GRANETIAS
This is a GRANETIAS system shooting rifle in Clermont-Ferrand, with a Swiss rear sight and probably adjustable front sight.
Caliber not specified. No marking/hallmark photographed.
According to Buigné/Jarlier, Granetias was a gunsmith in Clermont-Ferrand, in Puy-de-Dôme, in 1890. He is not listed in the Stockel, nor in the “Onomastic Lexicon” by Jean-Claude Mournetas.
He does not appear in the 1914 European gunsmith directory.
But thanks to a French correspondent who is greatly thanked here, we learned that Granetias holds patent No. 137,458.
Fifteen-year patent, filed on June 29, 1880 in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) for a mobile breech system carrying the percussion device and adapting to all single-barrel weapons.
Ruined by the development, without a future, of his invention, Granetias declared himself an electrical engineer and signed a contract for electric lighting in the commune of Guelma in Algeria.
He did not keep his promises. According to the latest news (around 1890) he was wanted by the police and prosecuted for fraud.
The patent is available at the Institute of Industrial Property in Paris. But it must be ordered for hard cash (around €30 per document).
GP
