BARISTAIN & Cie
A percussion shotgun with two side-by-side barrels, two
external hammers, and a key-operated release under the trigger guard. It is a
16-gauge shotgun, as clearly indicated by the corresponding proof mark. As noted
by the owner, the gun bears the Eibar proof marks: a five-pointed star
(provisional black powder proof mark for smoothbore barrels) and PC on a
crescent beneath a star (final proof mark). These marks were indeed used between
1910 and 1921. The barrels are inscribed: Beristain & Co. in Eibar. This name
corresponds to a dynasty of gunmakers from the Spanish Basque Country, who
evolved from the artisanal production of firearms to the mail-order distribution
of various products, similar to Manufrance. A brief history has been found
online, and here are some excerpts translated from Spanish:
“Tomàs Beristain had a workshop in Eibar and is listed in
the industrial register for 1870 as a gunsmith. Manuel Beristain appears as the
owner of a workshop in the Eibar industrial register for the years 1908 with 8
workers and 1909 with 4. In 1910, he changed the company name to 'Beristain y
Cia,' bringing together his children Manuel, Aurelia, and Eugenia Beristain
Artamendi, as well as his brother-in-law Dionisio Artamendi Aresti, who took
over the management of the company. Beristain y Cia became a commercial
enterprise which, at its Barcelona location, mainly offered sporting weapons and
various decorative items. In the 1926 catalog, it offered a few pistols, but
most of the products were hunting rifles, with budget models priced under 100
pesetas.” In the 1929 gunsmith census, the company is still listed as a
manufacturer of pistols and rifles in its Eibar workshop. Its trail disappears
from the Eibar Testing Station in 1936.
Source:
https://www.armas.es/foros/viewtopic.php?t=973353&start=18
It is easy to find catalogs or advertisements for the
company; see, for example... :
https://www.abebooks.fr/Gran-Fabrica-Armas-Eibar-Guipuzcoa-Beristain/30588351987/bd
https://www.iberlibro.com/paper-collectibles/ANTIGUA-POSTAL-OLD-POST-CARD-BERISTAIN/22779538431/bd
These advertisements specify that the headquarters of the
commercial division was located in Barcelona, for the distribution of products
from Eibar and Toledo.
Chris
