Airgun Collector

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Pneumatic duo:
the Cantarinis
Long-time collector and airgun writer Larry Hannusch at last reveals the extraordinary story behind his acquisition 20
years ago of this remarkable matched pair of butt reservoir Austrian Girandoni-style repeating air pistols, apparently
made by the master gunmaker Joseph Contriner.
Over the years, I have had the
immense pleasure to see and handle
some of the finest antique air arms
extant. Certainly, many of the most
magnificent examples are safely
tucked away in museums. But there
are still enough beautiful specimens
out there in private hands which
can afford us the opportunity to
personally handle and really get a
Figure 1: These beautiful Austrian repeating air pistols illustrate the pinnacle of a pneumatic airgun
maker’s skill and artistry, dating from the early 19th century.
first-hand sense of the high level
of art and workmanship created by
some of the old masters. I’d like to
present this awesome matched pair
of repeating Cantarini air pistols as
exhibit A.
By way
of a brief
introduction,
this pair of
air pistols are
technically
defined as
pneumatic
repeaters,
which means
their power
source is
high pressure
air which is
stored in a
reservoir to
be released
upon demand
to fire the
weapons. The
air reservoir
on each pistol
Figure 2: Both air pistols are essentially identical in appearance and dimension, with only a few small detail differences
seen in the decorations.
is housed within the hollow metal
grip of the piece. A percentage of the
pressurized air within the reservoir
is released upon each shot, allowing
multiple shots to be fired with a
single charging of the pistol. The
pistol is further defined as a repeater
in that it is fitted with a tubular
magazine holding a number of lead
balls which are readily available for
continued firing without the need to
reload.
Before we get into the specific
details about these pistols, I’d like
to give a little “back story” about
how these remarkable air arms
came to reside in my safe deposit
box for now these almost 20
years. It is a true story launched
with a friendship, but soon other
subsequent events spiraled
downward, creating anguish and the
need to make tough decisions. This
is one of those collecting life lessons
that reminds us that a deal is not
done until both parties complete
their respective commitments.
Though it has been a couple of
decades since all this went down, I
can still recall the details as if it were
yesterday.
Back in the early days of Tom and
Edith Gaylord’s “Airgun Forum”
internet hangout about 20 years
ago, there was not a lot of good
airgun information out there on the
world wide web. This was a time
before I had even gotten introduced
to its potential ( I think we ourselves
had only then just recently obtained
electricity). As their forum monitor,
Edith had received a request for
information about a pair of antique
air pistols that an individual had
come across in an estate liquidation.
Edith and Tom graciously decided
that I should get involved to help,
because there was always that
possibility that the air pistols might
be available for sale. Not having an
internet connection, they gave me
his phone number. I quickly called
him on my black rotary telephone
to begin the process. He soon sent
photos and I knew I was hooked.
I learned that this special pair
of air pistols had come out of a