"Topgun, thank you for your comments on the early Hollenbeck and it is so interesting that you have number 28 in a side by side,they had to be like sisters together in their manufacture, and I never thought about Frank Hollenback himself handling number 35,but he mustve."
Ginge:
It seems that a fair number of the earliest Hollenbeck marked drillings have survived. One of our members owns gun #7 and it is a really cool and high conditioned piece with some features unique to any other Hollenbeck guns I've seen; most notably an elongated trigger guard that, unlike all the other drillings I've seen, has the rifle cocking lever inside the guard as opposed to being outside and in front of the trigger guard. This gun also features a magazine tube built into the butt for additional cartridges, and a skeleton butt plate. I know of the owner of drilling #10 and have seen #12 and #17 (very high condition gun). Guns #10, 12, and 17 feature lots of engraving with dogs on either side of the frame in the same fashion as my #28 double and double gun #50 that was sold at auction a few years ago. Another of our members here owns a high-conditioned/highly engraved drilling and a very rare Hollenbeck 16-bore ejector model side x side in high condition. Perhaps these gentlemen will share some photos as this thread moves forward? Some months ago there was for sale by a dealer in NC what I believe to be Hollenbeck's original prototype model drilling. It was a 16 gauge over 25/25 Stevens, and sadly was in poor condition with a broken stock and after-market rib repair that ruined its Damascus barrels. This gun was an un-numbered example and not graded, but featured a uniquely sculpted floor plate with the maker's name engraved thereon as follows: "Hollenbeck Arms Co. Wheeling, W.VA". This same identically engraved/sculpted floor plate is subsequently depicted on page 25 of the very early green covers Hollenbeck catalog; but the name engraved on the floor plate of the gun depicted had been changed to "Hollenbeck Gun Co. Wheeling, W. VA". So, in my opinion, this early gun was made and engraved not only prior to commencement of actual gun production; but prior to the formal naming of the Hollenbeck Gun Company itself. For the condition of the gun, the $1495 asking was way too much in my opinion. The gun was finally sold to a friend of mine in CA at a reduced price; who returned the gun after finding cracks in the barrel tubes and the barrels being deemed as un-repairable. The gun was then relisted and much later apparently sold, as it is no longer listed. This is an obviously extremely rare "one-off" Hollenbeck artifact and I hope whoever ends up with the piece understands its importance and salvages the gun.
Again, my interest is primarily in the harder to find Hollenbeck, Three Barrel, and Royal Gun Co marked side x sides, as they are represent one more connection to Frank Hollenbeck and his original "HOLLENBECK" double gun manufactured by the Syracuse Arms Co. I currently have an example of the Hollenbeck and Three Barrel marked double guns but am still looking for that example marked Royal Gun Co. My intent is to eventually feature those guns in a DGJ article simply for the enlightenment of collectors as these double guns are seldom seen. At the moment I've observed very little difference between the Hollenbeck and Three Barrel marked guns; but there are certainly some as yet undetermined differences between these two models and those marked Royal Gun Co; all very interesting to me, perhaps not so much to others. Best of luck with old #35. Tom
