William S. Brophy - Marlin Firearms: A History of the Guns and the Company That Made Them

Copyright 1989 by Lt. Col. WilliamS. Brophy, USAR, Ret.

Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-6921
www.stackpolebooks.com

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.

Printed in the United States of America

10 9

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
L.C. Smith Shotguns
The Krag Rifle
Specifications and Plans of the L.C. Smith Shotgun
Springfield Armory Annual Reports 19011948
The Springfield 1903 Rifles

Photographs in this book, unless otherwise noted, are by the author.

The Marlin Firearms Company, the writer, and the publisher accept no responsibility for any injury or death as a result of the use of any information in this book. All of the details furnished here are for historical purposes and are not to be used for the purpose of handloading or manufacture of ammunition.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brophy, William S.

Marlin Firearms : a history of the guns and the company that made them / William S. Brophy.

p. cm.

Bibliography: p.

ISBN 0-8117-0877-2

1. Marlin Firearms CompanyHistory. 2. Firearms industry and tradeConnecticutHistory. I. Title.

TS533.3.C8B76 1989

338.7'6834'0097468-dcl9

ISBN 978-0-8117-0877-7

88-38768

CIP

ISBN 978-0-8117-0877-7

This book is dedicated to my wife, Gerry, without whose love and understanding this work would not have been possible.

This is the story of a distinctly American company. It began when a gunsmith named John Marlin hung a sign in front of his shop in New Haven, Connecticut one hundred and eighteen years ago.

His first products were tiny single-shot pistols for ladies to carry in their purses during the unsettled post-Civil War years. The company blossomed and strode into the twentieth century with an already famous line of sturdy lever action rifles that were proving themselves on the western frontier.

The company trudged along through war, changes of ownership, Depression, and war again, surviving by the wits of some very wise and talented men.

The diversity of products manufactured by the New Haven plantin addition to gunswas extensive. Baby buggies, decoy anchors, button hooks, letter openers, kids wagons, handcuffs, and razor blades (by the millions) all helped Marlin survive during this sometimes chaotic century.

Today, unlike some of the other great old names in the gun industry, Marlin is solid and thriving, in a modern plant manned by dedicated workers and a management committed to quality.

The author of this fascinating story began his research over fifteen years ago, and has gathered information from all over the country. The result is a book so detailed and accurate, that to call it the definitive work is almost an understatement.

All of us who are interested in the history of the American firearms industry owe a debt of gratitude to Bill Brophy for the perseverance and dedication that went into the creation of this historic book.

Frank Kenna

This book was written to try to collect and preserve for the Marlin collector, the potential collector, and the historian that information about The Marlin Firearms Company now in print, or known to exist, before it is gradually lost with time. Unfortunately, much of Marlins history has already been lost, or has been incorrectly quoted. My effort, since joining Marlin in 1969, has been to try to rediscover some of the information that has been lost and to accurately describe the evolution of the present Marlin Firearms Company through its four previous owners.

Detailed information about the daily activities of the company and its leadership have been lost, or were never recorded during the J.M. Marlin Ballard rifle and handgun manufacturing period. Also there is little or no recorded data for the Marlin Fire Arms Company, Marlin Arms Corporation, Marlin-Rockwell Corporation, and Marlin Firearms Corporation periods of ownership, except for some catalogs and price sheets. The present company did not inherit (except for limited serial number records for lever action rifles and carbines for the period of 1883-1906) manufacturing records, blueprints, catalogs, or a collection of firearms manufactured by the previous four owners. Therefore the task of doing this book required years of preparation by locating printed material, catalogs, and representative models of each type of handgun, rifle, and shotgun produced, as well as the many diversified items the Marlin companies produced. The amount of labor involved in the actual writing of this book, and the taking, developing, and printing of the pictures, was not fully recognized in the beginning and fortunately so, as otherwise the book would not have been started.

To dispel the rumor that I have done this book on the job while working for Marlin, I must state that the work was done, with few exceptions, as a personal effort at home. However, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the sincere support and personal interest Mr. Frank Kenna, president of Marlin, gave me during the years it has taken to complete this book. He opened all doors and channels available to him during my search and offered personal knowledge and background information, as best he knew it. In fact, frequently his was the only inside information about matters not recorded, or available through regular research channels. Without Mr. Kennas help and understanding, this book would not have been completed. All readers are indebted to his leadership of the company and the support he has extended to the Marlin family of collectors.

It is my hope that this book will add to the already published information about Marlin firearms. It is also my desire that this book spur a new generation of collectors into recognizing that Marlin firearms have been successful in the field and are now desirable collectors items because of their place in American history, as well as their classic beauty and intrinsic value.

This book is the result of not only a personal search for data but of the collective interest and effort of many enthusiastic collectors, authors, historians, and museum personnel who supplied me with much valuable information. I want to express my appreciation to those individuals who have contributed to this book. Some offered their collections for study. Others provided special material not available from other sources and patiently answered my many questions, or offered valuable moral support.

First, I want to thank the many officers and employees of Marlin who assisted me with research and encouragement. In particular I thank Anthony Aeschliman, George Allard, Robert Behn, my secretary, Marlene Colavolpe, Andrew Constant, Nicholas DeMusis, Ed Goldshinsky, Harold Finkle, Robert Flynn, William Johnson, Eli Kasimer, Gilbert Kenna, Nicholas Ketre, Jack Kelley, George Mendelsohn, John Miller, Stephen Morris, Robert Naylor, E. Ernest Oberst, William Osborne, Fred Prout, Wanda Pyrdol, Geraldine Roehl, Robert Rohr, Edward Stempeck, Virginia Sundius, and my outstanding typist, Mrs. Lynn Bibber, for her untiring efforts in deciphering my poor handwriting and the typing of a lengthy manuscript.