A (Very) Brief History of A&F, G&H, VL&A and VL&D
Abercrombie & Fitch was established in 1892 when David T. Abercrombie opened a sporting goods store under his own name in New York City. In 1900, a client by the name of Ezra H. Fitch, a practicing attorney and outdoor enthusiast, persuaded Mr. Abercrombie to allow him to become a partner in the store, and in 1904 the name of the store was changed to Abercrombie & Fitch. The two partners had differing ideas about marketing however, and in 1907 David Abercrombie resigned and went out on his own. Ezra Fitch is responsible for the unique sales strategy for the time, where the goal was to provide an environment in which clients could examine outdoor wares as they might actually be used and the sales staff was made up of practiced outdoorsmen. The store occupied several locations over the years and finally ended up at 45th and Madison Ave. in 1917.
Ezra Fitch retired in 1928 and the leadership as president of A&F passed on to James S. Cobb, the brother-in-law of Mr. Fitch. Otis Love Guernsey, a store employee, became vice-president.
Justus Von Lengerke, born in Germany, arrived in the United States at the age of 17 years in 1871. His father had had a sporting goods business in Oldenburg and that gave Justus a background for starting a similar business in America. He formed a partnership with Ernst Detmold and together they opened VL&D in New York City in 1882. Although the store was hugely successful, Justus Von Lengerke should be best appreciated for his contributions to the success of the smokeless powder industry in America. Justus acquired the United States Agency for smokeless powder and is said to have been the first man to fire off smokeless powder in the United States. He promoted the use of the powder through his participation at the many live pigeon shoots that he attended. By 1912, VL&D holdings had been consolidated into the Keystone Powder Co.
The VL&D sporting goods store made a major effort to import firearms from Europe and was as well known as a distributor of guns as they were a retailer. The brands that they imported included Francotte, JP Sauer, Greifelt, Mauser, Mannlicher-Schoenauer, Purdey, Holland & Holland, WW Greener, Woodward, Boss, Lang, Churchill, and GE Lewis.
Justus Von Lengerke also enabled his mother and all of his siblings to immigrate to the United States. One of his brothers was Oswald Von Lengerke, who with hunting companion, Charles Antoine, opened his own sporting goods store, known as Von Lengerke & Antoine, in Chicago in 1891. Although a separate entity from VL&D, the two stores cooperated in their similar ventures.
Griffin & Howe was established in 1923 when Seymour Griffin, James V. Howe, James L. Gerry, and Col. Townsend Whelen came together to create a business to manufacture and repair rifles and shotguns. James Howe stayed with the company only for four months. Ownership of G&H changed in 1929 -30 and the name was briefly changed to Griffin & Hobbs to reflect the new partnership, but that name change lasted only a few months.
When James S. Cobb took over the leadership of A&F in 1928, he decided to expand the business and by 1930 A&F had purchased VL&D, VL&A and G&H. The purchase of VL&D added a significant firearms inventory, the capability to import firearms from Europe, and the addition of several valuable staff, including and especially, George Henry Krug. Mr. Krug had been the vice-president of VL&D and was in charge of the VL&D gunroom. At A&F, he was given the management of the A&F gunroom and it is very likely that it was Mr. Krug who was responsible for the maintenance and preservation of the gun sales records that we have today.
The purchase of VL&A by A&F gave the store an important and reputable outlet in the Midwest and Von Lengerke & Antoine continued to operate under that name even after the acquisition.
The purchase of Griffin & Howe gave A&F the ability to manufacture and repair firearms ‘in house’ although G&H continued to do business at its own location, with its own inventory and sales staff.
In the late 1950’s A&F began to expand further by opening stores in San Francisco, Short Hills, NJ, Palm Beach, Bal Harbor, Colorado Springs, Southampton, and Troy, MI.
However, the shopping preferences of the American public were in flux and A&F could not respond. In 1976 A&F filed for bankruptcy and finally closed its doors in 1977. G&H was purchased from the corporation and exists today under private ownership.
