doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Need help identifing

I have an E. Blancke gun that we don't know the age. It came home from NAUMBURG A/S in 1944. my father found it in a castle during the war and I sure would like to find out more about it. I do have a few pictures. DPI

Need to post any markings(names and numbers) that are stamped on it.

DPI, I like the subtle way of describing war booty. :-) Looks an interesting gun anyway. As Don says, more information on proof marks and barrel condition would help identify. I have a Belgian 24 bore and a Greifelt drilling that found their way out of occupied Europe by similar means. Lagopus.....

"L.PFEIFFER.VORM.E.BLANCKE.NAUMBURG A/S". These are the only markings on the gun. They are inlaid in gold on the rail. DPI.

I would say that L. Pfeiffer possibly was the son-in-law of E. Blancke of Naumburg A/S as that is usually how the business was transferred. So as a marketing ploy the new owner, usually a son-in-law if not a direct heir & assign, would continue to use the old name as say also known as or previously knows as hence the Vorm. Post WWI there was a Robert Pfeiffer of Suhl and I'd guess him to be a relative, possibly son, or L. Pfeiffer as the whole of Suhl & Zella-Mehlis was sourced from components as well as completed weapons by the rest of the continent. Also there in Suhl about the time the example was made there was a Gottfried Pfeifer who was a top foerster for one of the kings.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

So, do you think that L. Pfeiffer would be the builder under the E. Blancke name or the person that the gun was built for? DPI
P.S. I sure would like to find out more about E. Blancke. DPI.

I'd say L. Pfeiffer marketed under, and may have trained under, E. Blancke but more than likely sourced components from Suhl. I'll look but don't be surprised if E. Blancke was just a firearms merchant, which had to be a master gunsmith but as time progressed they shifted to solely being a firearms merchant only. Very seldom, if ever, will the purchaser's name be on the top rib but his/her initials we be in the form of a monogram on a brass/silver oval. Pic of the underside of the tubes may point to the maker that was sourced.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

A quick glance netted that evidently old E. Blancke was a pretty respectable gunsmith in the Naumburg on the Salle River area and that's why Pfeiffer continued on his coat-tails. He attended the Paris Worlds Fair of 1855(?) and may have won an award. He peddled dueling pistols as well as percussion arms so he probably worked until the last 1/4 of the 19th Century.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Thx so much. Got some more questions. Does NACHF. mean anything to you? Also, I have found several engravings on the non barrel metal peqices. The include a buc and doe junping the forest, a fox, two pheasants in the forest, and two rabbits jumping over a fence. The interesting thing about the rabits is tha one is upside down and the other is right side up. DPI.

That is exactly where my father was in 1944 hiding in what he called a "wine castle" from heavy german tank fire when he found the gun. DPI.