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Dr.
Jim L. Davis of RPRCA in front of a stocked Centaure Cavalry Model exhibit at
the J. M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Claremore, OK |
The
Italian Half Brothers of the Centaures in the USA
# Centennial Arms Corporation’s
Other Percussion Revolvers
# Research of Replica Percussion
Revolver Collector’s Association
# Colt 1851 Navy Pattern
Pistols – Steel Frame
# Colt 1851 Navy Pattern
Pistols – Brass Frame
# Revolver Kits
# Conclusions
# Another Perspective
# Contact Dr. Davis
# A Personal Note
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Centennial
Arms Corporation’s Other Percussion Revolvers: This page is to honor
the fundamental studies of Dr. Jim L. Davis on the replica percussion revolvers
and will hopefully add new facets on the history of the Centaure.
Our pards & pardettes on the west
side of the Atlantic are regularly reporting Centennial Arms Corp. marked
percussion revolvers of patterns other than our favourite Centaure New Model
Army. By now we know for sure that these pistols were not manufactured by Fabriques d’Arms Unies de Liège, the maker of our Centaures,
but by a number of Italian replica makers. Hence they are marked MADE IN ITALY.
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Centennial
Arms Corp. flyer 1961: note brass framed Navy MADE
IN ITALY lower left corner |
The time was
not right earlier to address this subject because no Italian C&B
revolvers marked “CENTENNIAL” have surfaced in Europe. It is unlikely that
they ever will because Centennial Arms did not sell to Europe. But the fact
of the matter remains that we would have no Centaures
without the vision and determination of William B. Edwards and Sigmund Shore
of Centennial Arms Corporation fame. Not in the USA, and certainly not in
Europe. So, it seems
prudent to bring these other C&B revolvers of Centennial Arms into some
perspective. Research of Replica Percussion
Revolver Collector’s Association: It was the many discussions with our mentor and
good friend Dr. Jim L. Davis, aka FROCS #10 Dr. Jim, of above cited RPRCA in
Claremore, OK that Panhandle Paden and I finally took a fresh look at the
subject at hand, that we eventually saw the light and added this page to the
Centaure website. Thanks, Dr. Jim, for kicking our butts so patiently. |
However, you
will appreciate that this is not going to be an in-depth study like we did on
the Centaures. Because these Italian made “CENTENNIAL”
marked C&B revolvers are of much greater relevance to the research program
of Dr. Davis. We can never profoundly come even close to his important research
of the replica percussion revolver story. Therefore, we will cover this subject
only as a loose assembly of pictures and sketchy information as it becomes
available.
Having said
that, please, consider the market that Centennial Arms Corporation, Inc. was
facing during the early 1960s. Thanks to the commemorating activities related to
the centennial of the US Civil War the market for period replica guns had
opened up wide. Awareness and desire to own such guns among the American
community of re-enactors, shooters and to a limited extent also collectors was
high.
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Centennial Arms Corp. catalog 1961: note the addition of 1st, 2nd
& 3rd Model Dragoons to the 3 basic Centaure models then
marketed, pictured on lower part of ad |
However, this situation must not
exclusively be attributed to the marketing geniuses of Centennial Arms
Corp.’s Messrs. William B. Edwards and Sigmund Shore but also to their then friendly
competition of other well-known US replica distributors like Val Forgett’s Navy Arms from Union City, NJ or Turner
Kirkland’s Dixie Gun Works of Union City, TN. Additional US distributors like
Replica Arms from El Paso, TX smelling the business opportunity of this
emerging replica market were soon to jump on the bandwagon of black powder
guns as well. At the same time in Italy further
small gunshops mushroomed in the cosy village of Gardone in Val Trampia near
Brescia. These shops manufactured additional period percussion revolver
models or variants of existing models for the booming US market. At that time
Centennial Arms Corp. offered a wide assortment of FAUL made black powder rifles,
shotguns and single shot pistols from the Civil War and the American
Revolution period. Some are pictured on their above 1961 flyer. |
On the other
hand they had only one exclusive C&B revolver in their assortment, namely
the New Model Army Centaure of Colt 1860 pattern but are already allowing a glimpse
of their future product policy in the lower right corner of that flyer. An
Italian made Colt Navy 1851 pattern pistol with brass frame.
A couple of
months later their revolver program from Belgium was already extended to three
models of their Centaure line, namely the Regular New Model Army, the Civilian
and the Cavalry Model. And they had also added the 1st, 2nd
and 3rd Model Dragoon from an Italian maker, if we are to believe
above ad. The caveat here is this: yes, they sold the 3 Centaure Models and
more variants of the Belgian Colt Army in the years to come. But at this point
we do not know if above Dragoons really existed in numbers for sale. And if
they were available for sale we do not know for sure who made them.
According to
RPRCA at that time the only maker of replicas of Dragoons, Walkers, Baby
Dragoons and Pocket percussion revolvers of Colt pattern was Italian Armi san Marco (ASM). But their US distributor back then
was Replica Arms from El Paso. We do not know if Replica Arms had an exclusive
deal with ASM and if they had for how many years.
We also do not know
if FAUL had made prototypes of these Dragoons like they had done of a Colt Navy
pattern Leech & Rigdon for Centennial Arms. So,
this could just as well have been pictures of FAUL Dragoon
prototypes on that flyer…
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Centennial Arms C&B revolver
assortment 1975: Italian Navy pattern 1851s with steel & brass frame in 2
barrel lengths, Remington Army & Navy replica, Remington Army with adjustable
sights dubbed Remington Target Revolver & the Belgian Centaure right
column 2nd from top |
During the
early 1960s Navy Arms sold the Uberti 1851 Navy
with steel & brass frame plus the Remington Army and Navy in various configurations
in the USA as their prime offerings. But they were working hard with their
Italian partner Aldo Uberti to extending that line,
with their version of the Colt Army 1860 replica to be added in April 1963.
Kirkland’s Dixie Gun Works focussed on CW and American revolution rifles back
then. To take
further advantage of the market’s momentum and their strong market position,
to advance to become the major player they eventually were, Centennial Arms’s visionaries Edwards and Shore elected to extend
their line of percussion revolvers. They were looking for makers of unique
and exclusive percussion revolver models that could not be had from their
competitors. But they realized that successful competition required
mainstream pistols like the venerable 1851 Navies and/or the Remington family
of percussion revolvers. As mentioned before we know that FAUL produced at
least one prototype of the CSA Leech & Rigdon
revolver for Centennial |
Arms which is in the Shore Collection today. This Belgian Navy pattern pistol was
never launched for sale to the best of our knowledge. Bearing that in mind we
cannot rule out that FAUL made prototypes of other percussion revolver models
like Dragoons or Remingtons as well but none have
surfaced.
It stands to
reason that Centennial Arms charged FAUL during the early 1960s with the task
of extending the “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY” line. But Williams and Shore eventually
looked elsewhere for other Civil War revolver replicas.
We will be
looking at percussion revolvers with the “CENTENNIAL” mark as part of their
marking. Here is what we got:
# Colt 1851 Navy pattern pistols – steel
frame
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Armi san Paolo 1851
Navy from the RPRCA collection. Steel frame, cylinder with the
correct Ormsby naval engagement scene. The
marking on top of the barrel from the breech to the muzzle reads CENTENNIAL ARMS, CHICAGO ILL. Serial number is #33288, MADE IN
ITALY and Army san
Paolo logo are stamped under the barrel. According to the proof mark the pistol
is from 1971.
# Colt 1851 Navy Pattern Pistols – Brass
Frame
Centennial Arms
referred to these pistols as “brass frame Colt 1851 Navy”. This terminology was
of their own making and is not historically correct.
The correct terminology for brass frame, octagon barrel, plain
cylinder percussion revolvers was Schneider & Glassick.
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Investarms Schneider & Glassisk Sheriff model from the RPRCA collection. The
marking on the left side of the barrel lug reads CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK in two lines. Serial
number is #13643. According to the Italian proof mark XX7
she was made 1971.
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Schneider & Glassick
Model with regular
7,5” barrel, from the RPRCA Collection. This pistol does not have any
manufacturer marks anywhere on the revolver. The marking on top of the barrel
from the muzzle to the breech reads CENTENNIAL
ARMS, CHICAGO ILL. The proof mark again is XX7, i. e.
she is also from 1971.
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Page 185 of the
1974 Lyman Muzzleloader’s handbook (courtesy RPRCA) lists a number of Centennial Arms revolver kits. Our
current research indicates that these kits are from one or more Italian makers
but not from FAUL in Belgium. Conclusions: Our beloved Centaure aka “1960 NEW
MODEL ARMY”, definitely has half brothers running
around the US. These Italian pistols made from the 1970s are marked
“CENTENNIAL” in one way or the other but NOT MADE IN
BELGIUM. From the pre
1970 period none of the Italian percussion revolvers marketed by Centennial
Arms Corp. are available for inspection. Hence we cannot be sure if they were
marked “CENTENNIAL” in any way. We should bear in mind, however, that from
1962 Centennial Arms Corp. ordered their Centaures
in Belgium with a barrel marking including “CENTENNIAL”, to further establish
the company name as a trade mark in the US market. It would probably be a
fair to assume that they had their Italian replica suppliers follow suit. |
# Centennial Arms
marketed brass framed & octagon barrel Colt Navy 1851 pattern pistols with
7,5” and 5” barrels MADE IN ITALY from 1961. The manufacturer is currently unknown.
# Centennial Arms advertised
Colt Dragoon pattern pistols MADE IN ITALY from 1961. The manufacturer is
assumed to be Armi san Marco because that was the
only maker of Dragoon type pistols during the 1960s.
# Centennial
marked Colt Navy 1851 pattern pistols with 7,5” and 5” barrels MADE IN ITALY are
confirmed from the early 1970s. Makers were Armi san
Paolo (steel frame) and Investarms (brass frame).
# Centennial marketed
steel frame Colt Navy 1851 pattern pistols with 7,5” and 5” barrels, half
fluted cylinders and lanyard ring MADE IN ITALY are confirmed from the 1970s. The 7,5”
barrel variant was dubbed “Police”, the 5” barrel version “Sheriff”. The
manufacturer was Armi san Paolo.
# Centennial marketed
Remington Army and Navy pattern pistols incl. the Army Target variant MADE IN ITALY are
confirmed from the 1970s. The manufacturer is assumed to be Armi
san Paolo.
# Centennial
marketed C&B revolver kits during the 1970s of brass and steel frame Navy
1851 pattern, Remington Army pattern, Colt Army 1860 pattern, made by unknown
Italian makers.
# No completely
finished Italian made Centennial Arms marketed Colt Army of 1860 pattern has
been brought to our attention. Based on the evidence it is unlikely that they
ever attempted to compete with their own flagship Centaure except in the kits’
department.
To add another perspective to this subject
please note the recollections of our good pard Leslie Field aka FROCS #75 of June 2011: “We
have made a diligent search of the Mars/Centennial records at Shore Galleries
and very little documentation remains.”
“
As one of the principals involved in Mars/Centennial, my experience at that
time leads me to seriously doubt that many of the items ever existed in any
quantity.”
“The
one replica which I know existed and was sold in some quantity was the Harpers
Ferry Flintlock single-shot pistol, which the Belgians considered to be the
best thing we ever did.”
If you let Les’s
statements sink in and in my humble opinion Italian percussion revolvers marked
CENTENNIAL one
way our the other seem to be a rare find in the USA but very much so in Europe.
Which would make them interesting collector’s pieces in their own right.
Contact Dr. Davis: Both Dr. Davis and Wolf and Paden would
love to know more about these Italian pistols. Please contact Dr. Davis at the
address below or write Wolf or Paden if you have any C&B pistols with the
Centennial Arms marking.
Jim L. Davis
P.O. Box 2461
Claremore, OK 74018, USA
Phone +1-918-341-3525
Email address: drjldavis@hotmail.com
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A Personal Note: I gladly let you know that many of the
pictures of Centennial Arms Corp. ads, catalogs and
flyers shown on this page and elsewhere on this website were kindly provided by
Mr. Jason Schubert.
Mr. Schubert is the
curator of the
J. M. Davis Gun Arms & Historical Museum
330 N. J. M. Davis Blvd
Claremore, OK 74017, USA
Phone +1-918-341-5707
www.thegunmuseum.com.
This museum hosts a huge
exhibition of over 13,000 firearms. It is a gun student’s dream. You will
find almost everything including over 11,000 prized weapons of the original
collection of Mr. Davis. From a Chinese hand canon from the 1350s to modern
machine guns and concealable defensive handguns. And of course some splendid Centaures like the stocked Cavalry Model featured with
Dr. Jim Davis at the top of this page. If you work on a gun research project
Mr. Schubert will certainly be glad to help you with the goodies in the
museum’s archives and research library.
So, make sure to stop by if
you happen to be in the neighbourhood and visit this fine museum and enjoy
the displays. You ought to know that Dr. Davis is not related to the J. M.
Davis family. But he retired to Claremore because of the museum. It offered
great place to do research and just enjoy.
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WDN/June 12, 2011
© 2007-11 Wolf D. Niederastroth
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