Fox Collectors

Looking at two miss-marked? older double guns today- Baltimore Arms- 30" Damascus barrels uncut, DT, Ext. A grade and 4 digit serial number-s this a predecessor to the A.H. Fox first guns in Phila? Nice condition, 75% case colors on receiver- also has two rear small set screws on receiver near receiver balls-, and only one machine screw, rather than the later found two through pins- sears and trigger axles on boxlock guns of that era. Next gun was miss-identified as a CE grade LeFever (Uncle Dan) it is a Hollenbeck three barrel gun (2 barrels however_ Wheeling Va- with 30" Krupp steel barrels (in english- nicht Krupp Flustahl-Essen_ with German export proof parks, DR, EJ- looks to have been revlued and the english grip style buttstock and splinter forearm refinished- nice handling gun indeed. Can anybody shed some light on these two "oldies"-??

Baltimore Arms Co. guns have nothing to do with Ansley H. Fox designs. Ansley H. Fox had the Fox Gun Co., Balto., Md., U.S.A. building this gun of Ansley's design from July 1898 through 1899. A-Grade with Twist barrels --



and B-Grade with Damascus barrels --



In January 1900, Ansley left to become a professional shooter. His partners incorporated a new company, Baltimore Arms Co., under the laws of West Virginia with its principle place of business Baltimore, Maryland. All the assets of the Fox Gun Co. were transferred to Baltimore Arms Co. Baltimore Arms Co. commenced building a gun of Frank A. Hollenbeck's design, with bolting covered by Frank's Patent No. 643,601 granted Feb. 13, 1900. The Baltimore Arms Co. gun featured the other Hollenbeck features of the 5/8 inch wide barrel lug and sears hung from above. Cut-away from the 1900 Baltimore Arms Co. catalogue --



the 1900 model Baltimore Arms Co. gun was made only in 12-gauge, Grade A with Twist barrels, Grade B with Damascus barrels and Grade C with engraving and a choice of Damascus or fluid steel barrels. They also began construction of a new factory at the corner of South Sharp & Stockholm Streets, a block or so away from the old Fox factory where they were operating. They moved into the new factory in May 1901 and expanded the line with the 1902 models which included a smaller framed 16-gauge gun, and two higher grades, the Trap Gun with straight grip and fluid steel barrels --





and a D-Grade with choice of Damascus or Monumental Steel barrels, undoubtedly named for Monumental Shooting Park in Baltimore.

Even before Baltimore Arms Co. moved into their new factory building, Frank A. Hollenbeck left and went up to West Virginia and founded his Hollenbeck Gun Co. to build both his three-barrel gun and a side-by-side. These guns also used the bolting covered by Frank's Patent No. 643,601 but used a different cocking system covered by a patent Frank filed application for on May 28, 1901. A Hollenbeck Gun Co. double --



and the three-barrel --



the year 1904 became a pivotal year for both these companies. Baltimore Arms Co. introduced the 1904 model which had rebates in the back of the frame to accept tenons on the head of the stock, shown here on a D-Grade --



However, for the Baltimore Arms Co. gun this coming of age and having the bugs worked out was too late and the company closed its doors just about the time of the Great Baltimore Fire. The fire didn't come within several block of the company, but creditors calling in loans and unsold inventory doomed it. The same thing was happening to the Hollenbeck Gun Co. up in Wheeling, West Virginia. On Mar. 1, 1904, Frank A. Hollenbeck was granted Patent No. 753,492 covering the locks for the three barrel gun and the cocking mechanism used on it and the double.

Reorganization schemes for Baltimore Arms Co. were looked at through the summer and into the fall, but eventually it went to a receiver and was sold and auctioned off. The highest serial number I've observed for a Fox Gun Co., Balto., Md., U.S.A. gun is 975. The lowest serial number I've observed for a Baltimore Arms Co. gun is 1022. The highest serial number Baltimore Arms Co. gun I've observed is 7053.

Interestingly, Ansley H. Fox bought a lot of the jigs and machinery of Baltimore Arms Co. at the receiver's sale, equipment he used to set up the A.H. Fox Gun Co. in early 1905 after he left Philadelphia Arms Co. in December 1904.

Meanwhile up in West Virginia, reorganization was going a bit better. While Frank A. Hollenbeck was gone, a new company was formed, the Three-Barrel Gun Co., and while the offices stayed in Wheeling, a new factory was set up down river in Moundsville. Meanwhile up in Ohio, Uncle Dan Lefever died and his D.M. Lefever Co. in Bowling Green closed up. His son Frank Lefever came down to Moundsville to run the new Three-Barrel Gun Co. factory and brought with him a load of parts for the D.M. Lefever single barrel, which became the Three Barrel Gun Co. Single Barrel Trap Gun. The Three-Barrel Gun Co. limped along into 1908 when another reorganization as Royal Gun Co. breathed about two more years life into it.

Back in the spring of 1900, Ansley H. Fox became a professional shooter for Winchester, shooting a Parker Bros. gun and representing Winchester's ammunition. He often shot under the name LEADER, Winchester's premium shotgun shell. At the 1900 Grand American Handicap, Ansley carried the high average for the entire week's events but missed one bird in the Grand itself and shared 24 money. On July 1, 1900, Ansley's young son James died of cholera in Baltimore --



By August 1900, the big W had Ansley shucking one of their Model 1897 pumps. By the 1901 Grand American Handicap he was pumping it well enough to again carry the high average for the entire weeks events, and got 25 straight in the Grand American Handicap itself. However, he was the first man out in the shoot-off. He moved to Philadelphia in time to be included in the 1902 Philadelphia City Directory and in November 1902 incorporated Philadelphia Arms Co.

Thanks-what a great an informative reply-- What a tragedy for a grandfather, Dr. Addison Fox, to have to sign the death certificate for his infant grandson. The uninformed clowns in the Gun Library tagged the Hollenbeck sidelock with Krupp barrels as a "Uncle Dan LeFever CE grade"- they are asking $3200 for it- I think NOT!