doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Some interesting old letters, Hussey & A&F.

A good friend that owned a local sports shop recently passed away and while cleaning out the store I came across some correspondence between H.H. Hussey of Ogden Smiths & Hussey LTD. Gun & Rifle Makers and Mssrs. Jobes (?) and Cobb of Abercrombie & Fitch. Not sure of the names because Mr. Hussey wrote with a very thick nib. One exchange from 2/1922 and the other from 11/1923, an accident suffered by Hussey, discussing business arrangements for A&F to market Hussey's guns, what guns might sell in the states, some duck shooting, etc.


My girlfriend can actually read the Hussy letter better than I, perhaps I can get a translation this weekend.

James S. Cobb was the vice-president of A&F at the time the letter was written. When Ezra Fitch retired as president in 1928, James Cobb became president and 1929 began an expansion program by purchasing Von Lengerke & Detmold, Von Lengerke & Antoine, and Griffin & Howe. Mr. Cobb retired in January 1940.

Thanks Bob, any idea who Mr. Jobes was?

Translation:

Dear Mr. Jobus,
Many thanks for yours of October 19th, contents carefully noted, would have written you before, had I not met with accident, breaking bone in my right ankle, however, and glad to report progress and that I am able to sit up and take a little nourishment.
Am enclosing your account for a pair of guns, (12 bores) dispatched October 22 and I hope have arrived safely, meeting with your entire approval.

I may venture (?) to ask you to be kind enough to draw the attention of your..

end of page.

Do something more interesting with the girlfriend this weekend! ;-)

Rs,
K.

Bob or anyone for that matter:
Are you aware of any detailed published study that's ever been done of these firms?
Jim

Thanks Kerryman, perhaps you'd care to translate the rest?

Here's what I have of the original exchange, starting with a letter from Hussey to A&F while he was in NYC, I imagine at the Commodore.






Then A&F's response from Cobb...




and finally Hussey's 4 page almost 2 years from England....perhaps Kerryman can enlighten us.

BTW, I also have an exchange between Jeffery's and A&F, it's in the rifle section of this BBS.

Why would the letter need to be translated when it is already written in English?

I not sure of that handwriting, Kerryman is more comfortable with it.

The letters appear to have come from some A&F files since they are the signed originals from England and unsigned carbons of the A&F replies (including the Jeffrey letters posted on the rifles page). Griffin & Howe is the custodian of many of the firearms sales records and other documents pertaining to A&F but all of the documents are from after 1929 - when A&F purchased VL&D, VL&A and G&H. We have nothing from the period before 1929 other than documents from VL&D and VL&A. It would be most interesting to know if there were any other A&F documents available. Do you know if the deceased gentleman might have gotten these letters when A&F finally closed its doors in 1977 or at some time before then? Is there any way to find out if there might be more of the early records in existence?

I have not prevously come across the name Jobes as related to A&F. We have about 20 years worth of internal A&F newsletters but they begin in 1944. By then Jobes may have been gone from A&F. I'm indexing the newsletters now as time permits.

I know of no detailed history of the various companies associated with A&F. In 2004 Bob Christensen did an excellent 2-part series on VL&D and VL&A for Hunting & Fishing Collectibles Magazine. Back copies are available from the publisher and are well worth the cost. Justus 'Butz' Von Lengerke III wrote a biography of his grandfather, Justus Von Lengerke, that profiles the history of VL&D and Justus' contributions to the acceptance of smokeless powder in this country. Copies are rare and expensive. David Petzal did an informative article on A&F that appeared in Shot Business magazine a few years ago. The first four A&F newsletters had a 4-part history of A&F but spent a lot of space on the non-firearms merchandise. And finally, Otis Love Guernsey wrote a history of A&F when he was president in 1957. At some point I hope to combine the information from all of these sources into just such a history. When time permits.