Haviland & Gunn 1872 Air Pistol.

[Garvin]

I was a bit surprised at the estimate for this air pistol coming up at a forthcoming auction. I know it must be ultra rare, but it still seems on the high side for such a basic air pistol. Probably of greater interest to a specialist collector of american air pistols than a more general collector.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/a...2-a82d00a6a5b1

Regards
Brian

Yes, incredibly rare and important pistol but without the original hook it does seem over-valued. This is what it should look like.

[Benelli B76]

Yes, incredibly rare and important pistol but without the original hook it does seem over-valued. This is what it should look like.

Danny, I see that the Germans copied the cocking mechanism for my Diana model 1 tinplate. The benefit of the American pistol is you can use it as a self defence item after shooting it.

Baz

[JimmieDee]

Danny, I see that the Germans copied the cocking mechanism for my Diana model 1 tinplate. The benefit of the American pistol is you can use it as a self defence item after shooting it.

Baz

Indeed Diana did copy it. But they copied it from Michael Flurscheim and his MF pistol for whom they worked for before starting their own business. Flurscheim most likely copied it from Haviland and Gunn. Also, Diana, or correctly Mayer and Grammelspacher of Rastatt, first used this design in their very first post, the MGR.

A comprehensive article with hi-res photos about the MF and Eisenwerke Gaggenau can be found here.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jimmi...9436289154244/

And a comprehensive article with hi-res about the MGR and Mayer and Grammelspacher of Rastatt later to rebrand themselves as Diana can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jimmi...3866403377899/

All the best,
Jimmie