A little Christmas treat to me from me.... Obviously, these two don't 'belong' to each other. The canister is in very nice condition with original paint and little wear. It's non-waterproof ( no 'D' on the base ) and is dated 1940 which is what I wanted, as I was looking for something which would have been the type used in Russia 41-42. The waffenamt stamp is faint, but legible.... The mask is clearly a relic, and has come from a digger who lives in Volgograd. It is a M38 First Model. Visible to the naked eye (but not, sadly, to the camera) is the date '42', but more clearly seen is the code 'aqd' for Radium Gummiwerke of Koln ) and the circled 'H' for Heeres (Army).... A rather pleasing display item to me.
Very nice items, Martin. The cannister looks to be in very good condition with lots of original paint. More surprisingly is the original owners role number that is still visible on the relic gas mask. A few years ago a friend found a number of these gas masks in a foxhole near Schmidt in the Eifel Region of Germany. The rubber was still astonishingly very pliable, testimony that they were made to last!
You're quite right - the number painted on the relic mask is original and would have matched the number on its' canister. I really paid next-to-nothing for the mask ; in fact the postage came to more......
It's 'swings and roundabouts' as we say, Skipper - the relic gasmask cost me less than £10. The canister ( from a UK dealer ) cost me more than one would usually expect to pay, but I wanted both the date and the condition. Putting the two together, I'm really pleased with them.
Canisters can get expensive nowadays. They sell at an average of 25 euros (+ 20 euro postage to the uk) so that would get it for about 38£ for a UK based buyer. I can still find then in local garage sales here (they were used as tool or biscuit boxes after the war) , but I haven't found any in 2012 now that you mention it . When they have cammo paint on it, prices rocket and ther is no garantee about the paint ....