The store may have been A&F, themselves. I was in Chicago in 1968 as part of a college field trip, and went to A&F. Wonderful place!

Chicago was a rude city. Many in our group commented on that. The only places that seemed polite, even friendly, were Abercrombie & Fitch and the Playboy Club. (My teacher's boyfriend was a member at the latter and we attended as his guests. I wrote a story on it for the university newspaper.)

I think it was in A&F that year that I first saw and handled Zeiss binoculars. They also sold some Randall knives. I owned a Randall by then, but it was a few years before I could afford a Zeiss, which I still have.

It was a sad day when The Limited bought the A&F name and made it into a ladies clothing store!

FAO Schwartz is indeed a NYC-based toy store. They used to have a branch in Dallas; may still have.

With all the interest in the .44 Special, they seem not to have really sold well. I think primarily handloaders were interested, because of the weak factory loads. This gun may not have shipped for years. I think a factory letter is almost imperative! My guess is that Roy Jinks will be very interested in this gun.

This rare variation is too pricey a gun to shoot, alas. It has to be viewed as an investment and as a national treasure.

Illini-

Can you clean up and lighten the photos? Many of us would like to save them, to put in our reference books. But they need to be brighter and sharper. This is a historic gun. It deserves sharp pics! I applaud your decision not to sell. Keep that Heiser holster, too. But keep the gun in the box, not n the leather. I see someone has already advised you not to store a gun in the holster..