In answer to your question -
YES.
Look at the sales figures for Ithaca - marqued guns.
Total Ithaca hammerless production is approximately 363,000. Add hammer guns at approximately 46,000 and you get 409,921 guns, over 65 years, or 6306 guns per year ( 1883-1948) .
Total LC Smith hammerless guns 356,899. Hammer guns 82,488, making a total of 439,387 per Brophy. There does appear to be a plus/minus 5000 or so discrepancy somewhere, but giving LC the largest number, we get an average of 6276 a year of production ( 1880-1950) under various ownerships.
Parker ?
242,385 for all types from hammerlifter to the last Remington made boxlock . 1868 - 1942 averages 3275 a year. If you want boxlock top lever hammer guns, then there are 187,385 from 1888 to 1942.
There are more Flues Model Ithacas , with a production of 223,365 than there are total hammerless Parkers
The boutique also-rans?
Lefever, Syracuse, Fox ( in whatever gun of the month examined) , Tobin.
Not hardly.
The bulk of the Ithacas are low grade guns, built for service ,not parlor display, at a time when a dollar was a dollar, and reliability and utility were at a premium. I say "low grade", but there was never any doubt among the consu,mers of that era, that even the lowest grade was "high quality", even if it wasnt highly embellished. But Ithaca could also embellish and refine and "prettify" with the best of their competitiors, and produce arms of breathtaking beauty, even in the NID series.
There you have it in a nutshell.
Regards
GKT
