Fred Adolph began his business of importing nice German guns and marketing them under his own name before WW1. He depended, in large part, on the endorsement of well-known and even famous customers. This was an often-used method of advertisement going back to before the Civil War, and Colt. These practices may be frowned upon now but were common and accepted then. The quality of the work was never in question because of them. When WW1 began, and especially after we became involved in it, there was a lot of anti-German feeling and rejection of many things-German, even changing German spelling of family names to the English version, such as Mueller to Miller or Battenberg to Mountbatten. In this environment, it is understandable that Adolph may have encountered some customer's reluctance to pay. Also, the war naturally affected his ability to deliver prior orders or make new ones. It seems that he tried with some success to reestablish his former business after the war but didn't do as well as before. With regard to the lack of proof marks on the gun in question, German law required guns sold in Germany (and German possessions) be properly proofed under the German proof provisions. Guns exported to other countries were subject to the proof laws of the country into which they were (and are) imported. The US did not (and does not) have a mandatory proof law, depending instead upon civil liability laws to ensure safety. Since they were not required, had to be paid for, and considered ugly by some; it is more likely that proof marks were not applied, than they were removed. Richard Hummel, former editor of the German Gun collectors Association's publications wrote an article about another Fred Adloph gun in one of the issues of Double Gun Journal, which includer a goodly amount of information about Adolph himself. If I can, I will try to find out which issue it is in.
Mike
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