This Harrington Gat was found in a small auction, with no other airguns accompanying it. It was a bit of a gamble buying it on-line, but it turned out to be quite a snip.





The box was unlike any other I had seen, having a lift-off lid, and the pistol was unusual in not having a muzzle adapter for firing corks.







It was evidently a rare first version Gat, the one introduced briefly in 1939 before being suspended by the outbreak of war. The finish is most unusual, and I am sure it is original, consisting of a copper plating layer which had been chemically blacked. The black layer was wearing a bit thin in places, showing the copper under layer. The pistol dismantles quite differently to post- war guns, and has separate grip plates.





The breech pin also differs from that of the post-war models.





The box lid label looks superficially like those on all the later boxes, but in fact shows a pistol with no cork-firing adapter, and also unlike all later box lids, the description makes no mention of using the gun with corks. There is an interesting large label on the bottom of the box.




A great find at a bargain price. So the moral is, keep an eye out for the unexpected lots in the smaller auctions.