doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A Lindner is a Lindner

Michael, I like this gun alot also, it has most all of the Lindner features that you would see on a Lindner Gun. Including the underbolt set-up that Lindner used. The 3 didget serial # and the stock itself looks much like the stocks on my other Lindner made guns. The ONLY thing that throw's the proverbial curve ball is that Lindners markings are NOT on the gun. It is marked PRUSSIA on the watertables.

Tim

Tim, If I remember right it's stamped four times "PRUSSIA" and 9xx on the watertable. are there any numbers on the barrels? Not on the flats but on the barrels near the bottom rib?

Look at my Golcher last night-Trigger Guard "NO 134'
not in the 30,000 range as I previously mentioned.
Michael-sending Pictures of Golcher-Please post
Later today sending pictures of Donn Hammer Gun
Lots of info on Donn in GUNSMITH"S OF ILLINOIS
by Johnson.
Timothy-Does the forend on your Donn have a heavy
metal spring? My Donn and several Thomas's I have
have this feature has this-assists opening.
Thanks
Bill McPhail

I agree with MP. While Lindner marks show up on several other US maker/retailer's guns, many of those guns appear to have been heavily worked in the US. These were real "makers" (e.g, Schaefer, Donn, etc.), not just retailers (like SD&G) slapping their name on a Lindner made gun.

To George's questions -

1 - Is this a Lindner gun?

Short answer. I don't know.

Long answer - I have some thoughts. What follows is my opinion - I do not believe Heinrich A. Lindner built that hammer gun. To make a very long story short, there exists a block of very early Prussian Dalys (#1 - low 200s) that do not bear any HAL mark (crown over crossed pistols at that time). They do not bear any other maker's marks though they occasionally do show some actioner and barrelman initials. At the SAME TIME these guns were being made, HAL was making guns and these bear his mark. The "concurrent production" is based on the A&D patent use numbers found in the breech face of the hammerless guns in this same serial number range.

While these guns (low numbered very early Prussian Dalys) bear many mechanical and stylistic similarities with HAL made and marked guns, it does not make sense (to me) why Heinrich Lindner would have marked some of his guns and not others made for the same retailer at the same time.

I do have a pet theory though on who might have made this gun. You can probably answer "the who" for yourself <g>. Who would have been the person most likely to have turned over to young Heinrich the very lucrative work for SD&G in the US? This would be a person in the gun trade, a master gun maker who would provide young Heinrich access to the same actioners, barrel makers, etc. that he used? This person would have a vested interest in helping young Heinrich do well.

I'll cut to the chase. I think it was Heinrich's dad, George Lindner. Again, this is just my hypothesis and totally unproven. While it does pass the initial smell test (Georg was a master gunmaker in Suhl), it needs lots of vetting and research. To be honest, there could be many other logical explanations, this just seemed to be a likely avenue for further research.

2 - Date estimate?

My best estimate is very late 1870s to very early 1880s. This is based on the gun's features, markings, and serial number.

Ken

I going out on limb here. That looks remarkably like gutta percha. Gutta percha was a tree resin that became popular in the 19th century. They used it much like we use plastics today.

This is case for a daguerreotype.


If the buttplate is gutta percha, it can not be replaced. There are very serious collectors of photographic cases who would pay handsomely for it.

Pete

Does anyone know roughly how many Damascus 16ga Lindners were produced? Thanks, JB

JB,

Coming up with even a rough swag on the number of Linder-made 16 gauge damascus guns is really problematic. Lindner sourced guns to several others including domestic (German) firms. Until Lindner's records are discovered in some long-forgotten storeroom in Suhl we are really flying blind here. At present the best source of information is in the database.

The database of Prussian Daly/Lindner guns that MP and Bill Wise started years ago (and I have since maintained) now contains almost 300 guns. However, this is not near enough of a sample size to say anything definitively about certain models or features. To complicate matters further, not all Lindners are Dalys and not all Dalys are Lindners. And I'm missing gauge information on some of the records.

As I responded (tounge-in-cheek) to an inquiry last month, "yes, it is technically possible you own the world's only 20 gauge, straight grip, damascus Daly, model 225 with 28 barrels." Unfortunately without written records, it is hard to say much more definitively.

Sorry to not be able to provide a better answer.

Ken

For Bill,

Mr. Georgi, Please check you email. Thanks, JB

For Bill,