Early Gem from Friedrich Langenhan

[45flint]

Nice to add one of the first rifles form Friedrich Langenhan to my collection of FLZ rifles. This one was patented in Britain so you know it is from Friedrich Langenhan even though few of these were marked from them. Its is pretty nice condition for an over 100 year old rifle. So many are so beat up or refinished. Interesting these did not have a leather seal but the metal piston seals with oil. Hits with authority for what it is. Want to do a Utube on the air rifles of Friedrich Langenhan, so little information on them.

https://www.vintageairgunsgallery.com/image/lKELH
https://www.vintageairgunsgallery.com/image/lKoNP
https://www.vintageairgunsgallery.com/image/lKapf
https://www.vintageairgunsgallery.com/image/lKq3N
https://www.vintageairgunsgallery.com/image/lKvwe
https://www.vintageairgunsgallery.com/image/lKrgD

[Garvin]

[45flint]

Thanks for your help Danny, been thrown off Imgur again and was struggling to get the correct format from the Gallery!

[45flint]

Interesting to me that the US Blue Book has nothing on the Langenhan air rifles. The Dennis Hiller air rifle book is my only source besides the Gallery. Maybe the importation was far more extensive in he UK than the US. I never see them for sale at airgun shows over here. Have have become a niche for me because they are very well made and they are ignored over here. Also the challenge of identifying given many are not named Langenhan on the gun.

I have an extensive collection of airguns made in Zella Mehlis, the larger niche for my collecting.

[Garvin]

The precision of the 'dolls-head' breech lock on that FLZ is impressive. If you think about it, the design is not a particularly good one in terms of the surface area of the bearing edge. No wonder there was a variety of different catch designs that were employed on the Gems.

[wickerman]

lovely old gun.

[45flint]

To me the fasination is lining up the rifles in each decade from the GEM to the FLZ XX and see the progress from 1900 to the start of WW2. During the War FLZ made machine gun parts. After the war in the Russia zone they were absorbed to never make guns again. The machining was on par with any of the German makers but the war sealed their fate. They were also a more diverse manufacturer than some, bicycles being a significant part of their business.