Afternoon w Tauscher and Bannerman

[Hugo Borchardt]

I am in New York City this week. Most of my meetings are on Broadway and, though lacking of a time machine, I couldn't resist the urge to see the former store locations of Hans Tauscher, A.H. Funke and Francis Bannerman, all of whom we associate with the early Luger and the US Test Trials. I gleaned most of the addresses from the Land of Borchardt website, and took a long walk this afternoon with my camera.

Photos 1 and 2: My first stop was Hans Tauschers earliest known address on 56-58 Pine Street. This is the original 1893-1894 building that looks much the same as it did in 1903, when correspondence proves it was the address from which the fifty 9mm Lugers were ordered. I admit that I imagined Borchardts and Parabellums in the two large storefront windows on the right and wish I could have went in and purchased some for $27.50, but I arrived about 100 years too late.

Photo 3: 320 Broadway, Hans Tauschers most recognizable address from his later catalogs and correspondence. He was in rooms 1217-1218 and later expanded to include 1219-1220.

Photos 4-5: 325 Broadway, once home to A.H. Funke's store, where the 50 original 7.65 Test Lugers were apparently delivered per Hans Tauscher's instructions to trade for the 9mm model. (Correction: a Tauscher letter lists Funkes earlier store on Chambers Street - will photograph next visit!)

Photos 6-7: 579 Broadway is the original Bannerman & Sons location. They were likely here when they obtained the test Lugers from surplus auction. Francis Bannerman may very well have walked through this very doorway himself a thousand times.

Photo 8: Bannerman's later storefront at 501 Broadway where the test Lugers likely were displayed and sold from is long gone. It was a parking lot for a while, and the location now sports these two new buildings.

I hope on the next trip to visit Abercrombie's 1920's locations, as well as Stoeger's. I hope to get out to photograph Bannerman island some day as well.

Clark