Tell Model-1

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Standard Pattern.

With thanks to John G for the first two pics.

Detailed pics of a late, plain beech-stocked example:

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Stills from the movie 'The Thin Man' 1934.

William Powell, as retired detective Nick Charles in the 1934 film The Thin Man, plinked (while acting drunk) with a Tell 1 at the Christmas tree decorations.

He describes the Tell as "the best Christmas present I ever had". With several shots he bursts balloons although a window is the backstop - which eventually he smashes with a pellet!

Clip on YouTube:

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Gallery 'shooting apparatus'.

With thanks to Larry H for these pics.

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Shooting Apparatus Pistol.

With thanks to Steffen for these pics. Note that the pistol has no trigger guard and no provision has been made for sighting.

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Extended breech model.

This could have been destined for a shooting gallery, with the breech extended to allow a swivel attachment to be fitted to the underside of the block.

Note the fixed rear sight and the lack of an adjuster bolt through the front of the (replacement?) trigger guard.

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Tellow (Oscar Will - David Swan collection).

The first Tell 1s were known as the 'Tellow' and only started to become known as the 'Tell 1' after the Tell 2 was introduced in 1925/6. As noted by John Atkins in Air Gunner, as cut-down rifles these were huge and were expensive to buy when new - they appear to have been slow sellers.

With thanks to Rod Meek of Anderson & Garland Auctioneers ( http://www.andersonandgarland.com) for permission to post these pics of a gun auctioned in 2015.

Auction blurb:

"A Tell ''Tellow'' .177cal. air pistol, no. 191 circa 1925, fitted break barrel action, black patinated barrel on chromed metal mount and walnut bag pattern grip, 21 1/2in. long overall.

Hammer Price: £200.00"

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Set of Four.

With thanks to Andy in the UK (who first posted on the airgunforum.co.uk) for these pics. The pistols were given to him by his grandfather over 50 years ago.

Professor John Griffiths, author of The Encyclopedia of Spring Air Pistols, says of these guns: "These would have been specifically made for public shooting arcade or shooting game use (the Tell 1s were very popular for this sort of thing, probably because of their large size which made them less likely to 'disappear'). They differ from the normal Tell 1 in lacking trigger guards, which were an unnecessary expense on an arcade gun, and the lack of sights, which were often omitted to make the shooting more challenging."

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - Late Beech Stocked.

With thanks to Martin for these pics.

Tell Model-1 Air Pistol - David Swan Collection.

With thanks to Rod Meek of Anderson & Garland Auctioneers ( http://www.andersonandgarland.com) for permission to post these pics of a pistol auctioned in 2015.

Auction blurb: "A Tell I type .177cal. air pistol, no. 6, fitted blue steel break barrel action, chequer cut walnut grip."

Hammer price: £180

Tell Model-1 eGun.de November '18

This pistol sold recently for 279 euros.

Tell 1 air pistol 

These pics copyright Holts Auctioneers.

Tell Model-1 stripdown 

Tell Model 1 with pommel stock

Is this an aftermarket pistol grip? Probably, but why make it in beech, not walnut?

Tell Model-1 

Spotted on eGun.de.

Tell Model-1 (with pommel stock) 

With thanks to Steve for the heads up. This pistol was sold in the Ingvar Alm auction.

Tell Model-1 

With thanks to Eberhard.

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Tell Model-1 (gallery model) 

With thanks to Eberhard.