Prologue: I want to confirm here that I have no family-ties
nor any association with the Springer-family/company
of Vienna
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Enough is enough of this necrological sentiment for these bygone
gunmakers Franz Neuber & Sohn from Wiener Neustadt and Johann
Kalezky's Witwe from Wien.
What does the future hold ?
There still exists Johann Springer's Erben from Wien.
The present owner has 6 kids between 2 months and 20 years, so still a long way for him to go. When he took over the company from his mother a couple of years ago, he was aware that he can not
make a living on building high end guns.
If you observe the 3 big Londoners, the picture is not very different. Boss has the 4th owner within 16 years, the MTBS (mean-time-between-sacking)-rate of a Holland-CEO has now stabilized
and Purdey after having abandoned the used-gun sector
has now returned to it.
And an English dealer told me some time ago that they all
make a loss.
But there is Nick Holt's auctionshop running well.
Springer started as a sub to Nick, but soon realized that
there may be more in this business segment and opened his own
auctionhouse.
And now the Brexit-decision has happened.
I have full sympathy for the English buccaneers - after having
defeated the Spanish armada, the French at Trafalgar and
finally twice the Germans ( with a little help from their
transatlantic cousins)- for not willing to be ruled by someone
from overseas Europe and even worse from Berlin.
One of the 2 Brexit-clowns - this old chap with the
wild blond-coloured tuft of hair -
went immediately to the Sultan of Ankara and came back with the message that he reached already a jumbo-deal with him.
Can we expect now that the
Purdey Sporter is sourced in future from Erzurum in Eastern
Anatolia instead of the Italian Brescia ?
My impression is that Brexit is a booster for Springer's auction
shop. I had a chat there with 2 Americans, one of them dealer/
collector, I have seen half-a-bus of Czech visitors at his
viewing room. An Italian high-end pair sold to US, a complete
Parabellum collection from outside Austria in the last auction.
The collection of 2 friends of mine ended up there....
economy is a question of trust/confidence...why to send stuff to the Brexit-country when the currency gurus are telling that the GBP will go below 1:1 and its more secure and comfortable
just a taxi-drive away....
What I like with his auctions is the silent/sealed-bid part,
a fabulous "flea"-market. In there always an heartwarming
item.
The last one had a Ferlach-made O/U, with nice engraving,
12 bore 2 3/4 proof, good barrel-thicknesses (measured
by me) and this solid and tight Kersten+double-under-bolt
system. At a ridiculous next-to-nothing price.
All in need for a strip-clean-oil.
Another example has been a Belgian boxlock with a Polish
retailer name in crisp/near-new state.
Having engineering background I am always amazed to see
how technicalities are either a negligeable
matter or do not count at all.
You may ask me why then I am sticking to a Purdey from 1902.
Its simply a matter of beauty & "gun-holder-value" (resale-value is such an ugly word) - which is ruled like lady's fashion by social
perception and not by inherent technicalities.
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Epilogue:
There is glorious America, at the moment an offering of a
Springer sidelock gun-pair for 28000 US-$, given its origin something for a member of the Romanian diaspora in the US.
A sideplated Springer boxlock double rifle in original case for 24000 US-$.
Bonhams has in the next auction a Springer double rifle at estimated min. 9000 GBP -> ca 14000 Euro incl.
Final: I have serious doubts that anyone of the finance-
sharks who have bought these 3 Londoners will
ever consider to
open an auction-house under the gunmaker-brand-name he
has bought.







Last edited by felix; 12/03/16 04:01 PM.