Kempton 9 Dec 2018

[ptdunk]

It's funny, Richard, some years ago I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you but now I can hardly imagine anything more elegant! Maybe I'm just fickle, or knowing it's old and very rare = beauty to me!

I used to think prewar BSAs were the most ungainly air rifles made but now I can't look at one without admiring its lovely lines and genius design. Equally, I used to absolutely love the Tyrolean match stocks from Walther etc on their match rifles, but now just rather like them, so it does sort of work both ways.

Somehow I doubt I'll ever feel passionate about modern production guns, so there must be more to it than just fickleness....

I know what you mean.

I only started collecting 2 years ago, and back then I didn't give the 'Vintage pre-1939 air rifles' page of Proteks website a second glance, I went straight to the vintage pistols. I couldn't understand why anyone would like an air rifle where the stock didn't extend all the way up to the barrel? now I have a couple of golden oldies I know it's because they shoot beautifully and are full of history.

Same with that Diana 8 pistol, would have thought 'not very nice' back then but now that I have a Diana Model 1 up to to a Model 10, these early M&G pistols would make a lovely addition to the series. You never know!

I'll keep an eye out.

It's all thanks to Johns book.

Matt.

[RichardH]

It's funny, Richard, some years ago I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you but now I can hardly imagine anything more elegant! Maybe I'm just fickle, or knowing it's old and very rare = beauty to me!

I used to think prewar BSAs were the most ungainly air rifles made but now I can't look at one without admiring its lovely lines and genius design. Equally, I used to absolutely love the Tyrolean match stocks from Walther etc on their match rifles, but now just rather like them, so it does sort of work both ways.

Somehow I doubt I'll ever feel passionate about modern production guns, so there must be more to it than just fickleness....

It’s funny how your tastes evolve, over the years I have gone back in time to the point if it’s not proper milled steel and walnut it aint proper these days.

I used to have a real thing for the old Crosmans, 600,500, 451 and so on then I had a BSA thing and I seem to have a new thing for the Mk1/2/3 Webleys now

I just don’t seem to sell the last craze before starting the next one, must be why I am always skint.

[Garvin]

I am not surprised that the Diana 8 pistol, as it was known in MGR catalogues, was for display only as they are amazingly rare, especially outside Germany. In more than 30 years of collecting air pistols I have only ever come across four examples, two of which were not in the UK .

Considering that they were on the market for a period of 4-5 years (about 1910 – 1914) and were even retailed in the UK by Gamages (rebranded as the Holborn) it is difficult to understand why almost none have survived.

Lawrie’s fine example photographed by John at Kempton (and also pictured in the Vintage Airgun Gallery) is marked “Diana”, whereas my own lucky find shown below is simply marked “Patent”, which makes me think that it may have been one of the Gamages guns.

As these pistols are so rare, I would be very interested to know of any other examples that members may have come across, and if possible what markings they had.

Also known by the catchy name "Batho" (pic courtesy of Trev's Airgun scrapbook):