Bob,
The process evolved. My first contact with Ithaca Classic Doubles was in 1999 when I ordered the first of my guns, a 16 gauge that became a "matched pair" when a ordered a 28 gauge as the second gun.
At that time all guns were made with Italian parts had serial numbers beginning with #470xxx. There are others who know far more about the early production than I do and I rather that they comment on this. The parts for the two guns are different and the barrels can't be fitted interchangeably. I loaded most of the 28 gauge shells used for the test fire of the first VGM/Krupp gun. 1700 rounds were fired out of the gun without a malfunction. Then the gun was taken apart by Gunter Pfrommer and checked for wear. There was virtually none. My friend bought the gun and has it today. Its serial number is 471003. The first two receivers didn't make it through customs....paperwork?
When I first visited the factory in 2000, there were very few people there. Nick Tooth and Charlie Goodberlet are the only two that I recall.
By the time they closed, there were at least a dozen full-time employees including two engravers, Jack Jones and Jeff Spicer, who operated out of an old railroad boxcar adjacent the main building.
Virtually the entire gun was made on the premises with the exception being barrel bluing and case coloring which was done six miles away at Turnbull's.
By the time my guns were built, ICD had switched over to the #471xxx gun. All the subsequent guns I bought were the newer version. That does NOT mean the Italian guns were of inferior quality. There are some who actually prefer the Italian version and they are knowledgeable individuals.
There were two TV shows made about ICD: (1). The Shotgun Journal - Ithaca Classic Doubles, (2). Gray's Sporting Journal - The Fowling Piece. For those really interested in how these guns were made, I suggest getting copies of these videos.
