The Bisschop engine was designed by Frenchman Alexis de Bisschop, and was introduced in 1870-1872. It is arguably the most successful of the non-compression gas engines. Following in the footsteps of the Otto and Langen engine, the Bisschop was able to succeed when others had not because it filled a gap in the market. The engine was compact, had low horsepower and gave very reliable service.

The engine resembled the free-piston Otto and Langen engine in principle, but its design meant that it avoided the noise and the recoil of the free piston, rack and clutch gear.

The smaller models, one-third horsepower or less, were the most popular.  The engine was designed to air-cool, which meant that no additional cooling tank was required and the cylinder is vertical minimising the floor-space required.    Height of the engine was also minimised by offsetting the flywheel and placing it below the top of the crosshead.

There were three companies known to have produced this engine in Europe.  All of the engines were built under patent licenses from Bisschop.  The oldest of the companies being Mignon and Rouart of Paris. Buss, Sombart and Co. of Magdeburg, Germany commenced production around 1878, however it is believed that the initial engines, which this company sold, were manufactured by Mignon and Rouart.  J.E.H. Andrews Ltd in Stockport manufactured the engines in England.

It is believed that Buss, Sombart and Co. of Magdeburg in Germany started as an agent for Mignon and Rouart.  It would have made economic sense for the company to start business in this manner, whilst determining whether demand would provide a sensible business for them.  The early examples of Buss, Sombart and Co. engines are identical in design to the Mignon and Rouart engines, with the only difference being the name badge.

We also are led to believe that Buss, Sombart and Co had difficulty in getting the first batch of engines they produced to run and required assistance from Mignon and Rouart.

Amazingly the first page of the ledger book for Buss, Sombart and Co, still exists listing engines number 1 to 17.  On later engines there start to be significant design differences in the engines manufactured by Buss, Sombart and Co compared by those manufactured by Mignon and Rouart. Interestingly the J.E.H. Andrews Ltd built Bisschop was always different in cosmetic design.

Somewhere between 1882 and 1884, these engines started to be manufactured in the United States, under the name of Buss and Sombart.

This particular engine has the plate of Buss, Sombart and Co.  The engine is marked as engine number 25, a very early example.  What is interesting is that it is exact in every feature of design when compared to the Bisschop engines manufactured by Mignon and Rouart, so it is possible that this engine was built in France and re-badged in Germany.

It retains some of its original paint and linework.  At some point in its history some of the parts have been remade and parts with no original paint have been repainted with the traditional German brown that is seen on many engines of this period.  The engine awaits restoration.