$45.00 CAD
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Nice Trench art dated and situated Louvain (Leuven) Belgium, 1914-15.
Brass boot hook built around a bullet casing. At bottom, ring for mounting. At top attached to a bullet is a hook for pulling on the boot.
Engraved on the casing, two leaves, in between them a design of crossed lines. Below that “Louven 1914-15” (ed. Louvain or Leuven).
Engraved on one side of the hook attachment is a leaf and initials “L” & “A”.
6 3/4” / 17.5 cm. long
Leuven or Louvain is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Belgium. It is located about 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Brussels.
Upon Germany's entry into World War I, the town was heavily damaged by rampaging soldiers. In all, about 300 civilians lost their lives. The university library was also destroyed on 25 August 1914, using petrol and incendiary pastilles. 230,000 volumes were lost in the destruction, including Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts, a collection of 750 medieval manuscripts, and more than 1,000 incunabula.
La Première Guerre mondiale est l’une des pages les plus sombres de l’histoire de Louvain. Occupée dès le 20 août 1914 par les troupes allemandes - qui ont pénétré en Belgique deux semaines plus tôt -, la cité universitaire (dans l’actuel Brabant flamand) voit une fusillade se déclencher le soir du 25 août. Les Allemands allument alors des feux en divers endroits de Louvain, qui détruiront un bon millier de maisons et des bâtiments publics, dont l’imposante bibliothèque.
WIKIPEDIA
