Can anyone help me identify the maker/country of origin of an old flare gun of my grandfather's?"T&S 1915 flare pistol" leads to some auction sites but no actual information. It seems at least on the face of it a copy of an imperial German 1889 Statien&Becker, but the hammer and lever are different design and material.
>>64417784Any markings on it? Be sure to check under the grips.>"T&S 1915 flare pistol"Why are you searching for that? Does it say that on it somewhere?
>>64417794Yeah I'm getting an unsupported file type on the photo for some reason.https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/WWI-T-and-S-1915-Brass-Flare-Gun/199-wwi_t_1915-03.3.18-norameaucThis seems like a match, but has no information.
>>64417784I also fucked up and accidentally posted an 1889 initially. This is mine.
>>64417823It certainly looks right for a WW1 era flare gun, there were lots of them that resembled that same basic design.That said, while it is clearly from that era I don't think it was actually miltary issued as there seem to be no military property marks on it. there's no U.S., Broad arrow, etc.The T&S doesn't look like a maker's mark to me, it looks like a property mark and then a serial number. I wonder if it belonged to a company called T&S.
>>64417838Hang on here. Let me make sure I am understanding this correctly because you're terrible at explaining things clearly.You bought a flare pistol. It has no markings on it. But it looks like the one pictured in >>64417823, which is a different one you found online?
>>64417866Nah there are others marked T&S with different serials online.https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/ottoman-empire-1-inch-caliber-flare-pistol-119290-c-27544fa847There also seems to be a close ottoman model as well.>>64417891No it was my grandfather's and yeah I fucked up. The OP image is an 1889 German. These two>>64417823>>64417838Are mine.My grandfather is long dead and I was too young at the time to ever think to ask him about this. So I have no context of where he got it. He was a boat captain but not military.
>>64417907>Nah there are others marked T&S with different serials online.Right. And I'm suggesting that my theory is T&S is the company who bought a bunch of them, not who made them. Maker's marks were usually placed in a more conspicuous place, had a logo, and used nice-looking decorative script. Those markings are functional, not decorative. And again, if this was military issue we'd expect to see a Broad arrow if it were British/Commonwealth, a Crown over U if it were Imperial German, U.S. if it were American issue, and so on.I'm guessing that T&S is the name of some old shipping company who used to own a bunch of them.
>>64417947Interesting. I don't recall any other markings. I'll have to check when I get home.
The only other symbol. An M with something over it?
>>64418010And a close up
>>64418020Looks like a Kriegsmarine property mark.
>>64418040Where do you see that? I have yet to find any matching markings for this
>>64418056The M. The crown is the old style pre-ww2, before it got replaced by an eagle.
>>64418067Is there a site with comparison images? The only imperial German navy M marking I've found has a very different looking crown
>>64418096https://www.germandaggers.com/Gallery/GLP.phpFor instance none of these are a match.
>>64418096It's the same crown. It's overstruck in the soft brass and a sloppy stamp. Stamps were small and a fairly technical thing to make so were often done by apprentices before being allowed to do real toolmaking. They often show quite a variation.
>>64418164Even with the wings/doodads off to the sides? Those seem fairly distinct.
>>64418181The style of imperial crown varied by German state and which arsenal was stamping.
>>64418313Interesting as hell. Thanks anon. I now wonder why it differs so much from the other 1889 patterns I see online. And also how my grandfather came in possession of it.Follow up question, if it's 26.5mm will it take a modern 26.5mm flare?
