Some of the most beautiful work of this craftsman, and many others, are in this book “Liège Gunmakers through their Work. 1800 - 1950”.
For more detail see: LIEGE GUNMAKERS
Gerkinet
This is
what is more than likely a toy rifle, notwithstanding the presence of a (nicely
modified) 7. 65 FN gun magazin, model 1910 or 1910/22. There are no punches or
markings. Moreover, and above all, the smooth barrel is 10mm in diameter and is
therefore unsuitable for a 7. 65mm caliber bullet. I don’t know how to get the
lock out of the breech.
You might
think of the work of a gunmaker who would have made that toy for his kid, but to
shoot what bullet? To fire an alarm cartridge with enough power to eject a cork
projectile a few yards away?
The butt
is in any case very honorable for, for example, a garden rifle. The trigger
guard is also of good workmanship. Holding the charger seems a bit random to
me.....
Perhaps a
member of the team will be able to approximate the magazin to the letter/figures
type analysis?
GP
Long
afterwards, another identical toy rifle reveals a signature beneath the
magazine!
After
much research, it appears that the convoluted letter in the signature could be a
combination of J & H before the G in Gerkinet!
The
Gerkinet brothers manufactured bicycles and motorcycles in Jeumont in the Nord
department in the 1920s, near Maubeuge and the Belgian border.
But in
1914, a French law restricted the importation of manufactured goods into France.
The Belgian company F.N. (Fabrique Nationale) then bought the Gerkinet company
to sell its products.
PHL
This news
therefore changes the page for this weapon from "FN" to "Gerkinet"!
