Abercrombie & Finch Shipped Guns

[Reggie Bishop]

Is it common to have a Parker that letters as shipped to A & F? And if it is common was it normally a higher grade gun or were all grades sold by A & F?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[edgarspencer]

Quite common. I have had several A&F guns, and Bob Beach does a great letter on each they sold. Such letters almost always include the purchesor's name. My ghe28 was bought by a NY banker who went in with his boss, at lunchtime. His boss, E.F. Hutton, also bought a GHE.

[Reggie Bishop]

Mine isn't in the G&H data, but it letters as shipped to A&F. Thanks for the response.

[Robin Lewis]

Mine isn't in the G&H data, but it letters as shipped to A&F. Thanks for the response.
Now that seems interesting....

[George M. Purtill]

Mine isn't in the G&H data, but it letters as shipped to A&F. Thanks for the response.

I would still ask Bob Beach on that one. The G&H database is not perfect.

[Reggie Bishop]

I will contact him. Gun was ordered on 1/14/16 and shipped 6/1/16. Five months to deliver the product. Very interesting.

[edgarspencer]

Mine isn't in the G&H data, but it letters as shipped to A&F. Thanks for the response.

Reggie, go through the list of SNs right to the end. There are a lot of numbers which don’t show up in sequence, but are appended at the end of the list. As far as I recall hearing it explained, even unsold guns which were returned, still show up in the numerical list because they were recorded when received.

[Bill Murphy]

There are two lists, one new and one used.

[George M. Purtill]

Edgar is correct as usual. And so is Mr. Murphy.
However I do recall there is a paucity of records prior to 1926.

[Bill Murphy]

Don't just do the search for your particular number. That is not a perfect system. Bring up the "all numbers" list and try to find your number in the list. What is your number, by the way?

[Reggie Bishop]

Bill the number is 172842.

[Drew Hause]

1913 A&F

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1373/6511424/20080158/410158090.jpg

Ad in Forest & Stream

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1373/6511424/20080158/413533104.jpg

[edgarspencer]

Well, would you look at that! There's our own PP Editor standing at the counter.

[Kevin McCormack]

Abercrombie and FITCH, not 'Finch"!!!

[Rick Losey]

Abercrombie and FITCH, not 'Finch"!!!

maybe that was their branch in Ithica :rolleyes:

[Robert Beach]

Gentlemen,

Please permit me to describe the Parker records that are part of the Griffin & Howe archive. The archive includes the inventory and sales records of Von Lengerke & Detmold (New York City), Von Lengerke & Antoine (Chicago), and Abercrombie & Fitch (New York City). The records are not always complete. Here is what we have.

VL&D - years 1900 to 1929, when VL&D was purchased by A&F. The early records (1900 to approximately 1910) list only the most basic information, i.e., make, model, serial number, gauge, weight, and drop @ heel. Gradually, more information was added through the subsequent years.

A&F - years 1929 to 1977 (when A&F closed its doors). Records are very much like the late VL&D records because A&F hired George Henry Krug, the vice-president and head of the VL&D gun room, to be the head of the A&F gunroom when they merged the inventories of the two stores in 1929. If your Parker was sent to A&F before 1929 then it would not be in the records that we have.

VL&A We have a few scattered years of the VL&A records, including 1913-1914, 1944-1946 and 1959-60. There are also a few books that were apparently maintained in the NY store containing the gun inventories at VL&A and some of the other satellite stores in the 1960's. The spec's in these records contain only the most basic information.

There are more than 4000 Parker serial numbers in the above records but there are likely to be a higher percentage of high grade Parkers in that list considering the clientele of VL&D and A&F. There are a handful of errors in the list on the G&H website but fewer errors on the list provided to the PGCA. The G&H list cannot be corrected without re-designing the web page and re-entering the entire list of almost 63,000 entries.

I am very pleased to have done so many letters for Parker owners and will continue to provide the best letter that I can when the information is there.

Gratefully,

Robert C. Beach
Archivist
Griffin & Howe, Inc.

[Rick Losey]

I can say that the amount and quality of the research I received from Mr Beach on my Super Fox was greatfully appreciated

[Reggie Bishop]

Thank you Mr. Beach. My Parker was an earlier A&F gun, therefore it will not be in the records.

[Dean Romig]

And we thank you Mr. Beach, for your kind generosity in providing tha G&H records both for our website as well as for the winter issue of Parker Pages.

The omission of 1330 numbers at the end of the Used gun list has been corrected in the spring Issue.

Again, Thank You.
Dean





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[allen newell]

The picture above of the store pretty much looked the same to me when I last visited A&F while attending Rutgers in the Fall of 1965. LOL

[Bill Murphy]

By 1965, Abercrombie and Fitch had relocated to 45th Street and Madison Avenue, but there is the possibility that some of the furniture was the same. My last visit to A&F was for the liquidation auction, 1977. No guns on the premises for that final auction, but if you wanted old wood furniture or sewing machines, you were in the right place. I parked on a sidewalk on Times Square in front of the parking attendant's kiosk and my old Suburban was in the same place when I returned hours later. It's amazing how New Yorkers adapt to country boys when necessary.

[allen newell]

Thanks Bill. I meant to say the old furnishings at A&F is what i recall on that visit in 65'. My lord how time has flown. It was a great store