GERMAN DRGM "TELL" SPRING ACTION AIR PISTOLS (2) (Manufactur...

Estimate

£200 - £300

GERMAN DRGM "TELL" SPRING ACTION AIR PISTOLS (2) (Manufactured Between 1927/36) By Makers Venuswaffenwerke (Venus Weapon Works Of Zella St. Blasii (now Zella-Mehlis) ) (Both In Full Working Order) (Extremely Rare) (Please Note This Lot WILL NOT BE SHIPPED....COLLECTION ONLY !!!!)

(In 1844 Ernst Leo Will set up a gunmaking shop in Zella St. Blasii which would eventually become the Venus Waffenwerk. The gunmaking families of Zella St. Blasii, Mehlis and Suhl were often inter related through marriage. In an article titled An Experimental 7.65mm Walther Pistol by Ed Buffaloe it is reported that Ernst married Charlotte Walther who was possibly a sister to Carl Walther. Later their son Oscar would marry Helene Langenhahn the daughter of Valentin Friedrich Langenhan.
The early years for Ernst Leo and Charlotte were meager ones. In his later years Oscar would tell the story that he and his father would go out into the woods barefoot to collect fallen branches for fuel. Günter Oscar Will (May 19, 1859- 1926) learned the gun trade and had a good sense of business which led to the success of his establishment- the Venuswaffenwerk. A letterhead from 1906 shows the wide variety of Arms made by this firm. They included Teschins (small caliber inexpensive single shots), Luftgewehre (airguns), Kurzwaffen ( handguns), Zimmerstutzen (small caliber low power target rifles), Scheibenbüchsen ( Single shot target rifles), Pirschbüchsen ( single shot and bolt action Stalking rifles), Doppleflinten (side by side double barrel shotguns), Büchsflinten (over and under double barrel shotguns) and Drillings (a three barrel combination gun).
By the age of 40 Oscar was successful and as a sporting arms maker and retailer also enjoyed taking part in shooting events. He was successful in both hunting and in target shooting, often bringing home trophies of one kind or another. World War I brought sadness to his family. His two oldest sons were both killed in the early days of that War. On June 10, 1920 at the age of 61 Oscar sold the business at Kleine Bahnhofstrasse 17 to Dipl. Ing. Wilhelm Foss. Mr. Foss ran the business until 1945 when like so many others it was closed by the Government. During Oscar Wills ownership of the Company his name was prominant with the title “Venus Waffenwerk” being secondary. After 1920 the “Oscar Will” name became secondary to the name “Venus Waffenwerk”. While the Company survived the 1920’s and 1930’s it was not as successful as it had been before the war. After retiring and selling the firm Oscar moved to the area between Fulda and Giessen in what became West Germany after 1945 to live out the last 6 years of his life.)