Thank you so much Lee! Wonderfully explained, and great analogies! and importantly noting that lines of demarcation such as the 1900 or 100 year marks are not necessarily written in stone. The moderation team indeed must evaluate topics and subject matter using a degree of latitude and determine how these might effect the overall contexts of discussions on our pages.
With the matter of military items, I understand exactly what you mean in noting that the Brown Bess musket, M1796 light cavalry sword etc. which of course are in that category and discussed openly in the European forum. However, as these weapons became present in colonial situations, they in fact often technically transcended into the ethnographic category as they were adopted into native use. Therefore they might be classified as BOTH European or ethnographic depending on point of view. Naturally as military weapons in the European category these have been discussed openly in that forum since inception in 2008, and remain so.
In many cases ethnographic forms copied European and vice versa, and of course we are well aware of the ubiquitous use of European blades in native edged weapons, whether via trade or other means.
One favorite notation I recall from some time ago pertains to the British cavalry in India during the Sikh wars, and the British noted the superior and deadly skills of these warriors with their tulwar sabers. What horrified them even more was when they discovered that these tulwars were equipped with old British M1796 saber blades, finely honed.
One of the most intriguing anomalies in collecting and studying native edged weapons are the many examples of for example, ethnographic swords with European blades and conversely European hilted forms with Middle Eastern blades etc.
I agree that discretion and latitude must be factored in the content of items and subjects in discussions, and these must be weighed on merit and influence on the overall character of our discussions and our forums in general.
As noted, the often insidious issue of commercialism and dealings are likely one of the most damaging effects that threaten the character and content of our pages . As I have always believed, we all learn here together, and that is the most important thing.
Again, I had not imagined this thread becoming a platform for these matters, but hope that the subject might be satisfied. The topic of the thread remains the Spandau machine gun, an evolution of the Maxim gun of late 19th c. and famously represented by the German fighter planes of WWI.
One thing I gained in the look into these guns here: I had not realized that the purpose of the much perforated shield on these was to air cool the barrel. Apparently, the guns of this type used in the field were water cooled, in what I found.
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