Jani:
Franz Umfahrer was still active in the mid 1870s and with 150+ craftsmen under his umbrella it would seem that he could have continued for a time. It appears more research needs to be devoted to the 1880s when like the craftsmen at Herzberg, may firms fell by the wayside, which just may have been due to a lack of embracing mechanization. I guess I need to get these makers in order just to see what transpired. Take Leopold Gasser for example who hung out his shingle in 1862 with all but no mechanization. By the mid 1870s he employed 400 workers, most(maybe 300?) probably at the Sankt Plten facility churning out the Montenegrin pistol, and it seems he embraced mechanization regarding pistols and the like but little effort toward sporting weapons. It may be that a firm had to have a military contract to survive the 1870s & 1880s.
Johann Haberda(Frst Schwarzenbergscher Hofbchsenmacher), whose gunmaking shingle was visible on his street in Frauenberg, Bhmen in 1814(or his father K. Haberda), more than likely had an outlet or office in Steiermark in the 1870s as he advertises as supplying folks in Bhmen, Nieder-Oesterreich, Steiermark, Ungarn as well as France for the period. I can't remember right off when he was dubbed with his marketing title, but he is listed as just a gunsmith in the early 1870s.
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
