Description

Hollenbeck’s pre-1905 Three Barrel and Double Gun Catalog

34 pages, about 8" x 5", glossy paper-cover in full color. New color re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original scan. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.

Frank A. Hollenbeck, the inventor of the Hollenbeck gun, was a prolific inventor and was employed in the firearms business for a number of years before organizing and opening his first company, the Syracuse Arms Company (1893), for the manufacture of his new gun named �The Hollenbeck�, made by the Syracuse Arms Co. Mr. Hollenbeck left Syracuse Arms in July, 1895 to enter the then booming bicycle business manufacturing his patented �Hollenbeck Hygienic Bicycle Seat�. When the bicycle boom ended, Mr. Hollenbeck re-entered the gun trade and designed the �Baltimore Gun� manufactured by the Baltimore Arms Company, but he never worked for this company; relocating instead to Wheeling, W. VA and opening the Hollenbeck Gun Company to manufacture his new Hollenbeck Three Barrel gun and high-quality Hollenbeck double guns. Interestingly, the Hollenbeck bolting mechanism (Patent No. 643,601 granted Feb. 13, 1900), is the same bolting patent used in the manufacture of the Baltimore Arms double gun produced from 1901 to 1904.

The Hollenbeck Gun Company was established in 1901 in Wheeling, W. VA at 18th & Charline Streets; but as these new Hollenbeck guns were expensive, demand was limited and sales slow so that by early 1905 the company had failed and Frank was no longer associated with the company. Company assets were subsequently sold in bankruptcy on 5/1/1905 to James Ritz; and the company reincorporated as the Three Barrel Gun Co. But orders remained slow and in 1908 the new company failed and was reorganized once again to become the Royal Gun Company; which in turn was permanently out of business in May, 1910, although the occasional gun continued to be assembled from remaining parts into the 1960�s and perhaps a bit later.

Based on serial number studies over the approximate 10 years span of these three companies, it�s estimated that perhaps 2000 guns total were manufactured with the majority being three barrel guns (drillings); combined with very limited production of side x sides and single barrel trap guns. There�s very little printed material known to exist from the various company iterations; but this catalog was likely the first, or one of the very first Hollenbeck Gun Company catalogs printed. On the inside cover of this un-dated catalog is over-stamped �The Three Barrel Gun Co, successors to the Hollenbeck Gun Company�; and below that stamp, the over-stamped address, �Moundsville, W. Va�.

As the Hollenbeck Gun Company was established in Wheeling, West Virginia; then relocated to Moundsville after being reorganized into the Three Barrel Gun Co, this catalog predates the 1905 Three Barrel Gun Co acquisition and factory move. Therefore this catalog can be dated to the 1901-1904 time frame; the new owners simply recycling costly printed literature already on hand. At some point after the move the new owners modified their product line, which changes required the printing of their own new catalogs under the name �Three Barrel Gun Co�; two of which named catalog reprints can be found in our Cornell Publications inventory.

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