Here is a dream come recently true for me- a Mauser Banner K, issued to the Deutsche Reichspost, all matching.
The Imperial post was an interesting organization, started during the rise of the German empire in the late 19th century. Aside from transporting mail, they had their hand in communications, tv engineering, scientific endeavors. It's easy for us to think of them as mailmen the way we know them, but one author actually compared them to Wells Fargo of the old west, contracted to protect and deliver valuable shipments between banks, gov organizations, and big businesses. Once Hitler took over in '33, they became armed with the Mauser Standard Model.
This rifle piqued my interest because of the "Brsl" mark in the sling well. That's a unit mark for the Breslau branch of the DRP. Somewhere, someday I may be able to dig up some tidbits on what the Breslau sector was up to in the '30s, but for now it's just a curious & mysterious provenance for me.
Of course, any DRP or Reichsbahn rifle will make someone say "SS gun! Score!" Volume 1 of
Karabiner goes out of its way to try and dispel that myth, saying there's no proof of these guns originally meant to clandestinely arm the SS. That's fine with me. But one interesting tidbit to consider is that the growth of the SS was aided by their absorption of the Reichspost in the late '30s.
At any rate, I care none about any SS link. It's just a beautiful rifle- marvelous high polish blue, fired firing pin, unmolested walnut furniture, crisp & interesting markings, just the finest piece of hardware coming out of any arsenal at the time. I'm in love.