LeFever family album mystery photo
 

I have been trying to go through LeFever family photos and albums that were passed down from my grandparents. So far there have not been too many gun related photos, but I did come across one that is a bit of a mystery. Of course, nothing is written on the back, and there is no one alive from that time that can shed light on this.

A little context: My grandfather was the grandson of Frank LeFever, who owned Frank LeFever and Sons Gun Shop. My grandfather worked there for a little while after WWII.

The photo in question shows a very tall man shouldering a gun. The man to the left could be Frank LeFever, but I am not 100% sure on that. I have also attached the photo that was next to this one in the album. It's of two gunstocks, and again, no information on the back.

So, I'm throwing this out there, in hopes that someone may have some idea who the rather tall gentleman could be.

Sara

That man has got to be at least 7 foot tall if not more. Look at that size of his hand on that Model 11 (or browning) receiver!

Ken and I thought that there was someone recently looking for photos of a “giant” trapshooter.

Boy he is one big fella. Who is the pretty lady in the early 40s coupe, which I believe is a Studebaker.

as they used to say where i grew up

a tall drink of water

Imagine what his LOP must have been! :shock:

will be interesting finding out who this tall shooter is....also a interesting car and passerger...charlie

Sara,

Too bad you don't have any good context on the pic. The guy is a giant and the only one person (Al Tomani) can think of was in the circus circuit for a while. He then gave up traveling and settled around Gibsonton, Fl. http://www.thetallestman.com/altomaini.htm

Your picture just doesn't show enough of the Big Guy's face.

Ken

You can make out the eyes and eyebrows. I say it's Tomaini... Look at the hat - same style he's wearing in most of the pictures in that link.





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Sara you have a great family legacy. My uncle once had a really nice LaFever gun that he loved. He built a new house with a built in hidden gun closet and two weeks after moved in someone came and stole all his guns and his Lafever. Came in thru a back wall and someone with builder tipped of the thief(s) at a minimum.

I was just a kid when he bought it and it was the first true nice damascus gun I had
ever seen. This way back in the 70's and that is when everyone was afraid to shoot damascus guns and I don't think there were a whole lot of low pressure shells or loads being offered, if at all. Still remember my dad, uncles, grandad and myself ogling that gun and listening to family debate about bird dogs and shooting damascus guns and fear of blowing up. All I know is that was about the same time my dad had the bug for an old sxs and he really got the Parker bug.

That is an extremely rare human being. I think that dude is definitely over 7 feet and maybe closer to 7.5 feet. I found a list of tallest humans recorded in modern history and some over 8 feet tall. He could be that tall even but there is not scale. I did see a guy listed that was famous that lived from 1916 to 1959. His name was Lock Martin and he was reportedly 7'7". He was born in Pennsylvania but went to Hollywood and did some acting. He was the robot Gort in the movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still" That may be him.
http://www.thetallestman.com/lockmartin.htm

BTW did not see others post of same website showing some one else. Its possible it could be that Tomain guy as well. Hard to say. Did see a picture of Lock Martins hands and then looked at your picture. Lock had some massive hands as well that would swallow a shotgun like in your picture. Good stuff hope you find out who it is.

Sara,

I would supbit the photo to The Guinness folks and see if they may be able to study and compare it and give you a good idea of who it may be. I think we may be kn to something with Tomani

Brian this is up your alley but did you notice the stock and fit on the gun the man is holding. No way that is an off the shelf gun stock. There can't be that many guns out there modified for 7.5 feet men. I wonder if that pic was delivery of that modified gun to the big guy.

A friend of mine that is 7' and played a bit in NFL as a backup lineman for the Giants (fitting), once went shooting with me. I am 6 feet and I let him borrow my Ruger Sporting Clays gun that I added a slip on leather stock pad. Had some extra closed cell foam and added about 1.5 inches into the bottom of pad. It helped some but it still looked like a toy gun on him. Still such a good athlete he was able to pick it up with a little instruction and shoot great. Seriously the guy said he could count on one hand how many times he used a shotgun and he hit around 50 out of 100 and no station really waxed him. It was tough trying to hit some of the crossers at first but he was getting better.

It would make sense if that was him, and his body proportions do match those of the photos on his website. The lady in the car would make sense to be his wife, who would remain in there being immobile while he shot or posed for the photo. From what I can see of her in the car and her photos from the website, she may be the easier to match up.

This seems to look like the car with Al's wife in it http://www.thetallestman.com/images/...ini%20(57).jpg.

Ken

In the photo that Sara posted, the man's waist is well above the roof line of the car. Unlike i
this second picture. Not the same guy or perspecitve/focal length distances are different?

In the original photo on this thread, one can see they are standing above the car, on what looks to be a sidewalk.

The cars do match; unusual two-tone for the time period. Vent glass and side trim also match. I would say the mystery is solved.

I noticed that as well Jerry. Good catch. Ken maybe right and it is compelling circumstantial evidence with similar looking car in another photo. That last photo Ken posted is more clear. You can even tell that the pants on his suit were creased at the knee from being bunched up on hanger. Still I will agree even with that curb and standing next to supposedly Frank LaFever that guy is Sara's picture looks bigger. I know those big dudes have all kind of back issues and their heights varied. They also would claim to be taller than they were sometimes. Jack Earle was another potential guy and supposedly he was 8.5 tall and worked with ringling brothers and also became noted as Pecos Bill. I think I read where he was being deposed in court and listed his actual height of 7' 6. Its interesting.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_people

I think the man in the Lefever photo appears taller than the car due to the angle that the photo was taken at. But it is hard to say.

There is this photo with the same car in it where he is standing a little more upright and appears taller compared to the car than he does in the other photo.

http://www.thetallestman.com/images/...ini%20(56).jpg


However, the cars are a very good match. Even that same vent in the fender can be seen in both photos. That is a very strong connection.

One will also notice that the same shirt appears to be worn in these three photos as with the Lefever photo. With the lighter collar and sleeves. There are several others on the site with the same shirt.

http://www.thetallestman.com/images/...aini%20(7).jpg

http://www.thetallestman.com/images/...ini%20(44).jpg

http://www.thetallestman.com/images/...ini%20(79).jpg

It really is amazing what is on the internet.

The car in the picture Sara posted has a vent window where the one in Me. Dudley’s picture does not.






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Wow, guys! I think we could be on to something with all of this. Quite a few things are adding up. Thanks for all the assistance and brainstorming!

Great job on that information, Ken! Was not expecting to see all of that!

Sara

Dean,

I think the car in Brian's picture does have the vent window. There is a mini type "visor" over the area where the vent window is. I think the shading in the picture makes the vent window hard to pick out.

Ken

It’s there Dean. The upper trim can be seen and the window edge just barely able to be made out.

Wouldn’t it be cool as heck to shake loose the humpback with the super long stock that frank likely made for it?

I was just reading more about Al Tomaini and his wife, and apparently they married in 1936 in Ripley, NY. Strange coincidence... that is about 7 miles down the road from me. :eek:

Sara

The only reason why I thought of Al Tomaini is because I grew up in Tampa, FL; not far from Gibsonton, FL. I remember driving down Hwy-41 and seeing the Giants Fish Camp sign numerous times.

Brian nailed it with the shirt picture. Too bad we can't find a picture of Al shooting or a reference to him hunting. He did like fishing so hunting/shooting shouldn't be a stretch.

Ken

Ken,

I was wondering how on earth you thought it was Al from the hundreds of giants recorded on that site.

But, you searched the first giant you thought of based on your memories from FL. And it happened to be right.

Sara,

I wonder if that man is Robert Wadlow.

I think he was the tallest man ever, and lived in a time period that would work for that car, and the way they are dressed.

He was a bit of a celebrity in his day, which would have made this a key moment to photograph.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadlow

If it is indeed him, the Guiness people may be able verify it. In comparison to the other guy, unless he is an inordinarely SHORT man, the tall man is definitely WAY into 7+ feet tall.

Very cool family heirloom!


- NDG

The little guy is shooting backup. Looks like they are both shooting hump backs.

I think Wadlow is too tall and wrong facial features. He is one big man though, his dad photo is about my height an he looks like a midget. Even though it is a small list of fellas that are over 7 feet in that era, there are still enough of that it can be difficult to judge without a clear picture and a comparative scale.

I think the circumstantial evidence is compelling that points to the Tomani fella. Two dimensional photographs can be tricky and there are plenty of fish stories and trick pictures of 3 lb bass that look like a 7 pound bass.

That little guy I am guessing is probably about 5'10" to 6' tall himself, which is probably about average to slightly above average even for that era.

I think the average man TODAY is 5'9"-5'10", so back then it was probably more like 5'7".

I read just recently that the average man is now like 185, and that was up almost 50 lbs from just before WW2.

So upon further review, you might be right that it was that other fella, because Wadlow probably would have dwarfed the other guy by an even greater margin.

In any case, a great old photo.

NDG

I, with Sara’s permission, have found and reached out to descendants of Al Tomaini. They confirm that it is likely Al in the photo. And the photo is new to them since it was in the Lefever Family. They are looking into things more on their end to verify the NY connection in that time period.

Wonder what the odds are if in all likelihood it is Tomaini and family knows where that gun is? Great family heirloom and history story though.

B. Dudley,

Way to go! Awesome history.

- NDG

The car is a 1939 LaSalle.
And Frank Lefever died in 1950. So that gives you a window for dating the photo. 1940s.

Cool - I had a ‘39 LaSalle transmission in my Olds 394-powered ‘31 Ford.

He was probably too tall for military service in WW II





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I believe the car in the photo is a 41 Studebaker Champion. If you look at the fender air vent and the drivers side mirror it looks more like a Studebaker. The Cadilac Lasalle mirrors were a lot more fancy. I may be wrong but curious what other car guys think. Thomas

I labored over identifying that car for a long tine last night. Trust me, it’s a lasalle. 1939.

The lines of the window/roof, the style of the running boards and front fender, the trim under the hood and the box on the fender and the hub caps are all ‘39 lasalle. The only thing that i found that conflicts that is the pillar post. Most examples of Lasalle coupes i could find had an angled pillar. The straight pillar was on the sedans. But that is a coupe.

I have not been able to find some definitive info on a variation between lasalle models for that year that may explain the straight post on that car.

But... i was thinking that maybe the car was a special order body that had a larger cab but in the coupe style given that His height was 7-1/2 feet, special accomodations must have been needed.

Well, I was on the right track with a '39 Lasalle, but not exactly correct.

I got in contact the the curator of the Cadillac/Lasalle museum. He reviewed the 3 photos that there are of the car and confirmed it to be a 1939 Cadillac model 7557 Coupe. Without the commonly found passenger side mounted spare tire. The 7557 Coupe had the longer door and straight B pillar which are the features that were not matching the Lasalle for me.

He noted that the 7557 Coupe would have had a much larger forward passenger compartment than the Lasalle coupe and provided a more comfortable ride for Tomaini with his height.

The 7557 Coupe appears to have been more of the less frequently ordered model as many went for the larger sedan or the convertible if buying a smaller model.


So, based on Frank Lefever's death (mid 1950), the definitive time frame of the photo is the 1940's. Based on what we know now...

Another tidbit of information on the 7557 coupe for the car people out here. It was a pretty rare one. The 7557 was a coupe built specifically on the larger wheelbase chassis/body that was used for the V-16 powered cars. But the 7557 was outfitted with a V-8.

So, the people that may have ordered the 7557 would be someone who wanted a large coupe with the smaller engine. And that equated to not that many people.