By Larry B. Schuknecht
Click HERE to view a Mauser/Tauscher, circa 1913 catalog.
The following information is condensed from the web site www.landofborchardt.com
Hans Tauscher first appears in New York City working for the Hermann Boker & Co. at 101 Duane St. selling C93 Borchardt Repeating Pistols and also representing the Deutsch Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) at the U. S. Army trials. Tauscher went out on his own around 1899 and an agent for DWM with an address at 320 Broadway. Over the years he appeared at several different addresses in Upper Manhattan including 302-304 Broadway, 10-12 Thomas St., 322 Broadway, and 56-58 Pine St.
Hans Tauscher, the spy
In 1914 when World War I Tauscher was summoned to Berlin, Germany where he was given orders to take over the German Spy network in the United States and Canada. On April 2, 1916 he was arrested for being involved in a plot to blow up the Welland Canal. At his trial he was acquitted for a lack of evidence and deported back to Germany where he was decorated by the Kaiser and commissioned a full Captain in the German Intelligence Division. His Agency in New York continued on being run by a general manager, Mr. Henry Muck.
In 1934 Hans returned to New York and on Aug. 17th he was issued a Certificate of Incorporation for the Tauscher H. Arms Corporation by the State. It was dissolved by the Secretary of State on Dec. 15, 1944.