That would appear to be a Haviland and Gunn Morse air pistol
What a fantastic think to have in your collection - very envious!
Lots of interesting history about it here: https://www.jimmiedeesairguns.com/pi...l-1872-c-1881/
Last edited by Clank; 22-11-2022 at 09:38 AM.
An Emergency on your part doesn't necessarily mean an Emergency on my part!
That would appear to be a Haviland and Gunn Morse air pistol
What a fantastic think to have in your collection - very envious!
Lots of interesting history about it here: https://www.jimmiedeesairguns.com/pi...l-1872-c-1881/
It is an example of the American Haviland & Gunn, or Morse, "parlor pistol" dating to the 1870's. I would rate it as extremely rare in the UK and very rare in the USA. From the picture it does seem to be incomplete unfortunately, as there should be a cocking rod protruding from the base of the grip. A very nice addition to any collection of early American air pistols.
Cheers,
John
Complete ones here:
https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....nt-air-pistol/
Vintage Airguns Gallery
..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest in niche subjects.
You are right John, it is incomplete. Though it would not be beyond me to restore it There is a drawing on Garvin's site which shows the inner workings so reverse engineering from that point wouldn't be impossible. The big question is of course, would it be worth it? How much do you think it is worth right now and then how much do you think it would be worth if it was in working order?
Thank you everyone for all you help.
An Emergency on your part doesn't necessarily mean an Emergency on my part!
Very difficult to value because of uncertainty about what parts are missing, but an all original, complete example would probably be worth
£1400 +. As a relic, missing grip-plug, piston, piston rod, spring and original breech screw, it would possibly be worth £400-500 for the collector who desperately wants one. Unfortunately, restoring it to full working condition would not (IMO) add much value, as the value of something as iconic as this lies in its originality rather than functionality. So fully restored with made-up parts, perhaps £600-800 depending on how well the parts duplicate the original.
Cheers,
John
Vintage Airguns Gallery
..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest in niche subjects.
Providing it can be done without doing anything detrimental to what is left of the original, I would personally be very tempted to restore it to working condition. I’m not sure it would be worth it financially but it would be well worth it so it is complete and functional.
The drawing on Garvin’s site is from the patent but the as built pistol doesn’t follow the patent design. If you were to restore it then the internal parts should be very similar to those in the Eisenwerke Gaggenau MF, there are internal diagrams of these here: https://www.jimmiedeesairguns.com/pi...el-flurscheim/