Posted by Ed Muderlak on November 13, 2007, 5:23 pm, in reply to "Re: who was V.L. & A.?"
Bill: You might want to check out the "Summer of '54" Prologue section of my Parker Guns: The "Old Reliable" book at p. xii for my early intro to VL&A. My new book, Parker Guns: Shooting Flying and the American Experience picks up on the topic with Justus Von Lengerke emigrating from Germany to the USA. He was in the textile trade and loaded shotshells on the side as paper shells got popular in the mid-1880s. He met Carl Dittmar of Dittmar's Wood Powder and cut a deal, but Dittmar died, so Justus cut another deal with Schultze Wood Powder, which he parlayed into a partnership with a money man named Detmold of New York. This became the sporting goods store of Von Lengerke & Detmold; they had 35 employees in 1888.
Then Justus started importing his brothers, and brother Oswald soon learned English and the business. He relocated to Chicago and found his money man named Charles Antione, and Viola! Von Lengerke & Antione, where in 1954, fine side by sides first came to my attention.
In later years, the sporting goods store of Abercrombie & Fitch somehow became involved, and the VL&A operation and A&F went bankrupt in the late 1960s or maybe 1970. A&F was bought out of bankrupcy and exists today as a kids' clothing store chain. The VL&A name was bought by midwest gun show regular Connie Sundeen, and to my knowledge the name is still alive as a shell corporation. EDM