1863-1888 Bacon Arms Company
In 1863 Thomas Bacon was forced out of his previous company, the Bacon Mfg. Co., by his landlord and largest shareholder. Later that year he opened the Bacon Arms Company, his third arms making enterprise in Norwich. The company was located on the corner of Franklin and Pond Street in downtown Norwich.
The revolver shown above is a spur-trigger pepperbox revolver that was produced by the Bacon Arms Co. The photo inset shows the manufacturer’s stamp: “Bacon Arms Co. Norwich Conn”. It shot a .22 caliber rimfire bullet. Approximately 1000 of these were produced. The company also produced side hammer, single-shot 12 gauge shotguns.
After Bacon sold his interest in the company in 1865, the quality of the arms produced there deteriorated. After Bacon left, the company was run by A. E. Cobb, with John Vickers as foreman. They produced a large quantity of low-quality pistols. Bacon passed away in 1873, but the company continued to operate for several years thereafter.
One of Norwich’s Norwich’s most trusted fire chiefs, Howard L. Stanton, worked for the Bacon Arms Company from 1875-1880.
After the Bacon Arms Company went bankrupt and closed in 1888, the machinery was sold to George Cilley. A few years later, in 1892, Cilley secured office space, expanded manufacturing capabilities and used the former Bacon Arms Co. machines. He named his new company, the Crescent Firearms Company. Please refer to the ‘1892-1929 Crescent Firearms’ placemark below.
Acknowledgements
“Thomas K. Bacon – The Arms Man”, by Lowell J. Wagner
AuctionZip.com
1868-1916 HopKins & ALlen Arms Company
Hopkins & Allen was founded in 1868 and manufactured firearms in Norwich for 48 years. They began their operation in the Yantic Falls area at the former Bacon Manufacturing Company. Hopkins & Allen used the equipment, leftover parts and four former employees of the Bacon Mfg. Company to begin the production of their firearms.
Over the years they produced a wide variety of firearms, such as muzzle loaded pistols, target pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns. In 1909 they offered 138 varieties of revolvers, rifles and single and double barreled shotguns. The photo on the left is an example of the Hopkins & Allen under hammer percussion pistol.
In 1874, Merwin, Hulbert and Company of New York City, acquired a 50% stake in the company when Charles A. Converse sold them his portion of the company. Hopkins & Allen became the exclusive maker of Merwin Hulbert revolvers. Four years later, in 1878, Hopkins & Allen moved their operation to the corner of Willow and Franklin Street to accommodate the need for a greater production facility. By 1880 they were making more than 1,000 pistols a day. At one point-in-time Hopkins & Allen was considered third in the nation behind Colt in Hartford and Winchester in New Haven.
Eighteen years later, following Merwin, Hulbert and Company going bankrupt in 1896, Hopkins & Allen also went bankrupt. However, the company was reorganized as the Hopkins and Allen Arms Company.
Unfortunately, the difficulties for the company were not over. In February 1900, a fire destroyed its factory and machinery. At that time, Hopkins & Allen Arms Company was the largest employer in Norwich. It was a devastating blow, but …. the company rebounded again. The photo on the right shows the rebuilt factory only a year later. This building still stands today.
Hopkins & Allen went on to produce 40,000 firearms a year. During the early years of World War I the company was awarded a contract to build Mauser Rifles for the Belgian Army. But, the contract fell apart after Germany invaded Belgium. Although Hopkins & Allen continued to manufacture firearms, it never financially recovered and went bankrupt in 1916.
Acknowledgements
Hopkins & Allen Arms Co. (1909)
Postcard by Noyes & Davis, Public Domain
Live Auctioneers
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1875-1881 Norwich Pistol Company
The Norwich Pistol Co., located on Franklin Street near Chestnut Avenue, produced a large variety of inexpensive, lower quality revolvers. The company was set up in 1875 in Norwich by the New York sporting-goods company Maltby, Curtiss & Co. The guns were sold by Maltby Curtiss and their associated dealers across the USA.
The gun shown on the left was made in Norwich for Maltby, Curtiss & Co. It is an example of the Metropolitan Police model. This revolver is a 5 shot in 32 S&W short caliber. The rear sight slides back and locks the hammer down acting as a safety. It is marked “Metropolitan Police” on top of barrel and has ornate hard rubber grips.
It is believed this gun did not have the acceptance of the police department, and, that the name was simply a marketing tool.
The Norwich Pistol Company appears to have operated entirely separately from its parent, so much so that in 1881 it went bankrupt. Maltby, anxious not to lose its supply source, bought the remains of the company and renamed it the “Norwich Falls Pistol Co”. Several lines of guns made by the original business were perpetuated by the Norwich Falls Pistol Co.
Acknowledgements
Ben & Terry’s Inv.
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1875-1879 Hood Fire Arms Company
The Hood Fire Arms Company was formed by Freeman W. Hood in Norwich. Mr. Hood was an inventor and expert gunsmith. The Hood Firearms factory produced several lines of revolvers that were based on his patents. The photo below is a stock certificate for 13 shares of the Hood Firearms Company.
Hood was granted several firearms related patents. (U.S. Patent No. 160,192 (A cylinder pin lock), No. 161,615 (Improvement in Revolving Fire-Arms), and No. 174,731 (lockwork mechanism). A copy of the patent for an “Improvement in Revolving Fire-Arms” (1876) is shown below on the right side.
Hood Fire Arms Co. also made the “Hood International No. 3”, a five-shot .32 caliber rim fire revolver. The Robin Hood and the Hood International No. 3 revolvers are in a class sometimes termed “Suicide Specials”. See Info Source below.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Hood Fire Arms” in the SEARCH box.
1876-1891 Thomas E Ryan Fire Arms Manufacturer
Thomas E. Ryan began producing revolvers in 1876 at his shop at 396 Franklin Street in Norwich. The image on the left is an example of the letterhead paper that was used for his company in 1887.
Ryan produced a large number of inexpensive, “suicide special”, revolvers under a variety of brand names. The most common names used were, “Retriever”, “Napoleon’’ and “Premier”. The guns were made with a removable side plate and appear to be based on refinements of Freeman Hood patents.
There was also a Thomas J. Ryan Pistol Manufacturing Company on Franklin Street in New York City, during the same time period. It also sold (or made) inexpensive revolvers under the name “Napoleon”. It is believed, but not confirmed, that the New York address was solely an office and retail outlet for the Norwich facility.
Acknowledgements
Norwich Arms Gazette (2003)
TheFirearmsForum.com
Sheaff-ephemera
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Ryan” in the SEARCH box.
1880-1882 Osgood Gun Works
Osgood Gun Works was the maker of the Duplex (a.k.a. Monarch) rimfire revolver. The company formed in 1880 for the sole purpose of making the Duplex. It was a partnership between financial backer Osgood and patentee Freeman W. Hood.
The Duplex revolver was a modernized version of the better known Le Mat of the Civil War period, which had carried a shotgun charge in a separate central barrel forming the cylinder axis pin. The Duplex has an eight-shot single action hinged frame, with the lower barrel firing .22 short rim fire ammunition. Duplex guns have an additional .32 caliber upper barrel. Only several hundred of these high-quality revolvers were made and they are now rare.
Osgood Gun Works failed in 1882 as a result of poor sales.
Acknowledgements
Simpson Ltd
1882-1887 Norwich Falls Pistol Company
The Norwich Falls Pistol Company, successor to the Norwich Pistol Co, was formed by Maltby, Curtiss & Co. of New York City in 1883. Production was done in Norwich and guns were sold by the New York based parent company.
They made several lines of inexpensive revolvers, including :
• America : .32 caliber rim fire revolver built between 1883-1885. Had a 7-chamber cylinder and a 3″ barrel.
• Chieftain : .32 caliber rim fire revolver with a sheathed trigger. Had a five-chamber, octagonal cylinder.
• Challenge : .32 caliber rim fire revolver with a sheathed trigger. Employed a single-action design.
• Defiance : .22 caliber rim fire with a birds-head grip.
• Gypsy: .22 caliber rim fire, solid-frame sheath-trigger revolver.
Production at the Norwich Falls Pistol Co. ceased in 1887 due to the demise of Maltby Curtiss. But shortly thereafter, in 1889, a new company, Maltby, Henley & Co. was formed. It is believed that the new company used the leftover parts and machines from the defunct Norwich Falls Pistol Co. The exact nature of the inter-relationships among Norwich Pistol Co., Norwich Falls Pistol Co, Maltby, Curtiss & Co., and Maltby, Henley & Co. is unclear. It is believed that Otis Allen was the financial backer of all these enterprises.
Acknowledgements
American-Firearms.com
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1891-1910 W.H. Davenport Arms Co.
William Hastings Davenport was an inventor and firearms producer. After developing patents and gaining experience in the business of building firearms in Rhode Island, he relocated to the “Norwich Belt Mfg. Co.” building, in Norwich. The W.H. Davenport Arms Company began its operation in Norwich in 1891.
According to the Norwich Evening Record :
”The factory in the Norwich Belt Company’s building is provided with side track from the Norwich & Worcester Railroad, thus furnishing excellent shipping advantages. The machinery, put in when the industry was started up, is the most modern. The barrel drilling machines, the first of the kind to be set up in this country, enable the company to turn out the most perfect of gun and rifle barrels in the country.”
The barrel drilling machines discussed in the article above were designed based on Patent No. 315,130 that W.H. Davenport and his brother-in-law, Joseph W. Day developed. W.H. Davenport was granted more than 25 U.S. patents for firearms between the years of 1881-1902. He is best known for his top-break single action shotguns, but he also made some double-action shotguns with lever action, sliding breech lock. He also made single-shot lever action rifles. The most famous example of this was the Brownie Rifle, shown below.
Rifles and shotguns marked as “W.H. Davenport Arms Company” were made in Norwich from 1891 to 1910. The firm was taken over by Hopkins & Allen in 1901 but production under the Davenport name continued until 1910.
Acknowledgements
The Norwich Evening Record (1894), page 64
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Davenport” in the SEARCH box.
1892-1929 Crescent Firearms Co.
”The Crescent Firearms Company began business in the late 1800’s when George W. Cilley purchased the bankrupt Bacon Arms Company located on Pond Street in Norwich, Connecticut. The initial production of single barreled shotguns was soon expanded in the 1890’s to include double barreled shotguns. The company also manufactured other products such as bicycle chains. From Source 1
The company first began production of single-shot rifles at the former Bacon Arms Company site on Pond Street. As business improved the company opened a new, larger facility in the Industrial Building (shown of left) on Falls Avenue, modern-day Holly Hock Island.
They ordinarily employed 60 workers and produced 15,000 guns annually.
The gun shown on the left is an example of a double-barreled Peerless shotgun. The Peerless was manufactured in Norwich between 1904-1925.
Note the inscription “Crescent Fire Arms Co. – Norwich, Conn USA”
The gun shown on the left was manufactured circa 1900. It is an example of the “New York Club” model. It features single-shot rolling block action. This “Takedown” model also has a lever on the right of the receiver that is used to lock/unlock the barrel.
The front sight is a blade dovetailed into the top of the barrel. The rear sight is a “V” notch dovetailed into the top of the barrel. The upper tang is drilled, tapped and filled for an aperture sight.
Crescent made good quality, inexpensive single and double-barrel shotguns at its Norwich facility beginning about 1892. In 1929 it was bought by H&D Folsom Arms Co., a large importer and distributor of firearms and sporting goods, based in New York City. They wanted to add an American-made sidelock hammer, side-by-side shotgun to their extensive range of imported guns. Crescent shotguns were offered in .12, .16, .20 and .28 gauges. They later made a .44 XL shot caliber with Damascus twist laminated or Armory steel barrels. In 1898, it was said these were the best American hammer guns in the market for the money.
When Crescent Arms was purchased by H&D Folsom in 1929, it was merged with the N.R. Davis Firearms Company of Assonet, Massachusetts. The new company, controlled by H&D Folsom, was named the Davis Crescent Arms Company.
Acknowledgements
Norwich Arms Gazette, (2002), Volume 1 Issue 1
GunAuction.com
ArmsList.com
AuctionArms.com
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1898-1914 Alvah E Grimes, Gunsmith
Alvah E. Grimes was a firearms designer and gunsmith in the early 1900s. He received several patents for his gun inventions and worked along with several other gunsmiths in Norwich.
On February 14, 1899 he was granted U.S. Patent 619,565 for a firearms cartridge ejector. The photo illustrates his improved design of the ejector, which he also patented on October 13, 1914. This newly invented ejector would automatically throw out an empty shell from a rifle.
Acknowledgements
The Day 10/08/2012
U. S. Patent Office
U. S. Patent Office
*Place cursor over images to magnify
1900-1910 Thames Arms Co.
The Thames Arms Company was incorporated on September 21, 1900. They produced approximately 3,000 pistols at their factory located at 199 N. Main Street in Norwich. At one point in time, the president of the company was Charles F. Thayer, was the Mayor of Norwich from 1900-1908.
Their revolvers bore a remarkable resemblance to those produced by Hopkins and Allen Mfg Co. They marketed a double action, five-shot revolver with ribbed barrel and hinged frame in .32, and .38 calibers, and a similar seven-shot revolver in .22 caliber during the latter part of the 19th century.
This type of gun is now known as a top-break revolver. Thames called their handguns the ‘Automatic’ revolvers, but, this term only referred to the self ejecting shell mechanism, which functioned when the revolvers were broken apart.
James D. Robertson held three patents associated with self-ejecting shell mechanisms. The patent illustrated above shows details of the third patent (Parts #4 & #7 form the ejector). Smith & Wesson also sold a top-break revolver during this time period, but, Thames Arms had the special shell-ejector mechanism.
Acknowledgements
American-Arms.com
GunAuction.com
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Thames Arms” in the SEARCH box.
1901-1905 Thayer, Robertson & Cary
The Thames Chain & Stamping Company was incorporated on August 28, 1896 by James D. Robertson, Frederic W. Cary and two others. They made bicycle chains and stamped metal in a facility located in the Arnold & Hiscox building in Norwich. Four years later, on September 21, 1900, the name was changed to The Thames Arms Co. Charles F. Thayer
was the president of the Thames Arms Co., and was also the Mayor of Norwich during that time period.
It is believed that revolvers stamped with “Thayer, Robertson & Cary” were made at the Thames Arms Co. facility (the Arnold & Hiscox building in Norwich) during 1901-1905. Since the Thames Arms Co. had stopped making bicycle chains in 1901 and did not begin to make guns stamped with “Thames Arms Co.” (at their new factory at 199 N. Main Street) until 1905, it is a reasonable assumption.
This .32 S&W caliber revolver was made in Norwich, (as stated on the barrel), and sold by Thayer, Robertson and Cary. It has a 5″ long rifled-barrel and hard rubber grips with a hunting horn motif.
Acknowledgements
Guns International
iCollector
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Thayer, Robertson & Cary” in the SEARCH box.
1903-1909 Tobin Arms MFg Company
In 1897 Frank M. Tobin was in Norwich, Connecticut, working as a sales agent for W.H. Davenport Firearms Company. By 1901 he had a similar position with Hopkins & Allen Arms Company.
While on the road for these companies he acquired the rights to Patent No. 498,043 for a breech-loading firearm, granted to C.M. Wollam of San Francisco, California. The patent gave Tobin the right to produce a hammerless double-barrel shotgun. Two years later, in 1903, the Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company of Norwich, Connecticut was incorporated with Frank M. Tobin as president.
The company purchased a site formerly occupied by the B.H. Palmer grist mill, located just below the Greeneville Dam. After enlarging and upgrading the old factory, Tobin employed approximately 75 workers and began producing .12 and .16 gauge, double-barrel shotguns.
The gun was marketed as the Tobin Simplex Gun. The photo below is an example of a Simplex .12 gauge, double-barrel shotgun. The first guns were shipped in September 1904. The Simplex was produced in a variety of grades selling from $30 to $200, ($800 to $5400 in today’s dollars) and with options of either automatic ejectors or a single-selective trigger for $20, ($540 today) or both for $40 ($1100 today). The highest grade shotguns had gold-plated internal parts.
Production of guns continued in Norwich thru 1909, and it is generally accepted that 11,089 hammerless double-barreled shotguns were produced there.
In 1909 the Tobin Arms Company was purchased by a group of businessmen in Canada. The entire operation was relocated to Woodstock, Ontario and Frank Tobin became the Vice President and General Manager. During this time period they produced a simple .22 caliber single-shot “Boy Scout” rifle.
”BOYS! Double Your Pleasure Outdoors This Summer— Get one of these splendid little Rifles – FREE. It isn’t going to cost you any money – all we want is a little of your spare time, and you have surely lots of that after school or on holidays. Just think of having a real accurate shooting .22 calibre Rifle of your own. And here’s your chance. $5.00 BOY SCOUT RIFLE – FREE This Rifle is .22 calibre, shoots .22 short, long or long rifle cartridges.”
The photo and text shown above was an advertisement for the Tobin Arms Company “Boy Scout” rifle. The ad was published in 1914. (Photo & Info Source 3)
Acknowledgements
Wikipedia
PictureTrail.com
GunsInternational.com
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Rod and Gun in Canada (1914)
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1913-1917 Warner Arms Corp.
The Infallible pistol was made in Norwich from 1913-1917. It was a .32 caliber, World War I era semi-automatic pistol. Several variants were produced and all were very similar to the original Schwarzlose Model 1909 pistol.
Franklin B. Warner founded the Warner Arms Corporation sometime between 1911 and 1913 in Brooklyn NY. He intended to import and sell the Schwarzlose Model 1909 pistol. The pistol was originally made by the A.W. Schwarzlose Gesellschaft in Germany.
According to Source 1:
“The A.W. Schwarzlose Gesellschaft ended production of its Model 1909 Schwarzlose pistol 1910 and the remaining stock of the pistols was sold off at wholesale prices. Warner bought some of the Schwarzlose pistols and sold them under the auspices of the Kirtland Brothers as early as 1911. Eventually he purchased all the remaining parts and the tooling for the Model 1909 and began selling the remaining pistols as the “Warner Schwarzlose” under the auspices of the Warner Arms Corporation as early as 1913.”
“He established a factory in Norwich, Connecticut to make guns from the Schwarzlose parts, which were also sold under the name Warner Schwarzlose, but were considerably modified from the German production guns. When the Schwarzlose parts began to run out, Warner apparently paid Andrew Fyrberg to design the Infallible pistol to be manufactured by the Warner Arms Corporation.”
In 1917 the Warner Arms Corp was merged with N.R. Davis & Sons of Assonet, Massachusetts. The combined company was named Davis-Warner Arms Co. After the merger the name of “The Infallible” was changed to “Infallible” and production of the guns was moved from Norwich, CT to Assonet, MA.
Acknowledgements
The Infallible
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