Wolf & Klar

[OCM]

About 3 months ago I sent off for the paperwork on my Colt 1908 .380 automatic. pocket pistol. Got the letter in the mail this Sat. Factory nickel, with pearls installed by Wolf & Klar.

 

Gun was shipped to Wolf & Klar in Fort Worth, Texas on March 4, 1923. I was rather stunned with the Wolf & Klar connection.

 

HS Lebman, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, Eddie Benz, Machine gun Kelly all shopped there or were tied into the gun store in some manner. This was Lebman's main source for Thompsons, Winchester 351s, Colt automatics.

 

The Colt 38 Super found on Dillinger at his arrest in Tucson was a Colt factory nickel and had pearls installed , bought at Wolf & Klar's.

 

Now I'll wonder who originally bought it there. ( wasn't JD, he was in jail )

Edited April 15, 2015 by OCM

[StooperZero]

wow that is spiffy

[OCM]

Interesting, Colt lists it as a .380/c, the nickel being factory custom. Learning process for me on the early 380s.

 

Fun stuff.

[TEXAS MGC]

Wolf & Klar photos from 1933 and late 1960's prior to being demolished for the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth. In October 1933, when the Feds find Kelly's 16 cyl Cadillac, one of the items was a 380 cal pearl handle, nickel plated Colt auto, serial no. 70977. On the run, Kelly hides the Cadillac at the Cadillac Motor Company, 2301 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago. The Feds were wasting their time watching Bergl's garage.

[OCM]

Outstanding !!!! At least you can see what Kelly had, close # too. Great photos, Helmer & I were talking today what the store might of looked like-

Now we know-

 

Super stuff - Thanks-

 

 

OCM

[OCM]

Have a great friend, Debbie Moss, who is a distant relative of Blanche Barrow, doing some research on the old site- She live just outside Fort Worth.

She knows the area well, the Center and water park now, she says.

Wolf & Klar, one of those little forgotten places in history- Fadddding away.

 

OCM

[TEXAS MGC]

I worry about Kathryn Kelly's house here in Fort Worth. This photo was taken last November. Lately, they have improved it some, but still in need of repairs. It sits in the once rich neighborhood of Morningside. But now, it's a very poor section of Fort Worth. Gangster landmarks in Fort Worth are going fast.

If she is going to this years festival, I should see Debbie in Gibsland in a few weeks. Hopefully, there should be at least a couple of Thompsons there.

[OCM]

Bruce Barnes had sent me this same photo ( I think) YEARS ago, different angle-

Yes a lot of this old history is fading away. Lot of the Dillinger sites are gone. Clyde & Bonnie stuff too. ( Boots)

Some of us keep the " faith" . History buffs.

Don't know if Deb will do the festival, have not talked to Buddy, he usually does. ?

 

OCM

[OCM]

Correction : It was HS Lebman's house that I got- Looks the same, sorta. And not from Bruce...

 

Age thing, ya know.

[OCM]

Texas MGC-

This is a pencil drawing that Kelly did of a Thompson, while in Leavenworth. He was doing these and allowed to sell them . Was signed, G. Kelly. I had this in my collection. Said 1921 Thompson SMG under the drawing. It's in the DC museum now. I had bought this years ago and never knew if was real, but didn't pay much for it anyway. I had sent his son a copy of it, just cause he wanted it for file. He said he had never seen that signature before. Oh well. Then about 10 or so years later, he sends me a copy of an FBI file with the exact sig on it- He was doing some research and ran across it- He said his dad changed his signature depending on the circumstance. Same with Dillinger gang member Red Hamilton, almost on a daily basis-

 

OCM

[TEXAS MGC]

Thanks so much for sharing this. I would have paid big bucks for that. A great piece of history. George was very infatuated with Thompsons. Even after his arrest, he would talk with the Feds guarding him about Thompsons. He would discuss the configurations that he liked and how he carried them. He stated that he would throw away the stock, made it too long. Most of the time he would carry his thompson in a plain paper bag. Walking on the street, no one would know what he was carrying. He told one fed that he had a square saxophone case and carry his thompson in that.

So I believe that the drawing you have could be the real thing. He was so proud of the 1921 that Kathryn bought him (at Wolf & Klar) the only person that he loaned it to was Bailey. Unfortunately, Bailey had it with him at the ranch on August 12, 1933.

I must get up to DC and see that. Thanks again.

(I'm going to message you ref a question about Bruce)

[OCM]

Bruce Barnes, his son, also told me he was interested in art and took art classes on the rock, hence the fairly decent pencil drawing of the Thompson. As I say, he was doing these at Leavenworth and selling them to people outside, so possibly this isn't the only one.

The drawing may be in Orlando, at the museum's storage facility- They rotate stuff from time to time. Be like the warehouse in Raiders of the Lost Ark. They have many gems like this from my collection. All the bad guys of the 30s.

Edited July 24, 2015 by OCM