July 2017 Newsletter
This Newsletter Goes to Over 20,000 Firearms Collectors,
Enthusiasts, Historians and Professionals Worldwide
Over 5000 Vintage Gun Catalogs, Books and Manuals from the 1840s to the 2000s
IN THIS ISSUE:
New Books and Special Thanks
Parts Suppliers, Gun Makers, Brands & Models, Appraisers
Serial Numbers by Year for your Gun |
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Back issues: you can view the newsletter on our website. For a downloadable copy of our catalog of reprints or manuals this will take you there. Also, for Interesting downloads at our website. Please forward this letter to your friends.
The Best Bike Ever!
Holland is a country of bicyclists. But with a high incidence of cycle-auto accidents, Google has stepped up and will be offering a self-driving early next year...
BEST GANG MOWER EVER
John Campbell sent this picture along with a collection of "southern cracker inventions"... except, I thought of it first! It's really a "Norther Cracker Invention!" I had the same setup to cut our four acre lawn in Connecticut with a 36" Wheel Horse 8hp (big horsepower in the 70s) lawn tractor pulling two Sears 36" walk-behinds.
HITLER'S NEPHEW Served in the U.S. Navy
 Adolf Hitler had a British nephew who joined the U.S. navy during WWII. Hitler’s nephew, who he would come to call “my loathsome nephew”, was originally named William Patrick Hitler, but he later changed it to William Patrick Stuart-Houston to distance himself from his uncle’s name after WWII. William was born in Liverpool, the son of Adolf Hitler’s half brother, Alois Hitler, Jr., and an Irish woman named Bridget Dowling.
Prior to WWII, William moved from England to Germany where Adolf Hitler got him a job in a bank, which he subsequently left after convincing Hitler to get him a job at an automobile factory, as a salesman. At this point, Hitler began calling him “my loathsome nephew” and began publicly calling him out, stating, “I didn’t become Chancellor for the benefit of my family … No one is going to climb on my back.”
Getting nowhere further with his uncle, William then returned to London for a time and attempted to capitalize on his uncle’s fame there. He later returned to Germany where Hitler eventually offered William a top ranking position with the Nazis if William would renounce his British citizenship. William turned down the offer, fearing he’d be trapped in Germany in the coming conflict.
No longer caring to ask for a job or high ranking position, William subsequently began trying to blackmail his uncle, threatening to tell the media stories about Hitler and his family, including threatening to confirm a rumor that Hitler was the illegitimate grandson of the Jewish merchant, Leopold Frankenberger, if Hitler wouldn’t give him money. As you might imagine, this didn’t sit well with Hitler and William was forced to flee back to England, though some reports say he was given a sizable sum before being forced to leave.
Just before the start of WWII, William and his mother were invited to the United States at the invitation of famed publisher William Randolph Hearst. Hearst then sponsored William on a nationwide lecture tour titled “My Uncle Adolf”, where William would tell stories about Hitler and the Nazis to audiences.
Once the war broke out, William tried to join the British forces, but was denied. When the U.S. eventually entered the war, William appealed to President Roosevelt to be allowed to join the U.S. forces, stating why he felt he wasn’t being allowed to serve in the British forces: “The British are an insular people and while they are kind and courteous, it is my impression, rightly or wrongly, that they could not in the long term feel overly cordial or sympathetic towards an individual bearing the name I do.”
Roosevelt turned the matter over to the F.B.I. who eventually decided to allow William to join the U.S. navy, despite being a British citizen and the nephew of Hitler. He served in the navy as a Hospital Corpsman and was discharged in 1947 after three years of service.
Never Give Up The Fight
Soldier Continued to Hold His Position...
for 30 Years after WWII was Over!
 An Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer, who fought in World War II, Hiroo Onoda never surrendered in 1945.
For almost 30 years, until 1974, he held his position in the Philippines. His former commander traveled from Japan to personally issue orders relieving him from duty in 1974.
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The Penguin and the Fisherman
Jim Buchanan sent us this heartwarming story from a beach in Brazil. It’s the story of a South American Magellanic penguin who swims five thousand miles each year to be reunited with the man who saved his life.
Retired bricklayer and part time fisherman Joao Perei de Souza, seventy-one, who lives in an island village just outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, found the tiny penguin, covered in oil and close to death, lying on rocks on his local beach in 2011. Joao cleaned the oil off the penguin’s feathers and fed him a daily diet of fish to build his strength. He named him Dindim.
 After a week, he tried to release the penguin back into the sea. But, the bird wouldn’t leave. ‘He stayed with me for eleven months and then, just after he changed his coat with new feathers, he disappeared,’ Joao recalls. But, just a few months later, Dindim was back. He spotted the fisherman on the beach one day and followed him home.
For the past five years, Dindim has spent eight months of the year with Joao and is believed to spend the rest of the time breeding off the coast of Argentina and Chile. It’s thought he swims up to five thousand miles each year to be reunited with the man who saved his life.
 “I love the penguin like it’s my own child and I believe the penguin loves me,” Joao said. “No one else is allowed to touch him. He pecks them if they do He lays on my lap, lets me give him showers, allows me to feed him sardines and pick him up.”
It’s thought Dindim believes the fisherman is also a penguin. ‘Everyone said he wouldn’t return but he has been coming back to visit me for the past five years. He arrives in June and leaves to go home in February and every year he becomes more affectionate as he appears even happier to see me.’
 Biologist Professor Krajewski, who interviewed the fisherman for Globo Television, told The Independent: ‘I have never seen anything like this before. I think the penguin believes Joao is part of his family and probably a penguin as well. ‘When he sees him he wags his tail like a dog and honks with delight. And, just like that, the world seems a kinder place again.
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Flintlock Revolvers???
Ben Nicholson and Frank Graves have collaborated on an intensive study of one of the most iconic of all early firearms, the Collier Revolving Firearms. This study addresses every known survivor and presents an amazing number of variations of this rare weapon.
The article appeared in the June issue of Arms Heritage Magazine and can be read in the Archives section of the magazine along with the hundreds of other articles published over the last six and a half years.
A mere $19 gets you a year of new magazines but also access to the archives to 6 1/2 years of the best research and most interesting articles in the collector world. Check in at Arms Heritage Magazine
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New Books and Special Thanks
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You can always see the reprints added during the last six months by clicking on the Recent Additions link to our website. Special thanks to Don Neal for letting us borrow their wonderful old catalogs and manuals to copy.
The Norwich (CT) Arms Gazette is really a treasure trove of information about a number of guns people ask us about all the time- Bacon, Crescent, Davenport, Early S&W, Hopkins & Allen, Merwin Hulbert, Thames, Tobin and a load of gunmakers too. Buy a copy, you won't regret it.
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Re: Details about item: jaa0109 sent a message about Colt 1972 AR-15 Model SP1 "Sporter" Rifle Manual. Hello, I'm sure this is a stupid question, but I just want confirmation before I buy another copy of this manual. I saw where you print these on demand and there is a lead time, that's fine, I just want to make sure these are actually bound, not stapled and the pages are double sided. Kind of got burned by another seller selling photo copies of this manual because I didn't read carefully enough before buying, don't want to make the same mistake again. Jaa0109 (Ebay)
Dear jaa... Yours is not a stupid question. We would rather have you ask than be disappointed and go nuts like some people. That particular manual is color printed (both sides) on a colorcube printer. It is folded, stapled on the folds like the original and trimmed. BUT! It is not a forgery of the original, it is not the exact size nor is it printed on the same paper etc. IT IS NOT A PERFECT COPY. Sorry for being so emphatic but I want to make clear what we do. We reprint over 6000 old firearms publications and assemble, bind, trim and pack by hand so there are limits to what we can do. Essentially, if you want an original, wait for one to come up on ebay. If you want a nice reproduction, this will do. Cheers, Rob
(Dear Abby) Interested in getting some catalogues to compliment my guns, Do you make manufacturer labels as well? Stephen David Barnes
Dear Mr. Barnes, No, we don't offer labels or hang tags or that sort of thing. We make good reprints of over 6000 old firearms publications but we do not make exact forgeries of originals. Please read the About Us page at our website. Abby
Re: Details about item: et51 sent a message about Gun Barrel and Receiver Codes, Markings and Proof Marks. Hello, I am mainly interested in antique guns from civil war, revolutionary war etc. Does this book cover the markings on those kind of guns or just modern back to WW! Et51 (Ebay)
Dear et... Well neither really. Although there are some references to post WWII guns most are the from the cartridge era, although a few are earlier. I would not think this is what you are looking for. Cheers, Abby
Hi Abby- Just received my catalog... very nice work!!! Thanks, as always, for the great service! Mike
Abby; Two things- I am on the mailing list, but didn't receive june newsletter. Also, I called the number you have listed for Greg Bickford, and they said it was either wrong or disconnected. Do you know of this problem? If so , do you have a good number?thanks Mike
Hi Mike, The June newsletter is the first I have sent that is compatible with hand held devices and is supposedly free of things that trigger spam killers in the various mail servers. It sounds as if yours went to spam anyway. Please check that folder and if it isn’t there you can always find the newsletter at our website on the top row of links.
Each mail server, Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail etc has a spam killer. You can add us as a safe sender by following these directions:
Forgive me but I don't recall who Greg Bickford is. If you can tell me a bit more (Links page, newsletter? Month? related to?) I'll try to help. Cheers, Abby (turned out Bickford was in the 2007 newsletter)
(Dear Rob) which sniper manuals to you reprint. One of the M1 or Springfield? Jay Botsford
Below are the listings we've done for sniper rifles (just enter "Sniper" in the search box to get them all):
Dragonov 7.62 x 54R Sniper Rifle (Romanian) Romak Manual7 pages, about 5" x 8". New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated. Text in English.
Dragunov 1987 Sniper Training Manual (Russian)177 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated. TEXT IN RUSSIAN
Dragunov 7.62 SVK Sniper Rifle Technical Description and Service Manual12 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy paper-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated. Text in English
M1 W/E, M1C, M1D Rifle (Snipers) Depot Maint Manual- DO Army55 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
M1 W/E, M1C, M1D Rifle (Snipers) Operator Maint Manual- DO Army57 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
M1903A4 Cal .30 (Sniper's) W/E - TM 9-1005-205-1242 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
Sniper Rifle- Mk 13 .300 Win Mag Operator Manual140 pages, about 5" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
Sniper Rifle- Mk 13 MOD 012 .300 Win Mag Parts Breakdown12 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy paper-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
Sniper Rifle- Mk 13, .300 Win Mag Technical Repair Manual86 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy paper-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
Sniper Weapons System (SWS) 1989 7.62mm M24 Operators Manual112 pages, about 6" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
TM 9-270 1943 US Rifle 1903A4 (Sniper) Telescope Operation33 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.
U.S. Army Manual USMC Sniper's Manual Operations manual (poor copy)
(Dear Abby) A note to let you know how pleased I am with the book. Manual for FN 7.62 SLR C1A1 Canadian Services Rifle Manual. Delivery time very quick also. You have a very unique service. Brent Shaughnessy
Abby, Just to let you know that the Bonehill, CG 1888 Guns, Rifles, Revolvers, Ammo etc. Catalogillustrated catalogue arrived this morning. Thank you for your very efficient service, greatly appreciated. Regards, Norman Painting, Birmingham. UK.
Hello my name is Geoffrey I bought a M24 SWS manual from you off gun broker ,The M24 SWS manual that came with the rifle it falls apart but not yours I have read throughout and the pages are done on good quality paper ,I wanted to know if you could make manuals if I emailed you the pdf's? I made copies at work and they aren't as good as the ones you make ,let me know if you can make the manuals thank you geoff3
Hi Geoff, I would certainly try. Of course the quality of the reprint depends on the quality of the copy. If you are doing the scans for the pdf, please make it 300 dpi and scan in color even if the original is B&W. Please just send it to this address and we shall see! Cheers, Rob
Dear Abby, The pub I ordered is labeled Winchester 1886 April- Arms & Metallic Ammo Catalog. Naturally I assumed it contained Winchester model 1886 information. It does not but starts with model 1866 and stops just short of model 1886. I could not review the pubs online to verify the correct one to order. Can you verify the October 1886 issue actually contains the model 1886 Winchester 33 caliber rifle? If so request that publication vice one received and will return the one you sent in original packaging. First time using your website, which isn't very intuitive. Pub title is misleading. Are you going to exchange the April 1886 pub for the Winchester 1886 Oct- Arms & Metallic Ammo Catalog?Thx. Craig Fay
Craig, We are away right now but will help you when we have access to our office. Presumably your weapon was made after the catalog was issued which was certainly not our fault so I don't think we can be blamed for misleading you! At any rate we didn't write the thing we just reprinted it, but yes we'll take care of you. Sorry you don't think the site is intuitive. It was the best this old mind could come up with when I designed the thing. Abby
Rob, I'm not blaming you and am sorry if I came across rudely. Truly not my intention. Let me know when you are back in the office and I'll work with you as needed for the exchange. Thx Craig
Hi Craig, We'll be glad to do that. Please check the rifle you want is in the index of the October issue of the catalog (scroll down), then send me the url to the page. Please keep the one you have, we print to order and have no storage, we'll send you the one you, need. Thanks, Abby
Hi Folks, Just a quick heads up, both eBay purchases have arrived in excellent shape and I've left you a 5 Star rating. Mike Chandler
Hi, Belgian SxS shotgun catalogs to donate. I became fascinated with Belgian SxS hammerless shotguns over 3 years ago, and have and have studied them at great length, particularly ones dubbed "guild guns." I now haver several near mint catalogs I would like to begin to donate to your company and foundation. It is a great project you have and a wonderful mission! The first I can send is a 1922 near mint JB Ronge E Fils bound, highly illustrated in black and white catalog. I too would like to share what I have, and my passion for these fine hand made weapons. Thanks, Dan Crowley
Hi Dan, Wow! That is great, thanks, we really appreciate your support. I have to tell you that all we need to do it scan your catalogs and then, if you like, we usually return them undamaged. On the other hand we plan to donate all the originals we have collected over the years at some point so you will know if we have yours they will be well looked after. Our address is:
Cornell Publications
PO Box 214
Brighton, MI 48116
Thanks again,
Rob and Abby
(Dear Abby) Quick question are the Manuals not to be trimmed as my original in other words all the space above and below. Bobby Daily airgunenthusiastsworldwide (Ebay)
Dear Bobby, That is correct. We choose to make everything we sell just a little different than the original for two reasons. One, it is easier for us to standardize the 6000 publications we offer and two, it keeps ephemera collectors happy we are not making forgeries of originals. Rob
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I got this book from you and it isn't the same size as the original I have and the colors are not the same. I wanted another to dosplay with my gun but this is crap and I want my money back. Belton Dawson, NY
Dear Belton, the size of the manual is clearly noted in the description and the color issue is really something you should consider. After talking with you on the telephone it seems your manual is now 80 years old, ragged and faded. Ours has the color digitally brought back to what it was originally and is, therefore, much brighter. I'll ask Abby to send you a check. Rob
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Gun Model & Makers, Parts Suppliers & Appraisers
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Maker-Model Cross References:
Firearms Appraisals:
Mike Rich, owner of I HAVE THIS OLD GUN. Send Mike an email to get started. His charges are modest.
We get hundreds of calls about PARTS:
Serial Numbers and Corresponding Dates:
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