Work by Fred Adolph

[D Hallquist]

The recent Waidmannsheil talks of Fred Adolph and seems to say that Adolph did no work on the guns he sold, and that they were made in Suhl for the most part.

I have some correspondence between Rudolph Kornbrath and Baker Gun and Forging Co. indicating that Kornbrath was doing work on Adolph guns ca. 1914. After the demise of Adolph's gun business after WW1, Adolph shows up near Griffin and Howe [ca1924] doing stock work for the firm. The style of the stocks are certainly Adolph style.

Given the above, is it accurate to say that Adolph was only a retailer of guns made overseas to his order ?

[Nathaniel Myers]

Fred Adolph was a very prominent gunmaker in the United States. What I know comes directly from Michael Petrov, a prominent researcher of early American gunmakers. I would strongly recommend his two books, "Custom Gunmakers of the 20th Century" and with the same title, Volume Two.

I will paraphrase and quote this;
"It's apparent as soon as you start reading an Adolph catalog and looking at the pictures that every gun in the catalog was for the most part made in Germany for Adolph. The exceptions are the restocking of sporter rifles . . . " p114 Petrov

There is a great deal more information on the subject in that chapter. My opinion from reading Petrov was, Adolph did do some work in the states, primarily stock work. However he attributed the work primarily to sporting rifles, a large portion of Adolphs work, not the shotguns drillings and pistols.

I just finished reading the same artical and thought to pull my Petrov books on the subject. Then I saw your post and thought it was a must.

[mike ford]

The German Gun Collectors Association Almanac A002, Fred Adolph-German-American "Gunsmith to the Stars" is available in the Assn. book store. GGCA members get a discount with each purchase from the store. Everything there is related to German guns, the assn., or hunting. Everyone on this forum obviously has an interest in German guns and have an interest in learning more about them. For these reasons, any member of the forum should join the Assn. In addition to the two Assn's publications, WAIDMANNSHEIL, and Der WAFFENSCHMEID, the discounts can save enough money to pay all or part of the dues. Just as a matter of general principle, the information gained from the publications is valuable information that could very well lead to identifying a "treasure" lying on a gunshow table somewhere. BTW, the above Almanac A002, was provided each member(current at the time), as a benefit of membership.
Mike