Gentlemen,
just came across this older thread. Interesting! I heard before of a Merkel with droplocks, but never saw a photo of one. Great!
Well, I can ad another maker using droplocks la Westley Richards and two which were "inspired" by the WR invention:
1/ In a 1928 published book "Jagd- und Sport-Waffenkunde" by M. Schmuderer-Maretsch is shown on page 44 a droplock design by E. Steigleder/Berlin:
I haven't seen such a Steigleder gun in real yet. As you will note from the photo of a 1905 made WR lock I inserted in the scan of the relating page from the book, the lock is a true copy of the WR design only the shape of the hammer differs a little.
2/ the patents by Carl Lohse (German patent #176495 filed 25. June 1904, British patent # 14,468 of 1904, filed 27. June 1904, US patent # 810,162, filed 1. April 1905 and French patent # 352811 filed 10. June 1905):
Top view of the trigger plate with plates for A&D locks
Actually, this is no Westley Richards copy, but more an improvement or a "design around" solution: the whole trigger group is hand-detachable; the plates for the A&D parts are fixedly arranged on the trigger plate. But the basic idea of hand-detachable A&D locks is fulfilled with this invention anyway (and the claims of WR's patent would have been infringed by said solution).
According to the patents Carl Lohse was German ("a subject of the German Emperor") and was living at 18 Rue Bois l'Evque, Lige, Belgium.
I'm very sure to have seen already a drawing of such a gun. If I remember correctly it was a "Leue Victoria" shown in a German book or gun journal - maybe in Otto Maretsch's 1910 book "Moderne Jagdwaffen" ???? In any case: there seems to have been a connection between Lohse and an "Aug.(ust) Leue", who's mentioned in the US patent as a witness. If I only could remember where Ive seen it!
3/ Charles Philibert Clment of 47 Rue Cheri, Liege, Belgium also tried a "design around" solution, shown and described in patents owned by Clement: US patent #693,639, filed 28. March 1901, German patent #131747, filed 4. February 1901 and British patent 2202 of 1901, filed on 1. February 1901:
Contrary to the WR solution, Clment has no plate, to which all parts of the lock are attached to, but uses the cocking lever "B" as a support for all parts of the lock. After removal of the trigger group and after removal of bolt "A" the whole lock mechanism (B, C, D and R) can be removed from the receiver to the rear.
This "impossible bottle" solution isn't as handy as the WR droplocks, but at least, it's a true "design around" solution. I don't know, if this idea worked and if Clment made/sold guns with this type of locks - I only know his pistols. Has anybody seen such a Clment gun?
Regards
Martin