen and an extremely short sword. I think this is another of those cases where having more of the context to start with the answers might have been better. In the meantime here is an early example of at real Gewehr des Schreibers being from 1860 and made by a J Schreiber http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae169/AKMSU/Misc137.jpg Yes centurion, I should have put it in its proper context - but I was hoping somebody would quickly say "Yes, the rifle of the ***, the man in a unit who ***!". I think (hope?) that it is solved for now - as post 9. But thanks for sending the Schreiber photograph! Impressive looking piece! (But why is it that people never edit their toecaps out of these display photographs...???!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 My thinking is that this refers to the marking necessary for the rifle supplied to what we might term as the 'Headquarters Senior clerk! Yep, that's how I would read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke0000 Posted 29 April , 2014 Share Posted 29 April , 2014 A pencil disguised as a rifle (Jokes! ) Anywho...Maybe its talking about a writer, that entered the war...there may have been some speciality about something to do with his rifle? Just a idea... Or Possibly, a messenger....WW1 used messenger people...Maybe a specialty about his rifle instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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