doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com They Misspelled his name!

When I have some spare time I try to do searches with different misspelling of the gunmakers name. Hit the jackpot with Wundhammer spelled Wundhamer. Lots of records in that name including this one, look who signed the application.......A dead man????

If Wundhammer filled out the paperwork then he used only one M.

I'll be darn Henry Slotterbek (Slotterbeck) had a son who carried on in the business...I did not know that.

Los Angeles, California City Directories, 1888-90 about Henry Slotterbeck
Name: Henry Slotterbeck
Location 1: 111 North Main
Location 2: 120 Buena Vista
Occupation: guns and ammunition
Year: 1890
City: Los Angeles
State: CA

For the ones not up on the Slotterbek family Charles was killed in 1886 when a live shell he was de-priming exploded.

Henry was killed in 1888 when he was at the range with Wundhammer while standing in front of a rifle while adjusting the front sight.

Back when CA WAS the frontier, they made some beautiful, and beautifully functional, guns out here. There used to be a Slotterbeck muzzle loading rifle in the little museum at Mt. Lassen Natl. Park that I drooled over all summer when working up there. About .54 and a bear killer for sure. (I seem to remember that the maker was Joel Slotterbeck, but I haven't seen the rifle since about 1962....)

I don't see a "c" in Mr. Slotterbek's signature, so I guess the family had not really adopted the Americanized spelling "Slotterbeck" we usually see

Does anyone have a post 1888 and therefore Henry Slotterbek (Jr) marked rifle? I have two by the father, one an '86 Winchester, the other a Remington Rolling block shotgun action made into a rifle. I also have a percussion double rifle by his Uncle Charles.

If you don't use the "Slotterbeck" spelling it's hard to find anything on the family. You and I may know it's "bek" but the government did did not use it.

Kind of like Wundhammer and Wundhamer. I think most of the official documents were Wundhamer so that's what he used when filling out more forms.

Terry, Did you know there was a Jr.?

I just pulled out "California GunSmiths 1846-1900" by Shelton and he only shows Charles, Joseph and Henry.

There were a lot of great gunmakers in California.


http://www.google.com/patents?id=LspGAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q&f=false

Michael,
Confused, if Henry died in 1888, which Henry filed the patent in 1899, is this the son you spoke of earlier? If yes then who was George Walter?

The two famous gunmakers were Charles & Henry, I'm not sure how well known Joseph was.

Henry died in 1888.

Henry's son Henry was alive and signed Wundhammers papers and took out a patent with George Walter Slotterbeck.

George Walter Slotterbeck was born 5th of February 1875 in California. His mothers name was Sophia and he worked as a iron worker in a pipe shop. I have no idea how or if his is related to Henry Jr.

Mike A., I have one of those California percussion big bore rifles, and have owned a couple of others in the past. All were marked "Slotter & Co" and I think were made in Pennsylvania. All were also marked with a dealer name in San Francisco, like " A J Plate" or some other shop. I think they also all carried a marking about the barrel steel "Warnt...." The Slotter & Co "derringers" carry similar markings.

Michael, I did not know of Henry Jr.s existence until you showed his signature above. Now, that creates a whole new treasurer to look for!