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Originally Posted by Mauser 712
Good research Eric!
Since the M1878 Sharps-Borchardt rifle was manufactured between 1878-1881, and that check is dated from May 1877, it is a very strong possibility that the signature is his while we was working at the Sharps factory. As the American factory owners were always known to be tight asses without recognizing better improvements, it probably explains why Hugo Borchardt left the US to continue his work in Germany ;-)
If a collector wants to own something connected to HB, this might be a good item to win at a reasonable price. I would like to one day see a photo of HB if such a photo can be verified.
Best wishes,
Albert
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Albert,
In 2012 an individual by the name of Gordon Bruce published a 8.5"X11", 164 page paperback book "The Evolution of Military Automatic Pistols/Self-loading Pistol Designs of Two World Wars and the Men who Invented Them". It is a pretty nice effort with a good amount of historical information that all-in-all is reasonably accurate (there is always some room for improvement
but I found it rather good and would recommend it for enjoyable reading).There are thumbnail biographies of lots of early firearms designers, Krnka, Feederle Brothers, Luger, Browning, etc. The write-up on Borchardt included two photos at different times in his life. This was exciting to me so I contacted the author regarding the source of the photos. It was a rather disappointing reply that he had gotten them from "a collector in Poland" several years ago and couldn't provide any further information on them. For what it is worth here is one of the photos. (by the way, you might enjoy the book if you can find one)
Also by-the-way, those American factory owners (Colt, Singer and Sharps) employed Borchardt's ideas and paid him handsomely (for the time) for his efforts. The Sharps-Borchardt rifle remains a masterpiece of American engineering, but alas was "too modern" so it did not enjoy the sales level it deserved. And while you are busy down-playing American industry please remember that Ludwig Loewe came to American to study American manufacturing processes and those processes became the foundation for much of Loewe's success and subsequent establishment of European standards. Please abandon your anti-American bias, enjoy the blessings of the season, and have a happy and prosperous New Year.
Ron