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Author Topic: ZIIFFY ????????????  (Read 6852 times)

Offline Longknife

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ZIIFFY ????????????
« on: November 09, 2008, 02:45:49 AM »
Does anyone have any info on the German gunsmith "ZIIFFY"?????
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Ed Hamberg

Offline Jim Filipski

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2008, 03:48:31 AM »
Ed,
Can't find that name in my library. Hey, would you have any more photos of that piece?
Jim
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PGosnell

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2008, 04:02:49 AM »
There is a rifle by Ziiffy for sale at gunbroker.  Looks to be early 18th century Augsburg.


http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=114471043

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Offline Stophel

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2008, 05:06:45 AM »
The gunbroker gun looks very Austrian.  1780's-1790's.

The signature looks like "Zuffy" or "Zully" (the u with umlauts), which makes a little more sense, but not much.  Not your run of the mill German name.
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Offline Karl Kunkel

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2008, 07:41:47 AM »
FWIW I vote for "Zully" .  Looks like a heavy barrel, is it blued? Also look at the wonderfully thin stock.
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Kunk

Offline JCKelly

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2008, 12:19:46 AM »
The letter "Y" is not used in standard German.
The Dutch are fond of double vowels.  "ij" is common. "ii" not so, at least in modern use.
I think this name is Ziiffij
Don't know who, or where, is Ziiffij
Be wonderful to know if there are any other barrel markings.

Anyone on this list from Nederlands or Belgium???
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Offline Stophel

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2008, 02:57:22 AM »
The letter "Y" is definitely used in standard German (Uepsilonn), though granted, it is relatively uncommon.  Some dialects will use it more than others, though I definitely am not an expert on German dialects (I'm not much of an expert on german at all).  Generally it is the equivalent of U-umlaut.  You will see it much more in the 18th century than you will today.

The "y" also appears to have umlaut marks, which is commonly seen.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2008, 02:59:22 AM by Stophel »
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When a reenactor says "They didn't write everything down"   what that really means is: "I'm too lazy to look for documentation."

cal.43

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2008, 10:00:30 AM »
Y und Ü sind ganz normal genutzte Buchstaben im Deutschen.
Y und Ü sind nicht mit einander auszutauschen die Buchstaben werden unterschiedlich genutzt und ausgesprochen.

a google search at Zülly would bring many swiss names up.

« Last Edit: November 10, 2008, 10:01:48 AM by cal.43 »
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Offline rich pierce

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2008, 07:32:16 PM »
Quote from: PGosnell on November 09, 2008, 04:02:49 AM
There is a rifle by Ziiffy for sale at gunbroker.  Looks to be early 18th century Augsburg.
http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=114471043

Amazing carving.
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Andover, Vermont

Offline Stophel

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2008, 10:03:01 PM »
If Longknife's gun is Swiss, I definitely want to see more photos of it.  So far, I have only been able to find 3 18th century guns that are known to be Swiss.   

Schweizerdeutsch makes more sense.  Lots of Swiss names with the "ee" sound at the end: Peachy/Beachy/Bitschi, Gnaegi/Kanagy, Pressley/Bressli, etc.
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PGosnell

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Re: ZIIFFY ????????????
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2008, 06:23:34 AM »
I contacted Juergen Malrik to ask someone more qualified than myself about Herr Ziilly and this is what he had to say.

Ziilly, pronounced 'Feelly', is a common low Bavarian family name.  Low Bavaria being that western portion which is away from the Alps.  The Ziilly family included several gunmakers who operated in  Munsigen, which is west of Ulm and Augsburg, during the period 1680 - 1730, with 1710 being a reasonable estimate for the gun listed at gunbroker.  Hans, Marcus and Johann Ziilly were prolific gun producers of this family.

Beneath the frizzen was a common place for them to leave their initials or mark.
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