I was at the Antique Arms Show in Las Vegas just before it was closed down by the near Biblical Plague and found a very nice German under lever hammer gun in 16 gauge with Damascus (?type) barrels. The engraving is very well executed with Gottlob Wilcke in one banner and Stuttgart in another. The rib has inlayed " G. Wilcke.Königl.HofBüchsenmacher. Stutgart. The barrel flats and water table have absolutely no proofs, serial numbers, date stamps with only G. Wilcke on the water table. So made and sold prior to 1892 proof law. I cannot find any information on this maker or who might have done the engraving but surely work at this level must have left some bread crumbs somewhere??
Links were edited:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8zWs_l...5rI0D2ZuX=w2400https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/j3rRfr...W6pEyGLfy=w2400
https://www.morphyauctions.com/jamesdjulia/item/1713-386/I still content that Hugo Kolb applied the tap, tap, tap adornment on the longarm. And it was only say 330 km South from Suhl to Stuttgart. The barrel bands look very similar?
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
A Gottlob Wilcke was exhibitor at the Commerce and Trade show of the country of Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart in 1881:
https://digibus.ub.uni-stuttgart.de/viewer/object/1484295237590/1/LOG_0003/And in the archivs there is a succession act (Nachlassakte) of Wilcke, Gottlob Hofbüchsenmacher from 1915:
https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/P7CNUUZMURSSYRXMHQX7MGUWAP4HEDM5Gunwolf
Good memory for details! The banner is also cut similar to another, older, hammer Lindner I have.
Here are some ramblings I have composed:
The Wilckes were gunsmiths(Büchsenmachermeister) in Stuttgart for several generations and J. Chr. was probably Gottlob's father. J. Chr. Wilcke in German references is noted as having Gottlieb Daimler as an apprentice. I believe Daimler abandoned the gunmaking craft after he attained his gunmaking master's sheepskin. I did find Ole Gottlob Wilcke in an 1875, as well as 1876) Stuttgart listing at Augustenstraße 27 and I have seen his name associated with >>S auch Schwertfeger<< but not sure if that is a last name or a craft / trade name? In the early 1880s & possibly prior he was active at Gymnasiumstraße 6. It may be during this period that he attained the rank of Hof??? Looks like his wife Maria took the reins @ some point and by say 1926 a Georg Braun was successor. With Wolfgang's lovely addition above, it may be that Braun became a partner in 1915?
From an 1835 listing there was a Wilcke that was a Büchsenmacher & another who was a Stellmacher in Stadt Aschersleben, which is quite a distance away.
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
Too, a source tells me that the Wilcke mechanics were of an old lineage from the Middle Ages(I bet they had a tonne of work for the Hobbits) where they were sword mechanics who preserved and put a fine a fine edge on edged weapons. Today such a person applies a bit of anti-corrosion salve & from components assembles edged weapons.
I do not see that a Gottlob Wilcke picked up the craft. Maybe there was one and he fell in fighting in one of the conflicts? Maybe George Braun was a son-in-law or grandson. He may have just bought into the family?
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
Too, many times it seems Wilcke & Wilke are exchanged without pause or interchangeably. Up till 1877, I don't see Büchsenmacher Wilcke, Gottlob with a Royal Appointment of Königlich Hofbüchsenmacher. And too if you scan for Büchsenmacher Wilke, Gottlob, the appointment seems later. What gets in the mix is a theologian by the name of Christian Gottlob Wilke, but he wasn't a Büchsenmacher that I can find??
Gottlob must have attained the rank of Königl. Hofbüchsenmacher circa 1880?
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
I guess it would be proper to view the >>S auch Schwertfeger<< phrase as Schwertmacher auch Schwertfeger????
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
Well while under the COVID19 curtain, our astute Swedish connection has unearthed some info and corrects me as to the phrase >>S auch Schwertfeger<<, which shoudl be S(iehe) auch Schwertfeger. Sometimes Schwertfeger is seen spelled as Schwerdtfeger.
Info suggests that circa 1890 was the time period when Gottlob Wilcke was dubbed as a court supporter. Gottlob Wilcke is first noted as a Hof-Büchsenmacher in 1890 publications, which may take a year or two to be published. In 1880 he was a Bataillons-Büchsenmacher and I have seen the term >>Regimentsbüchsenmacher<< tossed about. Gottlob Wilcke must have acquired his master gunsmith's sheepskin in the early 1870s as the 1st listing as his occupation being a Büchsenmacher is in 1872. Further, listings from 1800 till 1871 note not a one of the Stuttgart Wilcke's being involved in the manufacture of weapons. It could be that they were forever entangled with the craft of Schwertfeger until Gottlob Wilcke broke rank. So getting back to the longarm @ hand, it must have been delivered between 1890 & early 1893.
Regarding adornment, in the year 1890 there were 26 active engravers in the German town of Stuttgart. With one of them being the establishment S. Schiller & Sohn, having the title of Hofgraveur. Not all of the 26 talented craftsmen were engaged in the adornment of weapons. Also we find Paul Heckel as yet another Hofgraveur. Wilhelm Reinhardt, Hoflieferant, suggests when a longarm wears the term Hof-whatever that the task of the adornment was framed out to a mechanic, possibly a Hofgraveur, who was typical involved in the Hof realm.
Many thanks Peter.
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
I for one would like to know more about the responsibilities of the >>Hofgraveur<<. And possibly who might have been in the number of the Suhl & Zella-Mehlis Hof-Graveurs.
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
Raimey,
The term "fegen" means to sweep or clean, so that would fit your idea that they offered sword cleaning/sharpening services. This skill is very much like the gunmaking skill of polishing(polieren). An engraver would, in addition to engraving guns, make the stamps used for marking various products including guns. Stamps are/were used for numbers, letters, logos, touch marks, proof marks, etc. They could also make the "plates" for different styles of printing ( art prints, money, advertising, etc), or molds for decorative casting, and stampings like pewter plates. Like other skills, many specialized in certain types of work, but need might require they take in other work. With modern equipment, there is no doubt that much of this work is automated now. Mike
I somewhat miss-read what Peter had sent me so he again put me on the straight & narrow. In short that a retailer who has purchased the title of Hof typically supplies some Court and for the most part doesn't add any effort to package as it is delivered to the end user. That some actually paid the royal dubbin' fee but never did actually provide anything to a court and used it just for advertising purposes. And there were some that continued to use the title and protocol well into the Weimar Republic period.
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
https://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=7737410The adornment on this one for sure is not that of Hugo Kolb. Looks like Zella-Mehlis and I would say the >>1892<< on the underside of the left tube is a date. AW was a Z-M mechanic. I do wonder when the calibres were stamped and by whom?
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
G. Wilcke Double Gun in the upcoming auctions of Joh. Springer, Wien:
https://auctions.springer-vienna.com/de/...p;currentpos=68Cheers,
Gunwolf
Interesting how they refer to the action / lockup:
>>Lancaster T-Verschluss<<
>>T-Riegel-Verschluss mit Unterhebel unter dem Abzugsbügel<<
Too all of these are in the 1890-early 1893 time frame. Did he retail Jones Underlever variants only?
Cheers,
Raimey
rse