Establishment Mayer & Grammelspacher GmbH was founded in Rastatt in 1890 on the Haviland & Gunn model of 1872. The first rifle, a break barrel design, followed in 1895. Early products were marked "MGR" (for Mayer, Grammelspacher and Rastatt) before the introduction of the now-famous "Diana" brand name. In 1901 Grammelspacher left the company for reasons unknown, whilst Mayer was awarded his first patent. This successful model was produced in various forms from 1910 up to 1987. The popularity of shooting as a leisure activity prompted development of a range of children's toy guns (firing arrows tipped with suction cups) under the Eureka brand.
Not Diana The company formerly known as Diana was allowed to restart production of air guns in 1950, during
the reconstruction of Germany. Due to the loss of their trademark, their products were sold under various other names including "Original" in Germany, "Diana Original" in England, Beeman, Hy-Score and Winchester in the US and "GECADO" in the Common Wealth countries. In 1963 they introduced an innovative recoilless air rifle, the Model 60.
Restoration In 1984, after almost 40 years, the company finally regained their trademark when Milbro went bust. At the
1988 Summer Olympics a silver medal was won by
Silvia Sperber in the
Women's 10 metre air rifle event using a Diana rifle. In 1990 the company celebrated their
Centenary.
Acquisition In 2014 the company was bought by
German Sport Guns GmbH. ==Products==