Lefever Arms Company factory records have always evaded discovery. Thus, for individuals and collector groups trying to piece together factory details on individual guns or answer larger Lefever production questions, the amount of available information has always been very small.
A few days ago at the Lefever Arms Company Affiliation site a report was posted by a book hobbyist containing these details: 1. The hobbyist had purchased from a fellow book collector's estate a volume "apparently put together from fragments of at least three other books" (discernible by different sized pages) which contained Lefever Arms Company related data. 2. The earliest entries were made in the 1890s, the latest entries were made in the early 1900s. No knowledge was retained as to whether the information was inclusive of all years involved, or whether certain periods were missing. 3. The location of the deceased bookseller who originally purchased the materials was Northern Pennsylvania. 4. Failing an attempt to sell the material through other venues, the materials were put up for sale on an Internet auction site. 5. The materials were later traded to a gentleman (in apparent response to the Internet advertisement) in the late 1990s for an antique chest and a quantity of collector grade chisels. 6. If presently alive, this gentleman is estimated to now be about 75 years of age. 7. The best recollection by the hobbyist was that this gentleman lived in southern Illinois. 8. The gentleman was a collector of wood working tools and had substantial knowledge of the subject. 9. The gentleman was also very knowledgeable regarding antique Winterthur furniture - -this furniture considered very "high-end".
This is a brief summary of what was gained from the hobbyist. It was also his opinion that tool collector organizations such as the MidWest Tool Collectors Association might be a practical starting point for further tracking. He further felt that individuals seriously into Winterthur quality furniture were not in abundance in the Southern Illinois area.
This is now where this matter stands. A Lefever Arms Collector Association representative has reported that the Association will prepare a summary of this same information for a coming newsletter. Several Lefever Affiliation members have taken on individual assignments towards obtaining more information. The thread containing this information is at the Lefever Affiliation site, under Lefever Firearms - Lefever Records.
-So yesterday, we had nothing and today we have a chance of something. It seems Lefever now has its own missing Bo-Whoop type mystery - - albeit, this one with some tangible leads and possibilities.
Certainly, all help would be appreciated.
Last edited by outdoorlvr; 11/16/06 04:31 AM.
