Emil Barthelmes information

Emil Barthelmes information 

Vintage airgun specialist author John Atkins says:

Emil Barthelmes. Butt plate mark German Trade Mark is No. 183456 (20.3.13 Application). Reg. 6.11.13 to Firma Emil Barthelmes, Zella St. Blasii. Rifle Maker.

I have about ten EB a/rifles logged with numbers in the register with the lowest S. No. 31 and highest No. 234 - but have probably seen a lot more of these ‘Millita’ types. Maybe 15 or so, over the years. Quite good quality. All seen (apart from No. 31) were side push button release for breech.

These airguns are forefathers of the familiar Fritz Barthelmes compact ‘Jumbo’ air pistols. It’s a very old firm est. 1854. Believe Emil was Fritz’s father or uncle? The air rifles are not as old as the Trade Mark registration date. It’s not 1910 and the mark is for the actual maker, not a retailer. I don’t think they are from Langenhan parts - as I’ve compared them. I think they may have been made up until the 1930s, but I might be wrong.

John Griffiths, author of the Encyclopedia of Spring Air Pistols, says:

It seems there were quite a few gunmakers called Barthelmes in Zella-Mehlis / Zella St Blasii from the mid 1800’s into the twentieth century, and as it is not exactly a common name, they must have all been related.   According to John Walter’s  Dictionary of Guns and Gunmakers, Emil Barthelemes founded his company in 1854 and like Fritz Langehan the company name and the trademark was kept for many years after he had died, even after the company changed hands. In about 1920-1930 the business was owned by M.Metzner, and was still making guns in 1941.

Fritz Barthelmes, founder of the company that made the Record air guns,  was born in 1899, so he is more likely to have been the grandson or grandnephew of Emil Barthelmes than his son or nephew, as has been suggested.  But of course, the relationship might be a lot more distant than that, and without more genealogical information we do not know.    

 

 

Thanks to Eberhard for this: