Gun Collectors Dream Auction #72 Collectible Guns
Lot 558:
Up Next We Have a Rare Reising Arms Hartford Production Semi-Auto Pistol Produced circa 1919, Reising’s run of target pistols started in the “1000” number range, This is Serial 2077. Fitted with adjustable blade front and notch rear sights, with the two line address on the left side of the barrel, caliber on top and two line, one date patent marking on the right. Pushbutton-style barrel latch, with oval barrel lug and niter blue checkered hammer. Grips are inlaid With White Bone, This Example is Engraved Charles W. Plessinger and April 16th Lest We Forget 1933.
Eugene Gustavus Reising was an American arms designer who invented a number of fascinating weapons. He was born in New York in 1884. Reising’s first job in the gun industry was with Colt where he worked his way up from an assembler to a firearms designer. While with Colt he worked alongside the legendary John Browning to help develop the Colt Model 1911, one of the most iconic handgun designs of all time. He helped Colt market the M1911 pistol to the US Army by giving demonstrations of the pistol’s capabilities. Reising was fired by Colt in 1913, allegedly for using a Luger in a pistol competition. He then designed a machine gun for The Hartford Machine Gun Company, but the project went nowhere. In 1919 Reising founded his namesake gun company which manufactured a unique semi-automatic target pistol chambered for .22 LR rounds (what we have on auction here). He operated two companies which solely distributed his signature design until 1925.
In 1925 Reising was incarcerated for having violated the Sullivan Act, he allegedly sold silencers which were banned by the legislation to criminals in New York, and served two years. Following his incarceration, Reising kept a low profile until the end of the 1930s. Finally, in 1938 he began working on a new weapon design, a submachine gun. The following year Reising was hired by Harrington & Richardson (H&R) as a firearms designer. While at H&R, Reising completed his submachingun design, his now famous Model 50 submachine gun which was used by the US Marine Corps in WWII. The gun spawned several variants including the Model 65 training rifle. Reising would continue to develop new designs in collaboration with H&R before passing away in 1967 at the age of 82. This is Reising’s first signature design to hit the market. The specimen is aesthetically pleasing and remains mechanically sound. This is a unique design by one of the most under-appreciated weapons designers of the 20th century. Good luck on your bid!
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