To quote KY John..."A. H. Fox never wanted to bring out a Sterlingworth grade but instead wanted to make the very best grades"
Funny that you say this because...Emil's friends, including Emil's apprenticed journeyman Salvatore Licotta, suggested that this was the very reason that Ithaca and Flues had parted ways...Emil was lookin' to give the English shotgun trade a run for their money, and Ithaca would have loved to have done that, but unfortunately they were forced to make the over-invested assemly line* pay for itself as soon as possible. We don't know what Sheldon Smith had promiced Emil in order for him to end his 10 year partnership with Robert Wrege, but whatever it was, the Ithaca stockholders couldn't or wouldn't allow it...when Emil and his high hopes were crowded out of the factory within 2-3 years after asking him to uproot his life and business, several sympathetic white shirts commisioned Emil to produce some handmade shotguns...they even arrainged a place in town for him to set up shop, and started him with a good supply of Krupp barrels in 20ga
* Remember, Ithaca had financially over extended themselves with the new assembly line investment...and we know they were experiencing difficulties, because of the way they completely scrapped designs for new ones...not to mention all the costs associated with re-tooling, re-training, and all new jigs, to support these new models...Crass had run it's course, and the Minier and Lewis models were not a financial success for Ithaca...and to re-tool 3 times in 4 years must have cost them heavily...
Last edited by Robert Chambers; 10/09/07 08:57 AM.
