Lane's?
Henry Boker (I doubt if he actually made it)?
Lane's?
Henry Boker (I doubt if he actually made it)?
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.
Well spotted, Danny...I have corrected the list now and yes of course the is a Gem pattern
Think Lane Brothers were only retailers who adapted and improved certain Gem patterns, mainly EG types but possibly others too?
Think Boker was a retailer as well?...
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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.
Lincoln Jeffries springs to mind, although he supposedly "improved" aspects of the foreign guns he sold and stamped up before he came up with his tap loading patent. I can't recall in which book it is I read about in now, but the subject of British gunsmiths importing and stamping up foreign guns was a huge bone of contention way back for the Birmingham and London makers.
ATB, Ed
The company K.B Paris had a range of Gem type airguns around 1900. I am pretty sure that they made these themselves, as all their other guns (air pistols and toy guns) were made by them, and in fact it is stated that their specific intent was to provide a domestic range of airguns to compete with foreign imports.
HI Ed,
Have we seen a LJ marked Gem pattern in the wild?...I honestly can't remember!...I seem to remember that LJ did put his moniker on some of the Militas of the day though...
Hi John,
Thank you, I had not heard of K.B.Paris but do seem to remember another French name...'Coire''?...or something like that?...ring any bells with you or anyone else? (or is it coconut husk! )
Have any actual examples of a K.B. Paris airgun or Gem pattern showed up anywhere?...I wonder if that advertising spiel is just that - spiel?...and, given that half of Belgium spoke French, whether it is a re-branded Belgian Marck Gem pattern or similar German type?...
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A somewhat bold statement it may be but here goes...I think most* of the European Gem patterns were made by one of three manufacturers - Eisenwerk Gaggenau, Langanhan or Jean Marck.
I seem to remember some Bergman marked Gem patterns too (were these likely to have been made by EG though?)
....and the mysterious Harpoon trademark...was that something to do with Bergman too?
MGR/Diana Gems bare an uncanny resemblance to LZ/FLZ Gems...both Diana 3L types (T-bar and dolls head) and Diana 6 share so many similarities with the Langanhan Gem patterns in there overall shape and design...
Sorry, my knowledge on this subject is so random and scattered that it is difficult to make sense of it, I rarely write anything down always relying on my memory...and have forgotten lots in the few short years I have been away...I wonder if this info is still relevant?
*obviously not all!
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HI Ed,
Have we seen a LJ marked Gem pattern in the wild?...I honestly can't remember!...I seem to remember that LJ did put his moniker on some of the Militas of the day though...
Hi Dave, I was alluding to / answering Garvin's comment about British makers stamping foreign guns, and was off thread as obviously Lincoln did the Militias as you say, good job I didn't waffle on about Ansonias and others as I was going to !
ATB, Ed
They certainly did make a range of their own air rifles and pistols, but I can't be sure that the Gem types they sold weren't German or Belgian imports, as (as far as I know) no examples have ever turned up. Mind you, they were not great exporters so all their guns are very rare, and only likely to be found in France. According to their catalogue description, if they did turn up they might have been marked "La Guillaume Tell" or even more confusingly just "Tell".
Only relatively recently did this pistol came to light, which is one of theirs, called the "Scolaire No. 2". It is a copy (improved) of the EG Dolla-type pistol of the period.
Another catalogue picture of one of their pistols shows it to be very similar to, but not identical with, the Jean Marck Gem air pistol. One of these has never been found, but I live in hopes.
Sorry, I have never come across the name 'Coire' in connection with an airgun.
Cheers,
John