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November 20, 2018
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1) I have read that the Boston, Massachusetts sporting goods store Wm. Read & Sons, for decades a retailer and importer of firearms, was purchased by Winchester in 1921.
Are there sales records that anyone knows of that have survived of that firm? My interest is in the identity of buyer of a firearm (not a Winchester) circa late 1916-1917.
2) The one Winchester product, other than some vintage ammo and boxes I have, is an 1894 rifle; .30 WCF; ser. # 370216. It was by all indications owned at one time by L. Allen Scott, of Phantom Valley Ranch, which business operated from 1926-1960 as a dude ranch in Colorado.
3) is there anything that can or should be done to arrest what appears to be corrosion on old ammo cases? Possibly there are corrosives that have leaked from the primers. I understand that with antiques in general that doing nothing is usually best ; shiny cases on vintage ammo I presume would never look right. But, as one who knows little about “caring” for vintage ammo, I inquire.
I am unaware of any surviving records for Wm. Read & Sons.
Model 1894 serial number 370216 was manufactured in the Fall of the year 1907. Is it actually a Sporting Rifle, or a Saddle Ring Carbine?
Corrosion can only be arrested by removing exposure to oxygen, or completely removing the oxidation. Is the ammo in an old original carboard box, or loose?
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 20, 2018
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Bert:
1) looks like a dead end to my attempt to find the original owner/purchaser of a gun I inherited, originally sold by Wm. Reed & Sons. I do know from whom my father acquired it, though; at least I got that info. from him many years ago.
2) the model 1894 lever action does have the rifle-length barrel and it is octagonal. The stock has a couple of amateurish carvings — a horse head and a daisy. L. Allen Scott scratched his name and the name of the ranch onto it as well.
3) some of the loose ammo has some signs of corrosion. Not a real eyesore; but, I wondered about old ammo maintenance and preservation.
Some wax-coated shot shells have mildew, and maybe a light wiping of highly-diluted bleach and water mixture would clean those up. It that a bad idea; leave alone or do something else?
The 2-paper sheet Winchester .32 Special [rifle] box I see is packed, not with .32 Special ammo, but, with what looks like .38-40 Winchester rounds. This package was removed from my grand-father’s gun closet after he died in 1967 and before his house was sold. It interests me that he had ammunition for a couple of rifles that he did not own. I will never know why. I have kept all of it over the years as a memento.
Thank you,
REC
I cannot offer anything further on Wm Reed & Sons, or your Model 1894 Sporting Rifle. As for the ammo, I would not use a diluted bleach solution on it. Instead, I would wipe it down with a clean cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol. If there are spots with active corrosion, a light coating petroleum jelly to seal out oxygen should arrest the corrosion.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 20, 2018
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Bert:
Thanks for those solutions. Will address problems I see by employing those means.
The next thing for me to do is to take all of the ammo out of the .32 Winchester box and see if it is all .38-40, right to the bottom. Could be something else below the first couple tiers.
REC
November 20, 2018
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It was just 29 rounds of .38 Winchester (.38-40) packed into a .32 Winchester Special box — in the same state as they were when we removed all my grand-father’s stuff from his gun closet when the old house was sold in 1967. The 20-round box is soiled and the ammo is loose, thus there is probably negligible collector interest. But, it is an enduring reminder of my grandfather and his interests; and is a mystery for me to contemplate, as neither box nor ammo matched the guns he was known by us to have.
Thanks again for the suggestions for cleaning and preservation.
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