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.
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02-10-2018, 10:34 AM
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