Artisitc license. Can you identify this?

[ccdjg]

This pistol was advertised in a 1919 magazine. Can anyone guess what it is?

[ashf9999]

Hmmm, when you say artistic license, do you mean that we’d know that pistol is a slightly different form? Maybe that cocking lever in particular? Shape of the grip and trigger guard reminds me of a Parker. No other idea though.

[DrGunn]

It looks like the lever on the side pivots around the rear and is pushed in to cock like the Frank Clarke Titans. The barrel over compression cylinder looks very similar as well.

[Garvin]

I agree, it's got aspects of both Parker and Titan about it. Where is the trigger?!

[ashf9999]

Hmm. Is this a test? It’s not in a certain encyclopedic tome is it, and this is to see if we’ve read it properly…?

[Garvin]

Hmm. Is this a test? It’s not in a certain encyclopedic tome is it, and this is to see if we’ve read it properly…?

I suspect John has long stopped caring whether his readers/students pass tests or not.

[Abasmajor]

I would also go with something with a strong Frank Clarke influence.

Brian

[Buck25]

Looks vaguely familiar.

Bruce Jr.

[ccdjg]

You will not find this pistol in the Encyclopedia of Spring Air Pistols, as it does not actually exist, and (in my opinion) never did.

You were all on the ball – it is supposed to be a Frank Clarke Titan. This is the full advert, which appeared in the December 1919 issue of “Export World & Commercial Intelligence” , courtesy of American air gun researcher David Trull.






It is clearly something of a flight of fancy from Frank Clarke, probably made worse by his giving the artist a free hand to add his own embellishments. The date is significant, as it would be when Clarke was phasing out his second model Titan and working on the design that would be used in all subsequent Titans, defined in his patent BP 208341. That patent was submitted in November 1922, and embodied Clarke’s innovative rotating breech block, which allowed the pellet to be loaded directly into the breech, so removing the need for the bolt action sliding barrel.





The picture in the advert shows that the breech block was something under development at the time, but as drawn, it would have been completely unworkable. Perhaps this was deliberate, as Clarke would not want to give anything away before he had his patent in the bag. Other impracticalities in the illustration which confirm than it is not a real thing is the lack of a trigger, as noted by Danny, and the huge amount of metal in the trigger area, which serves no useful purpose and would add not only to the weight of the gun but also to the cost.
Interestingly, as noted by ashf9999 and Danny, the trigger area suggest a strong influence from the Parker crank pistol. However, the Parker design did not appear until 1921, so this must just be coincidence.

Frank Clarke was never one to put accuracy before financial expediency, as you can see from some of his claims in the advert.


Another example of misrepresentation from Clarke is the following picture of a Warrior adorning the cover of one of his catalogues. This was obviously drawn by a commercial artist during the early development stages of the Warrior, as it depicts the pistol with Titan grip plates and a modified grip rake. No doubt this was how an early prototype looked, and the probable intention was to use up a stock of unused Titan grip plates. However, this design was never used, and the Warrior listed inside the catalogue is correctly illustrated as the one we all know so well. Clarke was evidently quite happy to use the cover illustration, probably because it had been relatively costly to produce, even though it misrepresented the actual gun.




So although these were the days before AI and deep fake, we still have to be careful in always accepting vintage catalogue illustrations at face value.

[ogilkes]

Amazing how he managed to combine so many correct features of different pistols!

[Re01312]

Guys

I read this site to learn more about spring air pistols. This thread is a treat.

My wife and I were walking and a auto struck us. We are both in the hospital, Wife (Louisa) is going to to surgery please pray for her. My ribs are broke and I am fine. I am an Old Soldier.

Kindest Regards,

Randall

[Garvin]

Guys

I read this site to learn more about spring air pistols. This thread is a treat.

My wife and I were walking and a auto struck us. We are both in the hospital, Wife (Louisa) is going to to surgery please pray for her. My ribs are broke and I am fine. I am an Old Soldier.

Kindest Regards,

Randall

That's terrible, Randall. I hope Louisa makes a full and speedy recovery.

[Abasmajor]

That's terrible, Randall. I hope Louisa makes a full and speedy recovery.

Likewise, I wish you all the best and hope that you both soon recover from this terrible incident.
I'm sure all our thoughts are with you and Louisa wishing you both a speedy recovery.
Brian

[ccdjg]

Randall, I echo the thoughts of Danny and Brian, and wish you and Louisa a swift and complete recovery. I am glad this thread has helped provide a little distraction at such a difficult time.
All the best,
John