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The Sporting Goods Dealer Catalog Sept. 21


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After several weeks away, I finally got home to find a number of packages awaiting my return.

 

In one package, I discovered a catalog dated Sept. 1921, from the St. Louis 'The Sporting Goods Dealer', which contains two AOC adverts for the Thompson gun.

 

Sporting Goods dealers Sept.21 Cover.jpg Sporting Goods dealers Sept.21 TSMG Ad a.jpg Sporting Goods dealers Sept.21 TSMG 2nd ad.jpg

 

The 2nd advert provides more details on the gun, and also has a photo of a man holding a Thompson with a Drum magazine, which attracted my attention. The rear sight on the TSMG appears not to be a regular Lyman site and there is also an attachment on the barrel, which I think be may designed to attach a sling.

 

Stay Safe

 

Richard

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I have seen a pic of that sling attachment somewhere else recently, but I dont remember where. Im wondering if the pic is of one of the Model of 1919 guns, perhaps taken in the Cleveland area.

 

I agree that the drawing in the first ad definitely looks like Model of 1919 serial no. 17, except for the rear sight.

 

Very interesting ads!

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Thanks for the replies to my post.



Last year I bought a couple of ads pulled from 1921 issues of ‘Arms and the Man’ and the TSMGs in those, admittedly one is only a line drawing, which appear to have another version of the rear sight.



Jan 21 'Arms and the Man' Magazine.JPG 1921 'Arms and the Man' Magazine.JPG



Both those ads are now framed and hang on the wall next to a framed 'Providence Journal' from June 1922, which has an article on Marcellus Thompson being accused of arms shipments to the Irish and a report on a Thompson being used in the Clones attack in Ireland. A member on the board sold me the Providence Journal for a very good price back in 2014, indeed it cost me more to frame the newspaper than to buy it, but as it was crumbling at the edges through age, to preserve it, I decided to have it framed.



Providence Journal Headline.JPG Providence Journal Clones article.JPG



Stay safe



Richard


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The line drawing and the photo are both showing M1919s. However, the photographed TSMG has

what appears to be a very long and thin barrel. This seems to be another image of Mitchell Hedges (Crystal Skull Fame)

shooting a M1919. Hedges led a life like Indiana Jones dreamed of .

Tracie

MITCHLE HEDGES 2 1919 copy.jpg

illust London News 16  July 1921.jpg

Edited by Taliaferro
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Thanks for the replies to my post.

 

Last year I bought a couple of ads pulled from 1921 issues of Arms and the Man and the TSMGs in those,

admittedly one is only a line drawing,

which appear to have another version of the rear sight.

 

Jan 21 'Arms and the Man' Magazine.JPG 1921 'Arms and the Man' Magazine.JPG

 

Both those ads are now framed and hang on the wall next to a framed 'Providence Journal' from June 1922, which has an article on Marcellus Thompson being accused of arms shipments to the Irish and a report on a Thompson being used in the Clones attack in Ireland. A member on the board sold me the Providence Journal for a very good price back in 2014, indeed it cost me more to frame the newspaper than to buy it, but as it was crumbling at the edges through age, to preserve it, I decided to have it framed.

 

Providence Journal Headline.JPG Providence Journal Clones article.JPG

 

Stay safe

 

Richard

Amazing! Reading the articles on the page shows me not much has changed over the years in regards to politics and and world affairs.

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The line drawing and the photo are both showing M1919s. However, the photographed TSMG has

what appears to be a very long and thin barrel. This seems to be another image of Mitchell Hedges (Crystal Skull Fame)

shooting a M1919. Hedges led a life like Indiana Jones dreamed of .

Tracie

Tracie,

Thank you for your reply, with the Mitchell Hedges attachments, two more articles to look for now.

 

Stay safe

Richard

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There appear to be two different guns shown in the photos on the scanned page in Post #7, and neither are a standard Model of 1921, nor a Model of 1919 variant. The gun in the main photo being shot by Hedges appears to have a barrel longer than the 10.5" one normally seen on the Model 1921, but it is not of a heavy profile like that of the Model 1923. Speaking of the Model 1923, the gun has a Model 1923 buttstock equipped, which has much less drop and is fitted with an M1903 butt sling swivel. Another sling swivel is fitted to a band in a machined recess on the barrel, or possibly just a thin steel band that is difficult to discern. The disassembled gun in the inset photo by comparison has what looks like a standard-length 10.5" barrel, but fitted with a device for mounting some kind of attachment, maybe a bipod or possibly a proprietary bayonet. It too has a Model 1923 buttstock.

Edited by Big Al
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There appear to be two different guns shown in the photos on the scanned page in Post #7, and neither are a standard Model of 1921, nor a Model of 1919 variant. The gun in the main photo being shot by Hedges appears to have a barrel longer than the 10.5" one normally seen on the Model 1921, but it is not of a heavy profile like that of the Model 1923. Speaking of the Model 1923, the gun has a Model 1923 buttstock equipped, which has much less drop and is fitted with an M1903 butt sling swivel. Another sling swivel is fitted to a band in a machined recess on the barrel, or possibly just a thin steel band that is difficult to discern. The disassembled gun in the inset photo by comparison has what looks like a standard-length 10.5" barrel, but fitted with a device for mounting some kind of attachment, maybe a bipod or possibly a proprietary bayonet. It too has a Model 1923 buttstock.

 

Big Al,

Good points, but I note the article from the Illustrated London news is dated July 1921, (in the same post which appears to be from the same photoshoot as the undated Mid Week Pictorial), which is approx. 5 months into the production of the Model of 1921's.

 

I would have thought with the award to Colt for the manufacture of 15,000 Model of 1921's, that AOC would have thought they had perfected the development of their submachine gun design, and would therefore be marketing the 'standard model' coming off the assembly lines at that stage.

 

As, I understand it, maybe incorrectly, it was only due to lagging sales of the Model of 1921's, that AOC began to look at modifications of the original Model, in an attempt to market the static stock they had.

 

Stay safe

Richard

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Same article & photo from the Irish 'Cork Examiner', which I am advised was dated the 30th Dec.1920, I don't have the original, unfortunately

Cork Examiner30.12.20.jpg

 

Stay safe

Richard

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"Making 47 hits out of 50 shots in two seconds at 250 yards..." What was he shooting at, a barn?

Edited by TSMGguy
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"Making 47 hits out of 50 shots in two seconds at 250 yards..." What was he shooting at, a barn?

 

I think they were 'aiming' at good publicity to sell their product

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This could then mean, Richard, that the stock design we know of as being of the M1923 actually came about during the initial design experiments to find the final shape of the Model 1921.

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This could then mean, Richard, that the stock design we know of as being of the M1923 actually came about during the initial design experiments to find the final shape of the Model 1921.

Big Al,

Indeed, maybe that was the case. Like a lot of Thompson history, I don't think we will ever know for sure, but we can always speculate at the time line of the unrecorded events in the TSMG development, the fun of the hobby.

 

Stay safe

Richard

Edited by rpbcps
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  • 2 months later...

Check this out. A very similar stock was on the Thompson Model of 1919 that was fitted with the Warner & Swasey sniper scope. There is an image on page 5 of the PDF linked below.

 

https://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2010-B102-The-Thompson-Submachine-Gun-Model-of-191.pdf

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It has the exact same profile at the wrist and sling swivel placement.

post-258340-0-16018500-1570498038_thumb.png

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  • 2 weeks later...

Big Al,

Just back on line, after four weeks away while in North Africa, and checking what I have been missing.

 

Thanks for posting that pdf., I found that very interesting to read.

 

Stay safe

Richard

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