This Austrian air gun dates to around the late 1700s and is marked with a maker name on top of the barrel that appears to read either "STIRTIA IN WIEN" (Vienna) or "TIRTIA IN WIEN" due to slight age related fading of the marking, with no related information found on either of the possible maker names. "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. This example is chambered in approximately .42 caliber/10.5 mm and features a leather wrapped round barrel with a smooth bore, a notch rear sight mounted on the brass frame, an iron stock reservoir, and a walnut stock. Circular brass collection tag marked "R.D. BEEMAN/PRIVATE/COLLECTION/2079" hanging from the trigger guard. Provenance: The Dr. Robert D. Beeman Collection