This is a beautiful example of an early pre-WWII Spanish vest pocket pistol that has been meticulously embellished with what is termed a "Damascene" engraved pattern, that was perfected in Spain, which dates back to the middle ages. It was commonly seen on early sabers, armor and flintlock pistols, that was continued and remains in use today with Astra. It is a Gold Leaf overlay on the metal surfaces that is rarely seen to this detail and level of coverage, which is 98% of the entire pistol. The top left side of the slide is also inscribed "ROLAND", which we believe to be the Astra engraver. The grips are incised/enameled on the left side with "LC 88/1936/39/KG". This describers interpretation of these markings are: LC 88 stands for the "Legion Condor, Kampfgruppen 88". This Luftwaffe group was the primary bomber Group/Wing that was responsible for most of the support during the Spanish Civil War and certainly the air raid on the Spanish town of Guernica. As we may recall this air operation took place on April 25/26 1937 where the German Luftwaffe leveled the entire town which became a Battle Cry during the Civil War. The noted dates "1936/39" represent the time that the German Luftwaffe supported the Franco Government during the Spanish Civil War and "KG" are the initials of one of the main Officers of this Air Operation; Captain Klaus Gautlitz, who was the Chief Air Operation Officer in charge of the Condor Legion and Kampfgruppen 88, specifically during the raids on Guernica. Accompanying this exceptional pistol is an equally rare and certainly unique gold plated cigarette case with a beautiful Gold Damascene engraved pattern on the lid with a raised Spanish Conquistador bust in the center of the lid. On the inside of the case is a small hand engraved (jewelers style) presentation inscription that reads "Zur Erinnerung von Spanien/LC 88/1936/39"; a loose translation of this is "To Memories of Spain".