Product Details
AN EXTREMELY RARE .177 KYNOCH SWIFT BREAK-BARREL AIR-RIFLE, serial no. 122,
circa 1908, with slightly tapering 18 1/2in. barrel, dove-tailed fore-sight, elevating notch rear-sight, plain blued air-chamber marked 'KYNOCH LIMITED PATENT' and with substantial sprung locking-jaws at breech, adjustable trigger, chequered semi-pistol grip walnut butt-stock with damage at head, iron heel-plate, the left hand side of butt stamped with 'KYNOCH LIMITED, BIRMINGHAM, PATENT' in a roundel and the right side with a depiction of a 'swift' (see notes below, roundel rubbed), trigger guard with later additional screw to tang, moulded iron cocking link and no provision for fore-end, traces only of finish remaining
Provenance: The Kynoch Swift is a hard air-rifle to obtain and this is an excellent example of the marque. With a production run believed less than a thousand pieces, it quickly found it couldn't compete economically with the Lincoln Jefferies & BSA under-levers. At the time of production, break barrel air-rifles had a reputation for poor quality construction leading to inefficient barrel lock-up. George Hookham and Edward Jones (believed Kynoch employees) set about to overturn this by completely over engineering the locking jaws. The end result certainly worked, but the slight gain in loading speed was soon over-shadowed by the economics and generally superior marketing of its under-lever rivals.
As an aside, the trademarks register artist seems very confused by Swifts and Swallows even though the actual birds do not even belong to the same family. The registration entry actually says the trademark represents a Swallow rather than a Swift. In 1905, a linen thread making merchant used a similar ‘Swift' trademark and it is possibly this factor that prevented Kynoch using a similar Swift trademark in the register
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Estimate £400-600
Pre-1939