doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com H Scherping Hannover

It seems that colourful characters were in abundance say 20 years ago but nowadays I don't run across one daily.

M-4's O/U Heinrich Scherping DR right hammer





Forend with bump

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

I wish it were that way, Daryl. The world is filled with good guys but my experience is that virtue and power rests rarely in the same person.

First of all I want to say Thank You to anyone that can help in this quest to learn more of this great gunmaker, the only reason that Goerings name is even mentioned in these posts is because 2 of the H Scherping guns that I have came with stories of ties to Goering which at the time of purchase did not influence my decision as to value or desirability. They were purchased based on the quality of craftsmanship and with the hope of new clues in learning more of the gunmaking trade in the area at that time.
Raimey has been instrumental in helping me with the research in creating a timeline and path that led this man to obtain the status of Hof-Buchsenmacher. He was a top shelf maker that remained popular and his business stood the test of time to span around 80 years through some very turbulent times. Any information on Tanner, Eckebrecht or Scherping would be of great help in establishing fact from theory and we are getting closer every day and with the help of the knowledge from members here we hope to one day tell the true story of this mans history & career with factual data to substantiate the story.

m-4
Mike

Mike, King, Raimey et al. Really good posts. Raimey, I really liked your last pics. Beautiful work.

I'm sure the possibility exists for the "B.M." stamp on this Carl Gründig drilling to be for someone other than Bernhard Emil Merkel, but the preponderance of evidence seems to be weighing in Bernhard Merkel's favor.

Also, Oskar Merkel founded his business as early as 1887 and he may have had a relative/son that help found a business circa 1907. So it is possible that Heinrich Scherping was sourcing Oskar Merkel as early as the late 1880s, a time when distance sourcing seems to have begun to spool.


I can't remember is this O/U had the "MERCO" stamp or not. But I would venture a guess that the longarm, and engraving, was finished in or around Hanover.


Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Bernhard Merkel's stamp was BEMESU (BErnhard MErkel SUhl). I have owned at least two in the past, and I think I sent a copy of an article published a year or so ago to you (Raimey) which someone I was corresponding with at Gebruder Merkel sent to me, and several months ahead of the same article being published in the GGCA periodical. I don't know why he would have used that well known and documented stamp and also have used just the two initials B.M. in a script style on other occasions. I'll bet that is something other than Bernhard Merkel, but I don't know what it might be.

Thanks for the grounding Chiefshotguns. I will concur that BEMESU was Bernhard Merkel's tradename, for want of a better term, and like MERCOwaffen may have also been their telegram address or name. But I think we are going to find that stamps like BEMESU and MERCO are, in addition to tradenames, are also process marks noting how much effort, and liability in the event of a failure, was applied to a particular example. I think Bernhard Merkel to be the source for many of the unique frames found on German longarms, especially the clamshell. There are some European schools of thought that Otto Seelig was the "in the white" source, but I just don't think so. Economics continues to point to the Suhl/Zella-Mehlis area for sourcing.

August Bräutigam was a frame filer for Gebrüder Merkel in the 1920s so I would expect to see his initials somewhere on many of their examples. But the firearms merchant didn't want any names visible except his. So on many of the odd frames I expect to see the initials "B.M." stamped on the frame hidden from view. I will search for other possibilities. As I've said before I think the Merkel klan played a large role in being sourced by Hof-Büchsenmachers for their examples.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Here's a link to a PDF on GGCA's 2007 article on Bernhard Merkel which states that some of his examples had BESMU: http://www.germanguns.com/journals/newsletter3.pdf . He also used a mark similar to the Gebrüder Merkel stamp of a "GM" in a shield(either Gebrüder Merkel or the "GM" in a shield was filed under #331084 in 1902 I believe) which was "BM" in a shield. So with that I'd venture he also used his initials.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Bernhard Merkel DR with script "BEMESU" stamp. It was at Bass Pro some time ago and I wish there was a pic of the marks to see if they point back to Bernhard Merkel.



1925 Suhler Waffenwerk(Suhl Weapons Factor - the name was adopted by Merkel in 1925) DR clamshell. So this may be one of the 1st to use the Suhler Waffenwerk name instead of Merkel. I'll see if I can find a Merkel thread to transition the info.

Seelig clamshell DR: http://rbsiii.com/collection/rifles/muzzelverschluss_93/muzzelverschluss_93.htm that might have some interesting marks?

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Getting back toward a Heinrich Scherping tangent, it appears that Albert Staehle was born in 1828, apprenticed in the Vienna area and I'd guess achieved the rank of master in the 1850s. By 1865 he may have received his k.k.( kaiserlich-königlich ) status and moved or constructed a new facility in 1867. There seems to be just too many longarms with multiple tube sets with his name on them for him not to have been a tube specialist. A Heinrich Scherping pair exits with one of the pair having a tube set stamped with Albert Staehle K.K. and as did Johann Soukup: http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=9660716 . Staehle's rib, even with the k.k.( kaiserlich-königlich ) title, seems more plain and Johann Soukup's tube's adornment seems to fit well with the overall longarm. If anyone has any info on Johann Soukup, I'd be terribly interested. It may be as Axel E. of GGCA has noted that "Country Gunsmiths" dabbled in longarms with their name roll stamped atop while peddling bicycles and other various and sundry things.

Albert Staehle looks to have expired in 1880 so tubes with his name atop had to be made prior to that time or shortly after. He may have had an heir or assign that continued but it doesn't look likely. Scherping's local sourcing possibly had faded away by the late 1870s and who knows he may have turned to the craftsmen at Vienna before he began heavily sourcing the craftsmen at Suhl & Zella-Mehlis.

Also now GGCA has an electronic version of their publication for subscribers and this issue has an Alexander Henry falling block with Albert Staehle's name atop the tube. He could have sourced the components and made the tube but I think Johann Kalezky to be the source of the Alexander Henry falling block components which more than likely he sourced from Scotland.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse