Copy Bonehill Catalogue - Spring Air Pistol(s)

[Buck25]

This air pistol sold on Southams Auctioneers in September 2015 with the following description: ".230 Vintage air pistol, possibly an A C Bonehill Boys Air Pistol as shown in the Bonehill catalogue of 1898, similar cocking to a Quackenbush No.1, US Patent 178327, 1876, with 7,1/2 ins barrel, numbered 14 on all main parts, 14,1/2 ins overall"

Does anyone have a copy of a catalogue showing this pistol or something similar. If you have an example of this pistol in your collection, it would be great to hear from you. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[ccdjg]

Actually Bruce, this particular pistol was discussed some years ago on this forum http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....esting-pistol] and a link to the relevant page in the Bonehill catalogue was given there (http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...psg0wmvmfc.jpg) The link still works for me, but given the problems we have had with Photobucket it may not work for everyone. If there are problems with the link I can set up a new one with Imgur and post the image here

I do not believe that the unknown pistol is related to the pistol shown in the catalogue as there are too many points of difference.

My own researches suggest that instead there is a connection to George Bussey, who was probably responsible for the first British spring airguns to be marketed, dating to the mid 1870’s. Bussey was evidently aware of the work of Simonon in Belgium at the same time, and copied some of his design features. Simonon in turn seems to have adopted the Quackenbusb loading system in his pistols. I have looked at a range of similar looking antique spring air pistols, some prototypes, that have come to light over the years, which involve combinations of such features as: a detachable barrel for loading; a slidiing barrel with loading aperture as per Quackenbush, a barrel-retaining screw under the barrel; cocking by direct pull from the back or by pushing from the front. Given that all these guns have turned up on the UK market, rather than on the continent, and all are certainly made pre-1900 when Bussey was the only making and experimenting with spring air pistols in the 1870' and 1880's, then I would say that the unknown pistol, shown at the top here, was probably another Bussey experimental prototype.