Pieper could not use Hanquet without registering the name. I have no documentation that they ever did. I count 12 firms / individuals named Hanquet beginning in 1826 to 1955. None registered the trademark Centaure.

What we are talking about is international law. Belgium was a signatory to the Madrid Arrangement of 1891. This was a revision of the 1879 law.

They could not simply grant trade marks as they pleased. No individual or firm would be irresponsible enough to simply appropriate a trade mark. Once registered in Belgium all brands were registered at the International Bureau in Berne.

The Bureau is still in existence today. It has evolved into WIPO. http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en Belgium has maintained the historical data as best they could, through numerous wars and floods.

I could care less whether an individual maker produced the guns of the Czar, Henry VIII, etc or whether they produced junk. I do care about understanding the technology, why it developed along the paths it did and what were the constraints. I make no pretrense to know all things Belgian. That would be foolish. I do care about being able to properly document the commerce that took place. The Belgians were the largest producers of firearms for export for well over 100 years. We have English reports that state this. So, to my mind, it makes sense to start with them.

As for the term JABC.... It is a cute insider short hand. What it fails to communicate is that people purchased those guns for a reason. They were not "fooled" by the names. They knew low quality when they saw it. They were presented with a product that could accomplish a task at a price they could afford. I always laugh when I hear these statements. All those who believe that "their" grandparents or great grandparents were stupid hold your hands up now. Hmm, no hands showing.

I have never heard stories about gangs of armed Belgians running through the streets forcing people to buy their cheapest shotguns. Yet, Gunbroker and Auction Arms always have a healthy supply of these guns. Quite honestly, I have no illusions about why my forebearers left Europe. They were not wanted there. They were poor. They came here, but they were still poor. Some people do consider the T. Barker gun's of the world important: http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/harvest/waterfowl/tools_techniques/guns/

So if they consider them important, then maybe we should bother with them enough to at least properly document their origins before we toss them out the door as unworthy.

Pete