doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Basket case Lefever Optimus

Pete,

There are many more qualified guys on this board than me to answer Lefever questions. I will take a wild guess as to manufacture date and say 1889. That date and a dollar might get you a cup of coffee.

As to engraving, I would think it was done in house.

Doug, do I detect some interest here? By the way, is your "Big O" the same one that I carried around in parts for show and tell a few years ago, from our friend in Delaware? Murphy

C. J. Opacak

To the US it is an antique so no FFL problems on our end. Now importing it into Canada might be a bigger problem. I would be willing to be your agent and hold the gun for you for a few years while the heat cools down.

Joking aside this is one gun that the bidder better have a real close, in person look at, before he bids on it. From the post here and several phone calls I have gotten about the gun it sounds like several dozen real serious potential buyers have passed on this gun at several locations already. I am sure that most of them are as smart as or smarter than I am and if the gun could be easily rescued it would not be on the auction site.

This is the money pit of the year for all but a few people on this site. Maybe not even one on this site except Crosschisels. They have to decide if they want to spend all their spare, non paid time working on this gun to bring it back to life over the next several years. The rest have to just admit that dropping 20K or more into this gun is just a pipe dream.

If I bought the gun I would cheat. I put a set of steel barrels on it and go from there. Save months of waiting and thousands of dollars. Spend the money saved on the stock and be happpy if you get done with it for less than $5-6,000.00, fit, finished and checkered.

Then you have a sad looking shooter that needs a ton of high dollar metal work. I suspect the metal work alone will set you back more than most suspect. To do it right you will have to send it to someone like Ken and have him start with metal prepping and a blank check to spend as much time as he needs to do the work. Then re-engrave and all the gold work will need to be done.

It is just too much to get into unless you want either a labor of love or to become obsessed with the job. Send that to someone to have it worked on and you better not call too often to see how the job is going.

Bill,

I love high grade Lefevers, however the barrels on this one scare even me.

Yes, my "Big O" is the one you carried around for show & tell at the Vintagers I believe. I saved a bunch of pictures of the gun before anything was done just in case there was any questions.

Doug,

Just a little note that might interest you. I was looking in my
copy of Steel Canvas by R.L.Wilson. In it he says that only about
90 Optimus Grades were built, and most had at least 9 gold inlays.
There's a paragraph about a gun that was built for President
Benjamin Harrison, an Optimus Grade. The serial no. is 10784, and
the gun was built in 1884. There is also mention of a Lefever that
was considered one of the most elaborate ever made, that was on a
promotional illustration for R.J.Kornbrath dated 1914. Could he be
the engraver of the Optimus guns? Just a thought. Ron

Ron,

Thanks for the information I appreciate all the input on these guns I can get.

In Bob Elliott's book he kind've implies that the very early Optimus guns had no gold at all on them, at least on the side panels. That's what make my gun a little unusual in that it had gold dogs on the sides. That doesn't make it great just a little unusual.

As to Kornbrath engraving these guns I don't personally believe so. The engraving on these early guns really don't look like his style. I wish it was true though.

I think Doug is right on Kornbrath not engraving the early guns. I don't think he was around in the late 1880s or early 1890s. I first see of him just after the turn of the century.

Doug, I would only worry about the barrels if you would not be willing to replace them with another set of similar vintage Lefever barrels from another gun. In the meantime, either ignore the original barrels or have them lined and refinished. Someone is going to attach this project. It might as well be someone who has the ability to do part of it himself.

Elliot briefly mentions Jacob Glahn and possibly his sons; A.E. Spangler and perhaps his brother Wilton; L. Delunsch; R.A. Arthur; possibly Frank Mason and sons Roy and Max; and R. Kornbrath.

I have found Spangler(s) and Glahn(s) in the Syracuse city directories around 1887.

Albert E. Spangler engraver 415 Prospect avenue Syracuse New York 1889 1890

Jacob Glahn
Occupation: engraver
Business Address: 110 south Clinton
Home Address: Kennedy n. south Onondaga
City: Syracuse
State: New York
Year: 1887 1888

Augustus Glahn
Occupation: engraver
Home Address: boards Kennedy n. south Onondaga
City: Syracuse
State: New York
Year: 1887 1888

George J. Glahn
Occupation: engraver
Home Address: Cortland avenue. n. W. Castle
City: Syracuse
State: New York
Year: 1887 1888

Theodore Glahn
Occupation: engraver
Home Address: 188 Lodi
City: Syracuse
State: New York
Year: 1887 1888

Milton C. Spangler
Occupation: engraver
Home Address: boards 113 Townsend
City: Syracuse
State: New York
Year: 1887 1888

I think Kornbrath came later as Daryl stated.

Pete

I wonder what happened, a older gentleman gave up hunting put it away and through the years of people moving this cased masterpiece around, not having the slightest idea of what was inside, throwing it, banging it against walls and stairways, storing it under heavy furniture or something keeping it in a moist environment then when finally someone said, "I wonder what this is", finally opened the case saw what it was and fell over dead with a heart attack??
All the best