Gründig, Carl, Dresden bugelspanner (gunsmith to King Wilhelm I)
With thanks to Veco and John G for facilitating.
John says:
These are of a bugelspanner sold to the Hofberg Royal Palace, Dresden for the young King of Germany and Prussia Wilhelm I for practice shooting. The air rifle dates to 1887 and has production nr 23. It is marked with the inscription 'Carl Gründig Hofb. Dresden' - he was the Palace Royal Gunsmith
Dave T adds:
This appears to be a standard Oscar Will style Bugelspanner probably produced by Oscar Will and unmarked so it can be relabeled with the retailers name. The retailer were the sons of Carl Grundig after they took over during WW1 and continued to use his name. Hardware on the gun indicates it was produced after 1902, and was sold to the public after the company's name " Carl Grundig" was engraved on the cover.
1926 letterhead of the Carl Grundig company owned by the sons Max and Hugo.
He also says:
Retailer marks were often added to the top cover:
Eberhard adds:
A beautiful air rifle by Oscar Will from the period between 1900 and 1910.
After all, the king was in 1887 at the youthful age of 90.
A crank tensioner or side lever tensioner would fit better with this year.
There are no production numbers for air rifles, but only the lot number 23.