no doubt Figner is an interesting character, to study him in depth one would
have to read Russian.

I can handle Russian, as long as it is modern. I have "in the Service of the Tsar" by Davidov (translated) I also have used Mikaberidze’s "The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792-1815"

I've seen a few other Russian sources but they add little and nothing on Figner in Naples.

If you are aware of anything more in-depth on Figner, in any language, be sure to let me know.

About the airgun Lewis did use, did you read the article? Very convincing
arguments there and it should exist in the Viriginia Miliatry Collection.

Yes, of course. I am very aware of Beeman and even worked with him on several projects. Beeman can be very convincing, after all he made millions in airguns like nobody else, and is a master of marketing. But, if you actually study airgun history (not a very easy thing to do,) he becomes less and less convincing. He is not a historian. His use of references is all but nonexistent or improper, he makes speculations without any basis in fact, etc, etc. Let's just say, Beeman and I disagree on many points.

However, where Beeman and I completely agree is that the specific type of airgun is without a doubt the same Girandoni-type that is shown in his latest articles. We just disagree on where these airguns were produced: he thinks they were made in Vienna and I'm certain that they were made in England. He is certain that the one example he owns was the actual M. Lewis gun, but, his reasoning for this is faulty. But, I would agree that it is entirely possible that his is the actual gun, since it is the right type.

I believe that the actual M. Lewis air rifle is the Staudenmayer (London) Girandoni-type (other than for the markings, exactly the same gun as the Beeman example) long resident in the Milwaukee Public Museum collection. What Beeman ignores, is that there are many Girandoni-types exactly the same as the ones with Austrian Military marking but have English gunmakers hallmarks.

Note that Mr. Beeman has a long career in writing about the M. Lewis gun. He has identified, with certainty, other guns as the original M. Lewis gun. He has also conclusively written that his current subject gun could not possibly be (19 something "conclusive" points) the M. Lewis before he changed his mind and decided that it was.

To me, the biggest reason that the specific Girandoni-type, as shown on Beeman's site, cannot have been produced by Girandoni himself is that these guns are obviously the product of relatively modern production techniques, that is - a product of circa 1800 modern English mass production. Girandoni, in Vienna, production was all handbuilt by Girandoni himself. Girandoni was under direct orders of the Emperor not to reveal the "secrets" of his airgun.