Crescent Firearms

H&D Folsom was a large sporting goods retailer and distributor in New York City. They didn't manufacture any firearms, but from 1893 to 1930 they owned Crescent Firearms in Norwich, Ct. They also bought guns from other arms makers, especially Belgian manufacturers. Haven't ran across a W Richardson, but many of the Belgian imports were marked W Richards in an attempt to make buyers think they were getting a product of the English gunmaker, Westley Richards. I'm guessing that you have one of these. It probably has damascus or twist barrels and side hammers. A perfectly good utility gun when made, but after 100 years the barrels will have deteriorated and are probably no longer safe to use, and absolutely should NOT be used with modern ammunition. I bought a Folsom Arms import at auction, highly engraved, with "Rowland Watson" as part of the engraving. It was imported from England with English proof marks. I'd appreciate any information or educated guesses as to what I have. * You might look into this a bit closer. Does it have British or Belgian proofmarks? There is an English gunmaker using the W Richards mark. The Belgian knockoffs with this name are usually junk but these are not. The company now trades as W Richards (Liverpool) Ltd at 10a The Pavement, Pocklington, York, Yorkshire, YO42 2AX; Tel: 01759 305088 Fax: 01759 368559. Some records are available.

The American Gun Company was the "house brand" of H&D Folsom Sporting Goods, New York City, c. 1895-1930. The guns were manufactured by Crescent Arms, Norwich, Connecticut. Their single barrel shotguns sold for less than $10 when new. Their double barrel shotguns sold for $10-$15 when new. Old trade-name shotguns are not generally collected and not safe with modern ammunition, so are valued solely as a mantle ornament. The value of these guns if they are broken, badly worn, or rusty is less than $50. In like-new condition, it might be over $200. In "average" condition, it would probably be about $125. Here's verbatum from Standard Catalog of Firearms: "American Gun Co. / Norwich, Connecticut / Crescent Firearms Co - Maker / H & D Folsom Co - Distributor / Side x Side Shotgun A typical trade gun made around the turn of the century by the Crescent Firearms Co. to be distributed by H & D Folsom. These are sometimes known as "hardware store guns," as that is where many were sold. This particular gun was chambered for 12, 16, and 20 gauges and was produced with or without external hammers. The length of the barrels varied, as did the chokes. Some were produced with Damascus barrels; some, with fluid steel. The latter are worth approximately 25% more." Although not mentioned in this listing, there were also single shot break action shotguns similar in configuration.

Can anyone advise me. I currently restoring a black powder 12 bore shotgun one of the the hammers is missing. The gun is circa 1860 Naylor & son Sheffield. Any advice would be welcome. many thanks.

Dan.

Crescent manufactured shotguns from 1888 to 1940. They sold a million utility shotguns that were "branded" by hardware stores and the like.

Typical value is $85 to $150.

I'm not aware of any resource for looking up the serial numbers.

Regards, Jay Gentry Shotgunworld.com

Made between 1893 and 1930. With a more complete description I may be able to narrow that down a little, but cannot give a definite year of manufacture. Value will be less than $200 unless it is a like-new example of the early (pre-WWI) model.

Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co, Chicago (1882-1962), retailed the Victor shotguns which were manufactured by Crescent Arms, Norwich, CT (1893-1930). Can't determine the date any closer than that, but if it has fluid steel barrels it was made sometime after 1900. Value will be in the range of $75 or less.

American Gun Company was the house brand of H&D Folsom Sporting Goods of New York. The Victor was manufactured by Crescent Firearms, Norwich, CT, which was owned by Folsom from 1893 - 1932.

Victor and Knickerbocker were Crescent-Davis (circa 1888 to about 1940) "utility" guns manufactured for various hardware stores, retail outlets, and Folsom's retail outlets.

Currently there is no collector value. Approximate value on any of these are $85 to $150, depending on condition.

Regards, Jay Gentry Shotgunworld.com

Diamond Arms Company and Nitro King are both trade name used by the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Some of the guns were imported from various Belgian sources, but they were also made by W.H.Davenport Firearms Co (1890's - ), Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works (early 1900's - ), J. Stevens Arms (before 1942), and Savage Arms. If there is an oval with ELG* stamped on the barrel or action, it is from Belgium, but being a 410 makes that unlikely. That also eliminates Davenport as the maker.

Manufactured by Savage/Stevens (equivalent to their Model 311-D) probably in the 1950's. http://www.e-gunparts.com has a listing of most house-brands.

Crescent operated from 1893 to 1930. There doesn't seem to be any source to pinpoint dates of manufacture by serial numbers. Crescent was a subsidiary of H&D Folsom Sporting Goods, New York. Many of their products were sold through Folsom's retail outlets, but Folsom was also a large wholesale dealer and many Crescent guns were marked with the names or trademarks of other retail chains and even independent hardware stores.

Neumann Freres was in business in Liege, Belgium from 1863 until 1957. Thousands of their double-barrel shotguns were imported to the US (marked with English "Bros." instead of French "Freres") prior to WWI. Value to a shooter = $0, to a collector = $200 (but only if in as-new condition), to a decorator for a mantlepiece = $125-$150.

Not sure if this is your gun, but Leader Gun Company was a trade name used on shotguns retailed by the Charles Williams Stores, Inc. of New York. Most likely manufacturer would be Crescent Arms, Norwich, CT. "Nitro" would imply proofed for smokeless powder.

Yes, but it is quite likely to be an Iver Johnson Champion if it is a single shot. I can only narrow the date of manufacture down to "1890's to 1960's" from the name alone and serial numbers don't mean much on these older trade-name guns. You may be able to get a pretty good idea when it was purchased from family members. I have an old 20 ga. single shot marked Cresent that looks exactly like the Excel. The Standard Catalog of Firearms states that Crescent Fire Arms made the Excel for Montgomery Ward & Co. of Chicago, Ill.

Not the Spencer that made the Civil War era carbines. The Spencer name was used on shotguns by several firms. H. Spencer & Company guns were manufactured by Henri Pieper, Leige, Belgium, for Henry Spencer & Co., Chicago Illinois, in the early 1880's. Spencer Gun Co was marked on guns manufactured by Crescent Firearms and distributed by H&D Folsom to various hardware and mercantile retailers c. 1900-1940. Baker Gun Company, Batavia, New York, and Hopkins & Allen, Norwich, CT also marked shotguns with the Spencer name c. 1900.

No one can answer that without examining the gun. Armory steel would have been almost certainly intended for smokeless powder, but what has happened to the gun in the last 80-100 years could make it unsafe now. Also, depending on just how old it is, the chambers may be only 2 1/2". Have a competent gunsmith check it out.

Utica Firearms Company guns were manufactured by Crescent Arms, Norwich, Ct, for the Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis, Missouri c. 1900-1920. If functional, it should be worth about $150. If not useable, but looks good over the fireplace, it is worth about the same as a decorator.

This shotgun was probably made by Crescent, so your local gunsmith can probably find one in his parts pile. Or, if there are no missing pieces, he can repair yours.

Empire Arms was a trade name sold by Sears Roebuck. If it has the Crescent name on it, it would date from about 1893 to 1930. If it has open hammers and damascus barrels, it is more likely to be an early gun. Hammerless guns and fluid steel barrels were introduced about 1907, but sidehammer guns were not discontinued.

Empire Arms was a trade name sold by Sears Roebuck. If it has the Crescent name on it too, it would date from about 1907 to 1930. It's nothing a serious collector would want, but if checked by a gunsmith and given his OK, should be worth $200 or more as a shooter.

I have an oxford arms 12 ga that was my grandfathers after many years of looking the only info i have come up with is that the guns were produced by the crescent for belknap hardware company in louisville KY around the early 1900's the only values ive seen were in the $300-$400 range and it seems as though the hammerless versions were worth more(with steel barrels rather than damascus)the crescent fire arms company was in norwich conn. est. around 1892 and was purchased by h & d folsom in 1893 and asorbed by Stevens arms & tool in 1926.if anyone else knows anything about these guns i'd like to know as there seems to be little info or history available.

Sam Holt Arms Company: Trade name used by the Sears, Roebuck and Company of Chicago on shotguns they retailed. If marked with the country of origin, it was imported after 1893. WWI pretty much ended the importation of these inexpensive shotguns. Don't shoot this one without having it checked by a good gunsmith. Laminated steel means the barrels are made of of little strips of metal hammer-welded together. Although safe enough when new, after a century of use/abuse they may not be now. Here is more input: * I have a gun that is a double barrel muzzle loader, it also says Sam Holt Arms Co. on the side of the shotgun. also says belgium and laminated steel. it also has a dog on each side above the trigger in the steel. * These old doubles usually bring $125-$150 as mantle decorations.

Apparently Victor Collette was not a prolific gunmaker. I can only find one other reference to his work. That is a pinfire revolver, so apparently he was active in the last half of the 19th century. If you examine your shotgun, you should find an oval surrounding the letters ELG and a star. If there is a crown over this oval, the gun was proofed in Leige, Belgium, after 1893. If there is no crown, it was proofed earlier. Thousands of similar guns were imported to the US in the late 1800's and there is little collector interest in them. They are valued primarily as decorators and usually sell for less than $200.

Diamond Arms Company: Trade name used by the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis, Missouri on imported shotguns they retailed. WWI pretty much ended these imports and later guns may have been made by any of several US companies. A single shot is possibly an Iver Johnson Champion, a double barrel likely to be by Crescent or Stevens. There is little collector interest in these old utility guns and shooters would rather have newer firearms, so they are not highly valued. Singles sell for $50-$75, doubles for $125-$150.

Nitro Hunter: Trade name manufactured by Crescent Firearms, Norwich, CT, and retailed by Belknap Hardware Company of Louisville, Kentucky. "Nitro" implies that it was intended for smokeless powder. Not much collector interest in hardware store guns, but if it is checked out by a qualified gunsmith, it may be worth $200+ as a shooter.

National Arms Company: Trade name used by the H. & D. Folsom Arms Company on firearms made for the May Hardware Company of Washington, D.C. and also for the Moskowitz and Herbach Company of Philadelphia, PA, c. 1900. The guns would have either been made by Crescent Firearms of Norwich, Ct, or imported from various Belgian manufacturers.