Carl Paubel 10 gauge

[algmule]

Steve,
Hope you don´t mind. Size was a bit troublesome.
b.jpgb1.jpgb2.jpg

Kind regards
Peter

[Axel E]

These American writers remind me about Karl May, a German scribe who wrote many fictional novels about the American West, Cowboys and Indians, without command of the English language, without ever having been in America, just with the help of some encyclopedias and atlasses. He wrote at about the same time like your American "historians". May influenced the German image of the American West until our own time.
At least, your earliest, 1878, source concedes that the words "Porussia" and "Borussia" are likely "popular etymology", that is an invention after a seeming similarity. It also sais these spellings were unknown before the 15th century.
I see here the old problem of any books, many gunbooks included: One "authority" writes down a blunder or mistake, maybe just a typo. All following "experts" repeat said blunder as gospel.
You cannot get away from the fact that those people were called "Bruzi" about 845, way before the words "Rus" or "Russia" existed. Acording to your 1878 source, the people were called "Prutheni" or "Pruzzi", in German "Pruzzen" or "Prussen" at the time of the Teutonic Knights, way before the vowel o was inserted into the name.
If you type "popular etymology" into wikipedia, you are redirected to "False etymology"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_etymology
and led to "Folk etymolgy"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_etymology
IMHO the "po Russia" explanation may be filed under "Folk etymology"

[Steve Whitley]

Thank you, Peter---that was very kind!
And Axel, those references were not presented as "gospel" by any means, but to provide more than a curt "I doubt you will ever find information on the queer spelling "Porussia", as it is a writing error of the engraver IMHO.". No serious researcher accepts the first and only answer he finds to a question, or he risks being one of the "experts" who perpetuate erroneous material, as you mention. If I did that, I might still be laboring under the mistaken idea that Genschow "did not manufacture any of the arms they sold, IMHO" as you had told me previously. We should always continue to study and search for more information.

Steve

[Axel E]

OK, Paubel or his engraver may have cosulted an Americn dictionary and discovered the queer spelling "Porussia" there. At least the spelling "Porussia" is completely unknown in Germany, which has a closer link to "Preussen" than any American imho.

Where and when did Genschow ever make which guns themselves? Afaik they merely had a branch in Suhl, Markt 12 -13, from where they commissioned the making of "their" guns to the Suhl and Zella-Mehlis guntrade. I am too ever eager to learn something new to me.

[Steve Whitley]

Genschow purchased a portion of the old DWM facility in Spandau in ca. 1924. Produced smallbore rifles and some barrels there.

Steve

[Axel E]

Steve, where did you find this information about Geco gunmaking in Spandau? It is unknown over here in Germany and seems to be a bit muddled.
DWM had factories/facilities in Berlin – Martinikenfelde and Berlin – Borsigwalde, but not in Spandau. In Spandau was the Königliche Gewehrfabrik = Royal (Prussian) Arms Factory, renamed Deutsche Werke AG in early 1919. So it may be Geco tried to take over a shop of that establishment.
Only the government owned arms factories were to be completely dismantled under the conditions of the Versailles "peace treaty". DWM as a privately owned company was not dismantled. They were merely not allowed to produce any military armament any more, but as early as 1922 restarted making Luger pistols in .30 Luger (under 9 mm = not prohibited) with barrels shorter than 100 mm again, besides lots of purely civilian stuff like typewriters, just as their subsidiary Mauser did.
ca. 1924? The takeover of a Spandau gunmaking facility rather fits the 1920 – 21 time span. Soon after the provisions of the Versailles treaty , regarding the destruction of the government owned arms factories, became known, the Germans tried to privatise such factories, at least some parts, to save the jobs and machinery. When the bylaws of the treaty were in force and the Allied Disarmament Commissions were swarming all over Germany, they quickly put an end to such tries to evade the provisions. So at the end of 1922 all such former government facilities were closed down for good and dismantled.

[Steve Whitley]

One source is their own history, two pages from which are scanned and shown below. It was indeed Deutsche Werke Aktiengesellschaft in Spandau that was purchased in 1924, and not DWM. In 1927, I. G. Farbenindustrie purchased Genschow and RWS, but it of course continued to operate under the GECO name. The facility at Spandau turned out (among others) the KK Büchsen such as Geco 28, short-lived Geco 33, and eventually Geco's own production of the Deutsches Sportmodell (after first obtaining a few made for them by the Suhl consortium firms).

Steve

Geco history 1.jpgGeco history 2.jpg

[Axel E]

" If I did that, I might still be laboring under the mistaken idea that Genschow "did not manufacture any of the arms they sold, IMHO" as you had told me previously. We should always continue to study and search for more information."
" Genschow purchased a portion of the old DWM facility in Spandau in ca. 1924. Produced smallbore rifles and some barrels there."
Steve, I have to revoke with regret! I will never again say "Geco did not make any guns themselves."
Though I own a few rimfires myself (a still TGF marked Brno #1, an early Mauser Es 350 and a BSA Martini No.6 td), I never cared much about the Geco labeled, cheapish .22 rifles I have seen. Such rifles go for a song here in Germany (if not a DSM), Euro 100.- being a top price. The real guns marked Geco I have encountered were all made by other, Zella – Mehlis, Suhl and Liege gunmakers. I once owned an utility "Geco" s/s 16g boxlock, made for them by Manufacture Liegeoise.
"GECO" is still used as a trademark by RUAG ammotec for their budget line of rifle, handgun, shotgun and airgun ammo, besides their more prestigious trademarks RWS, Norma and Rottweil.