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Acknowledgements
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This
study was supported by gun and CAS magazines, CAS websites, auction houses and
gun dealers in Europe and the USA. However, it is
you, the pards and pardettes from both sides of the
Atlantic and down-under, namely Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland,
South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the USA. You responded to the call,
reported data of your prized Centaure pistols. This led to some surprising and
fascinating discoveries. Thanks a lot.
Much to my regret,
William B. Edwards, Civil War and firearms historian, International firearms
industry negotiator, consultant and business man with a dream passed away too
early to observe, to be part of the rediscovery of these Belgian Colts by the
International re-enactors, CAS and black powder shooters and collectors community
during the early 21st century. Because these Centaures were his brain-children. He smelled the market niche for this first
ever re-issue of a Colt 1860 Army during the late 1950s. He masterminded their
production from 1959 at the Hanquet’s family business, famous Fabriques d’Armes
Unies de Liège (FAUL) in Liège, Belgium, and 1960 their introduction into the
United States of America. He was a man of vision and determination. Thank you,
Sir, for the formidable Centaures. We owe you!
Ms. Nadine Hanquet of Liège , the last of the owner family of Fabriques d’Armes
Unies de Liège (FAUL) kindly added important facts that helped to bring the
Belgian Colt story into historical perspective. They were amended by supportive
technical information from Director
Jean-Luc Stassen of the Liège Proof House but particularly from
Alan Trigger and the Club Littlegun, a Belgian gun collectors and study
group (http://www.littlegun.be/). This research
could not be substantiated without their help.
Without W.T., Steel Horse Bailey
and Buffalo Chip
this website would be an academic paper with lots of facts for collectors but
too dry to read by any red-blooded cowboy and shooter. But they edited the
wealth of information collected into an easily flowing, digestible language. Chain-Fire
offered fresh thoughts regarding the evolution of Centaure manufacturing at
FAUL’s whereas
Roger Ragland aka Major provided inspiring insight how the film
industry made good use of the Centaures aka Centennial Armies in well-known
Civil War and Western movies. Thanks, pards.
I am particularly grateful
to Dr. Jim Davis
for his advice regarding the structuring of the questionnaire, providing
original literature and adding specifics of a number of very rare 1960 NEW
MODEL ARMIES from the collection of the Replica
Percussion Revolver Collectors Association.
I am indebted to
my trusted friend Hartmut
“Mullie the Bullie” Wienands who has a knack for languages. He
accepted to communicate for me in French with Ms. Nadine Hanquet and also
translated Flemish texts. Jean-Francois
Pancé made sure that I fully appreciated the history of the
Hanquet family by translating their original French family story. But without
the Texas computer wizard Panhandle
Paden aka James Frugé and all the energy he instilled into the
research program there would be no http://www.1960nma.org/. Thank
you, my friend.
Technically our
knowledge about the strengths but also the shortfalls of the Belgian Colt would
lack solid gunsmith know how and backing without the advice of one US smith who
goes by the alias Rifle.
Together with Austrian master Karl Nedbal they
provided important facts including comparisons of the Centaure to 1st
generation 1860 Colts and Colt clones. And Herr Nedbal did not stop there, see the chapters in this site for all of his
contributions.
Wolf D. “Long
Johns Wolf” Niederastroth
Hofheim, July 2011
WDN/July 14, 2011
© 2007 Wolf D. Niederastroth
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