Quote Originally Posted by silva View Post
Was Harrington already an established light engineering works or manufacturer in the timeframe you think the pistol was maufacturered. It says auto specialists on the old adverts. Its a long shot, but maybe if any original catalogues or patents survive, there will be parts from other products in the range, that have been repurposed into the pistol. The chequered grips possibly, or the barrel end plug. Was it purchased from the region of the Harrington works. Is there any possibilty of establishing where the pistol came from prior to your ownership. Did it come on the market after the death of the inventor, who apparently only passed away in relatively recent times.

Some interesting thoughts there.

There is not a lot known about the manufacturing range of T.J.Harrington & Son in the 1930's, and it has been described as a 'blacksmith' or 'light engineering' business. It was set up by T.J.Harrington, the father of James Harrington, in about 1920, and James (the inventor of the Gat) joined the business in 1935 at the age of 23. After he eventually took over the business from his father, it continued to be called 'T.J.Harrington & Son Ltd.' until it was taken over by the American company S/R Industries in 2020. James Harrington died in 1996.The only adverts for the company, including early ones mentioning automotive parts, all date from the post-war period. None are known for the pre-war period, when the first Gat was produced.


Unfortunately I can only trace the history of the pistol back to the dealer I bought it off about 4 years ago. He was of the opinion that it was a 'student-made' item. I have no idea when it first appeared in collecting circles or if it only appeared after J.H's death in 1996.