This unmarked muzzleloading air gun dates to circa 1760 and is attributed as German origin. This exact air gun is pictured and described on page 170 of "Blue Book of Airguns, Thirteenth Edition". It features a smoothbore round barrel chambered in approximately .38 caliber/9.5 mm, a large brass ball reservoir located on the lockplate placed off center of the line of sight (this is a lesser seen configuration as opposed to others typically having the ball reservoir located on the bottom of the stock), and a half length hardwood stock with brass forend cap, floral relief carvings and a sliding patchbox. "Wind guns" had several advantages over conventional firearms including that they were quieter, smokeless, quicker to reload, and relatively unaffected by rain. They also required less cleaning since they did not require corrosive black powder. Circular brass collection tag marked "R.D. BEEMAN/PRIVATE/COLLECTION/2914" hanging from the trigger guard. Absent sights. Includes a wooden ramrod with horn tip. Provenance: The Dr. Robert D. Beeman Collection