Description

Three Barrel Gun Co 1909

21 pages, about 8 1/2" x 11", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated. (see predecessor catalog "Hollenbeck")

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 is very little printed material known to exist from the various company iterations.

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