I am not surprised that the Diana 8 pistol, as it was known in MGR catalogues, was for display only as they are amazingly rare, especially outside Germany. In more than 30 years of collecting air pistols I have only ever come across four examples, two of which were not in the UK .
Considering that they were on the market for a period of 4-5 years (about 1910 – 1914) and were even retailed in the UK by Gamages (rebranded as the Holborn) it is difficult to understand why almost none have survived.
Lawrie’s fine example photographed by John at Kempton (and also pictured in the Vintage Airgun Gallery) is marked “Diana”, whereas my own lucky find shown below is simply marked “Patent”, which makes me think that it may have been one of the Gamages guns.
As these pistols are so rare, I would be very interested to know of any other examples that members may have come across, and if possible what markings they had.
Originally Posted by ccdjg
I am not surprised that the Diana 8 pistol, as it was known in MGR catalogues, was for display only as they are amazingly rare, especially outside Germany. In more than 30 years of collecting air pistols I have only ever come across four examples, two of which were not in the UK .
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