Again some lovely tid-bits of info unearthed by Moose Snoot of Sweden:
Peter Wernig hung out his gun making shingle in the early 1870s(either 1873 or 1871 - or somewhere in between) and he paid for & attained the rank/title or became kaiserlich und königlich and / or Hoflieferant/Hof-Waffenfabrikant in early November 1898. This hat allowed him to provide Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia a Vierlaufgewehre, system Wernig, which more than likely was based on his Vierlaufgewehr patent of 1884?
Then in mid 1907 he or his heirs either sold the business or let it slip into receivership(Laibacher Bankverein or Kreditbank????) and the business was rebadged as a GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung). I see to recall Jani noting that the Ferlach mechanics were originally from either Czech or an area of Slovenia. But evidently it was bad press in 1907/1908 to sell to a Slovenian business so his royal title was stripped??? Peter Wernig appeared to want to shed his German Hunting Coat(possibly a metaphor??) and was worried that an influx of Slovenia mechanics would siphon off Ferlacher jobs?(Jani put us on the straight & narrow here). The rebranded name looks to have been: – “Prva levroska orozno tevarniska druzba Peter Wernig druzba samejenozavezo Borovlje – Korosko” with the German equivalent being "Erste Ferlacher Waffenfabrik Peter Wernig k.u.k. Hoflieferant in Ferlach, GmbH” with the the k.u.k. Hoflieferant title dropping off the adverts in 1908.
More to come I'm sure.
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
