8mm SCHULHOF M87/88

Research notes

Josef Schulhof (1824 - 1890) started out in life as a farmer but moved to Vienna in 1870 to work as a gunmaker. According to Rock Island Auction Schulhof patented two firearms, a rifle in 1882 and a manually operated repeating pistol in 1884, but that seems to be in doubt as his target pistols were manufactured by various European firms. In an IAA forum discussion, it was noted that the pistol was the first rimless, grooved round for a pistol predating the Borchardt and Mauser designs. It is stated that very few of Schulhof’s designs were manufactured and sold commercially, as noted by RIA that the highest serial number described on the pistols to date has been 36. The photo on the right has serial number 18 and was listed on auction in May 2021. This would seem the case for his semi-auto designs, as there is evidence that his target pistols gained much more popularity. (Erlmeier, Brandt Ref. 105A).