mohawk64 Posted February 18, 2020 Report Share Posted February 18, 2020 When was the police / FBI cases first year of production? 1921? Or later? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sig Posted February 18, 2020 Report Share Posted February 18, 2020 Later, mid 1930's and NOT made by AOC, see links https://historicalgmen.squarespace.com/1935-thompson-sub-machine-gun/ https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dc6b0be4b0d364a5ee20e0/54dc6cb3e4b0658f0cbac2a1/54dc6cb3e4b0658f0cbac2a4/1350324222187/thompsonbooklet.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawk64 Posted February 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2020 Thanks. I thought the canvas was an accessory from the earliest days. But wasn't sure about the hard cases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1921A Posted February 18, 2020 Report Share Posted February 18, 2020 My experience with original cases leads me to believe early police style cases predate the FBI version and in fact were the inspiration for the case designed by the FBI. There are members here who have police cases probably made around 1930 but possibly as early as 1926-27. I think one member out west has one with provenance showing gun accessories and case purchased in that time frame. Police and FBI cases seem to have been designed for post 1926 sales of compensated guns but my theory is that the length of the case was actually determined by the space required to support the magazines and stock. Original cases have been found with A and AC guns. The Indiana Case also predates the FBI case. E.E. Richardson had the first ones built in the early 1930s to case his sample guns. There appears to be minor hardware, construction and material variations in these cases suggesting they were made at different times and possibly by different makers. No known documentation exists to show who made them and exactly when. They were most likely made in the Toledo area given Richardson lived there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawk64 Posted February 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2020 Wow. Great information. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpbcps Posted August 5, 2023 Report Share Posted August 5, 2023 Well following my unanswered question in a recent topic, which came first the FBI or Police hard cases, I stumbled upon this topic. So this is were I had read that the police cases were produced prior to the FBI cases. The post from our own esteemed Thompson case specialist, Greg Fox, must have some credence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1921A Posted August 6, 2023 Report Share Posted August 6, 2023 (edited) My idea about the police case preceding the FBI case is just a theory. I have not found any documentation to back it up, other than hearsay. We know the FBI case came on the scene in 1935. it’s hard to believe no one saw a need for such a case from 1921 to 1935? The canvas cases apparently did not sell well. So it would stand to reason someone would design a hard case to fill the void. It will stay a mystery until someone finds a police case with clear provenance. Edited August 7, 2023 by 1921A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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