Let me see if I can help. Unfortunately, it is not an simple explanation as the (Prussian) Charles Daly SxS line-up evolved and morphed considerably over a period of more than 60 years.

1. Schoverling, Daly, and Gales (SD&G) - as well as earlier and later variations of that company - sold Daly guns by model number. The higher the model number, the more expensive the gun.

2. Some of these models were grouped under a quality designation (i.e., a "grade"). But here is where it can get confusing; depending on the year, there may have been one diamond quality model or 5 different diamond quality models. In 1890, for example, there was only one hammerless diamond quality model, the model 200. Fifteen years later, you could buy diamond quality models 225, 255, 275, 325, and 375.

3. The "empire" and "superior" quality designations ("grades") were only introduced at the very tail end of the Prussian Daly production. I just checked my catalogs and there is no mention of the "superior" and "empire terms pre-1928. The terms do show up in a circa-1930 catalog and also the Blue Book of Gun Values which is why they are so often referenced. And since Heinrich Lindner ceased his shops production circa-1916, there can be no such animal as a Lindner produced "empire grade" gun.

4. In terms of Lindner (Not Linder) Dalys, it is important to understand that not all Prussian Charles Daly guns were made by Heinrich Lindner, and not all Heinrich Linder sourced guns were sold by Daly (SD&G). While Lindner produced the bulk of Daly guns for 30+ years, other high quality makers also sourced Daly guns. And Lindner produced either finished guns or partially finished guns to several other American retailers/makers including William Schaefer & Sons, EC Schmidt, James Donn, and Thomas Golcher. He also retailed a few under his own name in Europe.

5. The above just scratches at the surface of the (often confusing and still not 100% definitive) history of Prussian Daly guns. The German Gun Collector Association put together an almanac of information on Charles Daly guns titled, "Prussian Daly Imports" that has the best collection of Daly information. It is available on their website.

Hopefully this helps more than it adds to the confusion,

Ken


Last edited by Ken Georgi; 02/01/18 09:46 AM.