By Samantha L. Harper
Title: MS 428 - Ithaca Gun Company, 1886-1892
Primary Creator: Ithaca Gun Company
Extent: 16.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 01/01/2014. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Baker, W. H. (William Henry), 1827-1911, Firearms--1880-1900, Ithaca Gun Company, Lefever, Daniel Myron, 1835-1906, Lefever Arms Company, Smith, Louis Pardon
Languages: English
This collection consists of materials related to the production of the Ithaca Gun Company, of Ithaca, New York. The materials consist of several note pads that detail the serial numbers, grade, bore, length, and size of Baker, Crass, and other models produced from 1886-1892.
Also included are the records of the Lefever Arms Company of Syracuse, New York, which was bought by Ithaca Gun Company in 1916.
Ithaca Gun Company (1880 – Present) is a manufacturer of shotguns and rifles originally established in Ithaca, New York in 1880. Ithaca Gun Company became famous for building firearms based on expired patents owned by Remington Arms. Its hunting shotguns were known for their fine decorative work, typically waterfowl or hunting dogs. Around 1877, Leroy Smith went into business with William Henry Baker. They moved the W.H. Baker Company, which manufactured double- and triple-barreled shotguns, from Center Lisle, New York to Syracuse. In 1883, Baker, Smith, and several partners moved to Ithaca and established the original Ithaca Gun Company. The original factory was located in the Fall Creek neighborhood of the city, on a slope later known as Gun Hill, where the nearby waterfall supplied the main source of energy for the plant. The factory was condemned in March 2006 and only the smokestack presently remains.
The company was controlled by the Smith family until 1967, when it was sold to a Colorado company which later became General Recreation, Inc. After a failed attempt to move manufacturing to Colorado, it filed for bankruptcy in September 1985. In 1987, new owners Ithaca Acquisition, Inc. moved manufacturing to King Ferry, New York. In May 2005 it moved to larger facilities in Auburn. Then, the owners sold all of Ithaca's assets, trademarks, and manufacturing rights to the Marshalls from Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The physical goods were relocated to Floyd Marshall's tool and die shop. The Marshalls sold the company to Dave Dlubak in June 2007, and it continues to operate in Upper Sandusky, Ohio.
Baker, W. H. (William Henry), 1827-1911
Firearms--1880-1900
Ithaca Gun Company
Lefever, Daniel Myron, 1835-1906
Lefever Arms Company
Smith, Louis Pardon
Repository: McCracken Research Library
Accruals: Addition - Gift, Walter G. Snyder, 2018-03-19
Access Restrictions: McCracken Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials. Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation or publication. Contact McCracken Research Library for more information.
Acquisition Source: Walter Snyder
Acquisition Method: Gift
Related Materials:
Snyder, Walter Claude. The Ithaca Gun Company : from the beginning. [Spencerport, N.Y. : Cook and Uline Pub.], c1991. TS 533.5 .I8 S6 1991
Snyder, Walter Claude. Ithaca featherlight repeaters-- the best gun going : a complete history of the Ithaca model 37 and the model 87. Southern Pines, NC : Cook and Uline Pub., c1998. TS 536.8 .S64 1998
Morris, Jim. The Grand American : a century of trapshooting tradition : 100th anniversary. Vandalia, Ohio : Amateur Trapshooting Association, [1999]. GV 1184 .M67 1999
Preferred Citation: Ithaca Gun Company Collection, MS 428, McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
