Franz (Francois) Pfannl was a gunmaker in the village of Krems at the river Danube in Austria at the time around World War I, who appearently was fond in miniatures. He made a bunch of different miniatur pistols of own design, for which he also designed and sold special ammunition.
His "Erika" und "Kolibri pistols nowadays are demanded collector's gems, as well as his smallest "Kobold" models in 2mm Berloque caliber.
His "company" was well known during his creative era between 1912 and 1930, but there is little to nothing known about the history before and after that time.
Remarks:
Alas in some older resources frequently Georg Grabner in Rehberg is named as maker of the "Kolibri" pistols. But all of the Kolibri pistols in fact were made by Franz Pfannl. This can easily be proofed by the logo "FP" on the grips. Georg Grabner appearently assisted him in selling and distributing his products, and that's probably why this misunderstanding was created.
It's also frequently stated, that the "Erika"pistols were started already before World War I , as Pfannls "first" production, even befor the "Kolibri, and that the "Hirtenberger Patronenfabrik" participated with the development and production of these special cartridges. Following new researches these informations could not be proofed.
A new book from the author Heinz Placz, who presently is working with the history of Austrian gunmakers, is in preparation and will be issued soon.