Rocketman, Rev, and others. Yes, this is a good study of the American gun trade, and American merchandising. The start of the Meriden Firearms Co. in 1905 was the result of the ability of the merchandising scheme of Sears. They operated out of warehouses, with no retail overhead like other previous businesses. They sold guns for many name concerns,including ammunition, but at much lower prices than retail businesses. The complaints from the retail market were listened to by the major ammo and gun manufactures, one of which was Winchester. Winchester and others eventually refused to sell to the undercutter , Sears, so as to protect their retail style outlets. Sears was on top of things and actually connected with Andrew Fryberg to produce lots of inexpensive guns for the Sears under various names. In 1904, Fred Biffar, head of the gun etc sales for Sears contacted A J Aubrey to design and produce a sidelock double barrel to be sold by Sears. In 1905 the Meriden Firearms Co was started to do just that. They produced the Aubrey design and used Aubrey's name on the guns as "Manufactured by the Meriden Firearms Co." This worked well until 1909 when Richard Sears left the company [President of Sears] and then Fred Biffer and later Aubrey left, too. After Aubrey left, the guns were marked Meriden without the Aubrey name. Sears was also manufacturing their own ammunition and buying ammo from Europe and Canada to market. Around 1910 the shooting public's preferences for firearms began to change to the slide action firearm. By 1914 the demand for other types was diminishing for Sears and the Fryberg guns were stopped and by 1916, or so, the Meriden plant was sold to New England Westinghouse. Actually alot of guns were produced in that 10 year span. Sears eventually did sell Winchesters etc, but noted in their catalog that they were not allowed to discount prices. A wonderful history of this concern, by Jim Perkins, is found in the Dec. 2005 Gun Report.
Daryl-
I think the Meriden and AJ Aubrey lines may have been sold at the same time, at least for a brief period of time. Drew has a Meriden catalogue from 1908 and the Sears catalogue from 1908 shows AJ Aubrey. Also, my Meriden has features of an early gun with the V springs and later versions of the Meriden and Aubrey appear to have used coil springs.
I have been somewhat dubious of the story that Sears set out to manufacture their own line of American made firearms when the majors refused to sell to them because the 1908 catalogue shows firearms made by LC Smith, Remington, Ithaca, Baker, Winchester, Marlin, Stevens, Hopkins Allen, Harrington and Richardson, Smith and Wesson, Colt and Iver Johnson. So if the majors had any problem selling firearms to Sears, they got over it pretty quickly. I tend to buy the story Sears presents in the catalogue, and that was the motivation for creating their own factory was to deliver a better American product at a lower price (and thus could compete with the cheap, and cheaply made imports). I do however notice a general absence of any ammuntion other than their own "Pointer" shells and Meriden cartriges. So it could very well be that the majors were not willing to see their ammunition discounted and/or sold through Sears.
I had better stop posting, I see my once glorious 5 star rating is now reduced to two- whoever I have offended, I am very sorry.
Doug
