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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  GERMAN PISTOL WALTHER MODEL 8 6.35MM SN# 476884
Maker/Manufacturer:	WALTHER, CARL
Date of Manufacture:	C 1925
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 888
Measurements:	OL: 12.9CM 5 1/8" BL: 7.1CM 2 7/8" 28 oz.

Object Description:

GERMAN PISTOL WALTHER MODEL 8 6.35MM SN# 476884
Manufactured by Walther Co., Zella-Mehlis, Germany - Pre-WWII German semi-automatic pistol with 8-round detachable box magazine. Blowback-operated. Flip down trigger guard for takedown. Used by some general officers in WWII. Weighs about 28 oz.

Markings:
Frame: 476884. Commercial proofs. Crown/N. Right side: F.
Slide: WALTHER'S PATENT MOD. 8/Walther logo. Right side: WAFFENFABRIK WALTHER ZELLA-MEHLIS (THUR).
Barrel: Commercial proofs.
Grips: CW (in medallion.) Right side: 6.35 (in medallion).
Magazine: WALTHER logo.

Exhibit label: "MODEL 8 6.35 millimeter - Developed in 1920, this was Walther's first post-World War I production pistol. The magazine of the Model 8 held eight shots, giving the pistol a good-sized grip. Considered one of the best pistols of its caliber ever developed, it remained in production until 1943."

Notes: "Walther's first post-war pistol was the Model 8, caliber .25 ACP, introduced in 1920, manufacture was continued almost until the day the Yank tanks came to Zella-Mehlis. More than 200,000 Model 8's had been made when Walther celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1936....
One out of every five Walther pistols manufactured between 1921 and 1936 was a .25 ACP Model 8." - Smith

References:
Smith, W.H.B. MAUSER, WALTHER & MANNLICHERS FIREARMS. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pa. 1971.