My guess is that the reservoir was originally covered; that was the standard practice, as far as I'm aware of. If this gun is as old as I think it is, it's no surprise that the original leather is no longer there.

I'm hoping this spurs some interest in Tyrol. Up till now, it's been hard to do much because there really are so few early airguns left in the region (everything I've seen is post 1800) With the Cortina d'Amprezzo airgun, I can say, "Hey, Tyrol, there's a story here: an unwritten page of your history, sitting, waiting for you, in Slovenia."

My dream would be to get this bad boy modeled and spec'd (a la Baker/Currie) so it can be reconstructed and tested. I bet it would prove to be a great gun. Without the magazine crap in the way, a better shooter than a Girardoni, for sure.