Thank you Mr. Rabensburg. With all the information and pictures that you
have you should write a book. I would sure buy it.

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

I’ll defer to Mr. Rabensburg but that’s been my understanding. As we’ve seen the name on the holster doesn’t always reflect who made it and within a given saddlery there were usually more than one craftsman.
I’ll second kudos to Mr. Rabensburg, thank you for providing this forum with your family’s story.

Regards,

__________________
turnerriver

There are a number of floral pattern remnants left in the N J Rabensburg leather collection. Most of these leather pieces, which were saved after my grandfather's death, are probably templates. I decided to compare some of these patterns with the photo of the early Brill holster submitted by turnerriver.

I adjusted the turnerriver photo for position and clarity and did the same for an enlarged photo of one of the template pieces and then compared the two.

Take my two photo samples and place them side by side on your desktop or make print copes and do the same. They are a very close match!

The impact may not be so great if this is a common pattern, but if not, it certainly supports N J Rabensburg as maker.

Attached Images

	Black Floral Holster (2).jpg (39.5 KB, 61 views)
	Zwiener and Rabensburg Exhibit Bottom of Display Case with Holster Faces (4).jpg (64.2 KB, 59 views)

I have two K frame holsters made by your grandfather. The holster for a six inch gun is flower carved and the one for a four inch gun is the traditional basket stamped.

__________________
Tim
SWCA #2697

Looks like a match to me.

I thought I would provide a few more family photos because they tie in nicely with the Brill Story. In the family portrait, which is dated 1951 at the N J Rabensburg home located at 1903 N Lamar, my grandparents, my parents and aunts and uncles along with my sister Gayle and Donny, my cousin by marriage, are seated or standing in the living room immediately above the garage workshop.

I want to think that the workshop below was in place because I was there at a young age and watched my grandfather making a holster or belt. I was very young then and only about five in this family portrait. Could the workshop have been functioning in 1951 or 1952? I think so.

N J Rabensburg is still working at the A W Brill Company on E 6th Street in downtown Austin. The day for the family photo is either Saturday or Sunday morning, but I think Saturday. There was a professional photographer.

My sister is well dressed, but Donny and I have been outside playing shirtless. When I look at this photo, I was surprised at my appearance bare-chested. Why didn't our parents put a shirt on us? I may add an appropriate top one day using photoshop so that Donny in the middle and me on the right are in keeping with the rest of the dress of the family.

Donny lost contact with us during the late 1960s or early 1970s. A daughter of his lives in Houston and is an accomplished stage actress. Donny's family carries the Rabensburg name. His mother married my Uncle N J Rabensburg, Jr. probably in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Donny was a son by a previous marriage. I believe I met both aunts Zeke and Nonie for the first time at this family portrait.

Nonie married Walter Gilbert, who is pictured in the family portrait standing on the far right, perhaps during the World War II years. This is Walter's second marriage and a third will follow during the 1970s. Walter was fun and liked to fish. He was the athlete of the family and an accomplished tennis player for much of his life.

Newton Junior is standing immediately to the left of his Dad in the family portrait. He had it more rough from a health standpoint and died young. He, like my father Aubrey, graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a degree in Geology. Initially, both took positions in the oil boom towns near the Permian Basin in West Texas. My Dad left fairly quickly for Houston, but Newton Junior stayed in San Angelo and then finally Midland.

Newton Junior was diagnosed with diabetes type one during World War II and served his Country but was later released. He suffered greatly and lost much of his weight. He always maintained a good sense of humor despite his limitations. He married Zeke probably during the late 1940s or early 1950s. Newton Junior died at the age of 40 about six months after the death of his father, N J Rabensburg, Sr. The two deaths of husband and youngest son in 1961, was overwhelming for my grandmother.

Also, attached is a portrait of my sister and me taken in Houston in the fall of 1953. She was ten and me, seven. We both were regular visitors to the workshop in Austin for about four times a year. When my grandfather died on May 27, 1961, I was fourteen and going to be fifteen in eleven days, and my sister was seventeen with her eighteenth birthday less than a month away.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	Rabensburgchildren& grandchildren.jpg (128.2 KB, 64 views)
	Gayle & Neale Portrait 1953 Enhanced 5MB (2).jpg (65.1 KB, 55 views)

It now appears that N J Rabensburg was the “Successor” and owner of the A W Brill Company much earlier than June 27, 1937 as reported by the Austin American newspaper. The Bastrop Advertiser newspaper gives a similar notice on September 26, 1935. The difference between the two notices is a change of address from 302 E. 6th Street to 300 E. 6th in Austin.

The notices may have alerted customers of the address change as well as continued notice of a change of ownership. I have seen addresses for the A W Brill Company so for as 218 E. 6th Street, 302 E. 6th Street and 300 E. 6th Street in downtown Austin. I was aware of these three addresses previously but now have dates more closely associated with those addresses.

The address at 300 E. 6th Street was a corner location and probably the last move of the business. For marketing, it was the best of the three locations. The buildings at these three addresses still exist and are all attractive, two story structures. The earlier address at 218 E. 6th Street was during the 1920s as reported in the Austin Statesman newspaper on May 18, 1924.

I will change the “Successor” and ownership date in my previous posts to read as on or before September 26, 1935. N J Rabensburg assumed control of the A W Brill Company within three years of his 1932 arrival rather than the five years as previously noted.

N J Rabensburg also had an outreach program to area towns as did Arno W Brill during his time at the A W Brill Company. The extent of this outreach program, however, remains an unknown. During the 1920s, it was very robust under the direction of Arno W Brill when his father August was the proprietor. A similar ongoing marketing program to area towns by N J Rabensburg during the 1930s would find difficulty during the Depression years so I will assume there were limitations for sale of wholesale products.

I found this newspaper Bastrop Advertiser notice online today.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	N J Rabensburg as the Successor to A W Brill Bastrop Newspaper September 26 1935 Full Page (3).jpg (13.4 KB, 22 views)
	N J Rabensburg as the Successor to A W Brill Bastrop Newspaper September 26 1935 Full Page (2).jpg (20.8 KB, 17 views)
	N J Rabensburg as the Successor to A W Brill Bastrop Newspaper September 26 1935 Full Page (4).jpg (20.2 KB, 22 views)
	N J Rabensburg as the Successor to A W Brill Bastrop Newspaper September 26 1935 Full Page.jpg (21.0 KB, 13 views)

N J Rabensburg came to work and live in Austin for the first time in 1932. The market in Austin was large and home to major law enforcement agencies. Rabensburg was able to turn his attention to holster and belt making on a fast-track basis. A large share of his holster customer base was in the Austin area during his early leather making career.

Holsters and belts may have become N J Rabensburg’s primary focus with the 1929 Great Depression. Llano, Texas had become a dying market and after calling this home for twelve years, he was desperate for another move.

Times had been good initially in Llano because he was in ranching country where saddles, harness and other leather paraphernalia were in demand. Rabensburg left La Grange for Llano in 1920 to get inside the ranching world where he could survive and raise his family. However, the continued waning leather market and the halt of good times during the Twenties caused his business to sour.

When N J Rabensburg returned to Texas in 1915 after leaving Price, Utah, he was only 25 years old. He married and opened a saddlery in partnership in La Grange. Rabensburg probably rekindled some of his ties with the Texas Rangers and other peace officers and made holsters and belts and repairs as requested. This holster and belt market was undoubtedly limited because he was selling in greater quantities saddles, buggies, whips, yokes, harness, blankets, spurs and ropes plus other related products. However, by 1919, Texas and La Grange had entered the mechanized world, and the horse and buggy era was over.

The 1920s in Llano, Texas remains unclear concerning N J Rabensburg’s holster making business. He was in contact with Arno W Brill at least by 1923 according to Arno’s itinerary as per the Austin Statesman newspaper dated May 18, 1924.

Also, according to the Austin Statesman, the A W Brill Company was making scabbards and belts by the “thousands”. The paper identifies the designer and maker of these holsters for A W Brill Company as “one expert leatherworker (who) has been busy supplying Texas Rangers and other peace officers with belt and scabbard for their guns.” Could this expert leatherworker have actually been more than one person and included wholesale scabbards and belts made by N J Rabensburg of Llano?

Rabensburg was certainly an expert leatherworker and had an early repour with the Texas Rangers. His contact with Arno W Brill by on or before 1923 may have established a two-way wholesale business between the A W Brill Company of Austin and the N J Rabensburg Saddlery and Harness in Llano, Texas.

Roy Inks, who was Mayor of Llano during the 1920s, was a brother or cousin to Kathleen Brill married to Arno W. Brill. N J Rabensburg, who served Llano as a town Alderman, was a supporter of Mayor Roy Inks and his policy endeavors, and, therefore, was a close friend and ally.

Arno W Brill and Roy Inks may have worked in tandem to get N J Rabensburg to Austin. However, by 1932, N J Rabensburg was already primed and ready for the move. In fact, it was probably his long term goal, to get into a larger market where his skills could be utilized more effectively.

There probably was a transitional period after N J Rabensburg’s arrival at the A W Brill Company in 1932. There was existing inventory and personnel considerations to be made with current employees. Also, outside contractors making leather products competitive with Rabensburg would have to be reevaluated.

Since N J Rabensburg was initially an employee himself until 1935, final business decisions would be made by August and Arno Brill. Rabensburg probably brought much to the table in 1932 since he was both a saddle shop owner and also a designer and maker of custom leather products. He had already been in the saddlery business since 1907 and had owned his own businesses since 1913 or thereabouts. He also had a loyal customer base and was an expert at holster and belt making.

Okay, I hope the above is helpful and not redundant. Since November 17, 2021 on this thread discussion, I have been trying to put all of the known documentation together for a clearer understanding of the leather career of N J Rabensburg and his life in Austin with the A W Brill Company. I did this for both your benefit and mine as well.

I entered the Smith and Wesson Forum in 2018 and then took a break until recently. I learned in 2018 that there had been a change of history with the role of N J Rabensburg, and he had totally been removed as a player. According to recent historical documentation, there was no mention of him as a “Brill” holster maker or as the “Successor” and owner of the A W Brill Company. A source for this erroneous history says the following (grammatical and punctuation changes have been made for clarity):

“Through the 1930s and 1940s, Arno W. Brill started acquiring some fame as a superior holster maker and during this time from 1930 to the 1960s, Arno W. Brill produced gun leather as good or better than you could get anywhere, and he ran a very successful business as well as he acquired fame in the industries related to his products. In the 1930 Census,” “Arno’s occupation (was) listed as “leather wholesaler”. By the 1940s, A. W. Brill Company was sought out by many lawmen, military, holster making competitors and general gun enthusiasts to design and make their gun leather.”

A Texas historian uses this same source for a 2017 story published in the Former Texas Rangers Association. This erroneous history of the A. W. Brill Company was now being spread to others far and wide and had now become fact to many including the members of the Smith and Wesson Forum.

I contacted both the source and the Texas historian last month with my corrected history but have had no response from either to this date. I did speak by phone with the Texas historian back in 2018 about the A. W. Brill history and my grandfather’s role, and we were supposed to speak later about this matter but never did. The Texas historian, by the way, has a “Brill” holster.

Unfortunately, the wrong history of the A W Brill Company in 2018 remains in place to this day. I have indeed seen technical efforts to reverse these erroneous aspects and appreciate that effort. Despite well-documented facts, I decided it was necessary for me to step in and attempt both a reversal and an acceleration of the process to correct.

I hope many viewers of my recent posts have found them informative and not redundant or repetitive.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Mr. Rabensburg, your efforts are very much appreciated! Thank you, Mark Robson.

Thank you,

Neale Rabensburg

Considering the holsters were always marked with the "AW Brill" maker's mark, it's easy to see how the true history of your grandfather's work got distorted over the years. It's a shame his own name wasn't stamped onto any of these holsters. What that tells me is that your grandfather was content to keep the well established Brill name on the product, rather than to change the marking, which would surely confuse a lot of potential customers who already knew how good the "Brill" product line was.

Thanks for choosing to set the record straight here on the S&W forum. As you know, there are several of us here who are big fans of your grandfather's works of art.

Mark

__________________
S&W Forum Member #721

Thank you Mark.

Neale Rabensburg

The A W Brill maker stamp will be donated by my sister, Gayle Herring of Austin, and me, Neale Rabensburg of La Grange, in January or February 2022 to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas. I have been in communication with that organization for the past couple of weeks. The Museum has no such stamp in its collection and is delighted to receive it.

The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum plans an exhibit around it. I will be providing the Museum with documentation and photographs. Much has already been sent.

I received a private email recently from one of the Smith and Wesson Forum members. This member copied me on a communication of a grandchild of Arno W. Brill. This Brill person would be of my generation. I believe I have seen a post from this same A W Brill descendant on another forum website. I will check to see if this person is one and the same.

I attempted a private email response Saturday a week ago to both the Smith and Wesson Forum member and to the email address for the Arno W Brill descendant, but, unfortunately, both of my responses came back undeliverable.

My note was positive to both, and I planned an immediate second response to the two about doing a joint venture with the forthcoming A W Brill maker stamp exhibit at the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum. I never sent the second response because of the technical email problems.

Wouldn’t it be great to have stories from the representatives of all parties, that is, the direct descendants of both the Brill and Rabensburg families and a current holster maker, who is a recognized author with an expertise with vintage holster making and more specifically, with the history and design of the “Brill” holster?

The stamp is a link, which ties the early and later periods together at the A W Brill Company. The stamp was probably held in several hands over the course of almost half of a Century. This saga stretched from 1912 to 1961 and continues today with quality replicas and historical discussion, which, fortunately for me, now includes one of the forgotten players, Newton Joseph Rabensburg.

I want everyone to have a good Christmas, and this will be my last post for a while or until something new or earth shattering hits the waves.

Merry Christmas,
Neale Rabensburg

Merry Christmas to you.

I am also a fan of your grandfather’s work. I have but one of his holsters, built for a left handed shooter who favored the 1911. Of course, I am neither!

Kevin

__________________
Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Merry Christmas to all who have contributed here, and special thanks to Mr. Rabensburg for all that you shared with us. I think you and your sister have found the right place for the A.W. Brill makers stamp to reside.

__________________
Tim
SWCA #2697

The turning point for N J Rabensburg in his leather career and as the maker of the “Brill” type holster was achieved, in my opinion, during the 1920s and, more particularly, about 1929 while he was working in Llano, Texas. The years leading up to this turning point could be called the “transition”, which spanned for about a decade starting in La Grange, Texas at the end of the Great War and concluded in Llano, Texas with the beginning of the Great Depression.

What was the “turning point”? It was the moment when N J Rabensburg realized that his small town leather business was coming to an end, and he could no longer survive within that environment. It was decision-making time. He was faced with either a total career change or specialization.

N J Rabensburg chose specialization but eventually in a larger market where he could keep some of the old world intact while emphasizing one item in particular, namely, gun holsters (and belts), which would have a customer base not only in Texas but greatly expanded into the nation as well. This was his goal, and he set out to achieve it. Fortunately, for N J Rabensburg, he had Arno W Brill of Austin and Mayor Roy Inks of Llano, Texas at his side. These two men helped to pave the way for Rabensburg to the State Capital and the A W Brill Company.

N J Rabensburg had reached the height of maturity in leather making during the Llano years (1920 to 1932), when he became confident and capable of producing quality products both at a consistent and even pace. He was not only confident, but he was also well organized and a free thinker, who devoted a portion of his time and energy to express his political thoughts and to promote civic responsibility by serving the community of Llano both as an elected Alderman and Mayor.

I do find it odd, however, that no one in my family ever mentioned that my grandfather, N J Rabensburg, was raised as a Catholic or ever served in the capacity as a city official.

N J Rabensburg's grandfather, Charles Ehlinger, was one of the founders of St. Mary's Catholic Church at Live Oak Hill, Fayette County, Texas located near the town of Ellinger, Texas. The town of Ellinger (Anglicized) was named after N J Rabensburg's great grandfather, Joseph Ehlinger, the elder, who was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto.

N J Rabensburg's two uncles, who were brothers to his mother Wilhelmina Rabensburg-Girndt nee Ehlinger, were the founders of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in La Grange, Fayette County, Texas. The uncles were attorney/Fayette County Clerk, Joseph Ehlinger, the younger, and Judge J. P. Ehlinger.

I do think that my grandfather, N J Rabensburg, was a “Blue Dog” Democrat, but I really never heard a word from his lips about a political view. My parents, however, were more vociferous about religion and politics so I heard their comments at an early age. There were times when their views were not in sync.

N J Rabensburg was a very private individual and apparently uninterested in accolades for his accomplishments. Perhaps his rejection of accolades applied to his holsters as well. He did not give himself credit for his custom leather products following the “turning point”.

His satisfaction came from the customer’s expressed approval after the receipt of a finished product(s). Many of his customer orders for holsters and belts were via written correspondence. His customer base became large and continued to grow exponentially through referrals and greater exposure following his move to Austin.

Many of these correspondences were from peace officers around Texas and the nation and probably included stories and other information beyond the specifications of the order. Since a number of his customers were repeat clientele, N J Rabensburg undoubtedly kept their files handy in storage. It is unfortunate that these written documents were not saved following his death.

Accolade rejection may have occurred as early as 1915 after N J Rabensburg’s return to Texas from Price, Utah. In Price, he did use a maker mark on his saddles and chaps. Has anyone seen a custom leather product made between 1915 and 1932 by "N J RABENSBURG MAKER LAGRANGE, TEX" or "N J RABENSBURG MAKER LLANO, TEX"? I have not seen any so far. Have you? I would also like to know if any of the older, unmarked “Brill” holsters, which have been identified as a N J Rabensburg design, were made earlier than previously thought, that is, during the 1920s.

N J Rabensburg could not have managed the “transition” and the “turning point” without his capable wife, Lillian, who supervised the children, maintained the households and oversaw two major moves. She was also the First Lady of Llano, Texas from April 1931 until August 1932 and President of the Llano PTA. Lillian made her husband’s calendar possible for his tenure as Alderman and as Mayor. Unfortunately, his time involved with civic matters was also time away from the family.

A public notice was given by The Llano News on September 1, 1932 about the departure of N J Rabensburg for Austin. It read as follows:

“N J Rabensburg and Family Moved to Austin Yesterday--N J Rabensburg and family left yesterday (Wednesday, August 31, 1932) for Austin, in which city they will make their future home and where he will be engaged in business.

Llano can ill afford to lose such an estimable family, one worth so much to our town and county and possessing the admiration and confidence of all of our people. Mr. Rabensburg has been an important factor of our town and county for several years and at the time he decided to move to Austin was mayor of Llano (Rabensburg resigned on Monday, August 8, 1932 before City Council), serving in a most satisfactory manner, the people of his hometown. His wife was President of the Llano P. T. A at the same time and was foremost among our ladies in the promotion of civic, moral and educational advantages here.

Llano regrets seeing this good family leave, but in as much as it was considered best by them, we hope for that family, true success in their new location and would commend them to the citizenship of any place as a family who will always be worth something to any town or community.”

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

As previously noted, N J Rabensburg, while living in Llano, Texas, realized during the 1920s, and more particularly, around 1929 with the beginning of the Great Depression, that a small town saddlery was a thing of the past. The demand for many of his custom-made leather products, even in a ranching world, had waned to a point where he could not survive.

There was an exception, however, and it was gun holsters and belts. These two leather products remained in demand and were a commodity, which could increase in numbers with a proper marketing plan. Shoe sales, clothing apparel and hats became the fill-ins along with shoe repair. N J Rabensburg could keep on hand a smaller stock of saddles, blankets, bridles, yokes and harnesses, but many of what had been common shelf items, were now handled by special order. Buggies and whips had left the scene years earlier while he was still working in La Grange.

N J Rabensburg’s leather career spanned from 1907 to 1961. He worked diligently almost non-stop for about 54 years. He dotted the US map extensively as a young, single man until his marriage in 1915. He continued to dot the map with his young family but within central Texas making Austin his final and ultimate move.

N J Rabensburg’s leather career can be divided into several periods and milestones. They are as follows:

1. THE FORMATIVE YEARS (1907 to 1915)-N J Rabensburg as an apprentice gained experience through association, travel and hard work and became a leather shop owner at a very early age.

2. THE TRANSITION INTO MATURITY (1919 to 1929)-N J Rabensburg matured in his leather making business both in La Grange and Llano, Texas, where he became confident and capable.

3. THE TURNING POINT (1929)-N J Rabensburg made the decision to specialize his leather business and to emphasize holster and belt making within an expanded market.

4. THE MOVE (1932)-N J Rabensburg negotiated a job offer with the option to purchase at the A W Brill Company in Austin and orchestrated a move for him and his family on August 31, 1932.

5. THE CULMINATION (1935)-N J Rabensburg had finally reached his ultimate goal, which was the purchase of a respected leather company, namely, the A W Brill Company, which was located in a large, populated market (Austin).

6. THE PROGRESSIVE YEARS (1932 to 1955)-N J Rabensburg experienced better times at the A W Brill Company of Austin and acquired a respectable share of the holster and belt market both in Texas and around the nation.

7. THE FINAL WORKSHOP DAYS (1951 to 1961)-N J Rabensburg continued to make holsters and belts in his home workshop located in Austin until his premature death in 1961.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Neale, did NJ have a sewing machine in the garage workshop?

The Smith and Wesson Forum members are familiar now with N J Rabensburg’s home leather workshop in Austin located at 1903 (N.) Lamar Blvd. This shop was probably created in 1951 and ceased operation after a decade with the death of Rabensburg in 1961. There he made many A W Brill holsters and belts.

Fortunately, my father, Aubrey Henry Rabensburg, saved much of the leather collection, tools, devices and furniture items used in that workshop. These items were on display a few years ago in an exhibit held in La Grange, Texas along with a number of enlarged photographs and written documentation. This workshop, which was active seventy years ago, was on visual display in La Grange for the public to see in 2018 and 2019. The Smith and Wesson Forum members have witnessed it as well via a number of recent posts with attached photos.

This workshop, however, may not have been the only one for N J Rabensburg but was rather one of several. Since N J Rabensburg probably had two sets of holster and belt customers over the course of his leather career, he would have found it necessary at times to keep the making of these custom leather products separated at two locations.

Initially, N J Rabensburg's customer base had been the Texas Rangers, namely, Captain Hughes, Frank Hamer and Kiowa Jones among other peace officers starting in 1907. This customer base grew over the years and undoubtedly became generational.

Between 1907 and 1910, N J Rabensburg was working at the La Grange Saddlery and Buggy Shop. I would guess his Texas Ranger holsters and belts were not retail or wholesale items sold in or out of that store but rather among his private collection made at some other location using his own tools and devices. The location for this workshop, however, remains an unknown.

Since he was only a teenager between 1907 and 1910, N J Rabensburg was probably living in La Grange under the supervision of one of his two uncles, namely, Joseph or J P Ehlinger. His parents, Charles E and Wilhelmina Girndt, had yet to move into La Grange from the Ellinger area. That move for them would be many years later in 1920.

When N J Rabensburg returned to Texas in 1915 after leaving Price, Utah, he probably rekindled his old customer base, that is, the Texas Rangers and other peace officers. Since his new saddlery business of Zwiener and Rabensburg in La Grange, Texas was a partnership, he would have found it necessary to have a home workshop again to keep his earlier customer base separate from those of his current saddlery business.

This workshop would have been located in his home at the southeast corner of N Monroe and E Guadalupe Streets in La Grange. I now own this same house and a portion of its land. A photo image of this house as it appeared in 1890 is shown below in an attachment. The house was built in 1884 and had a whimsical roof pattern of striped colors and alternating shapes of roofing tiles.

When N J Rabensburg and his young family moved to Llano, Texas in 1920, he owned his saddlery business 100%; therefore, there was no need for a separate workshop. He could complete work orders for both sets of customers at one location and still keep them separate.

In 1932, the home workshop came into reality again in Austin since N J Rabensburg was initially an employee at the A W Brill Company during the first three years; thus, a workshop was in operation at his new home located at 1104 W. 7th Street until September 1935 when he bought the Company 100%.

As N J Rabensburg approached retirement, he created a workshop in his garage at 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd. in Austin as a secondary business location since he was probably splitting his time between the downtown street location for the A W Brill Company and his home. When retirement was finally realized in about 1955, Rabensburg was able to commingle both sets of customer bases for holster and belts at one location.

Three of the four home workshop locations for N J Rabensburg are shown in the attached photos below:

PHOTO NO 1. The second home workshop was located in this whimsical roofed house (or in one of its out-buildings) in La Grange, Texas. The house was occupied by the N J Rabensburg family between 1915 and 1920. This house was rented; however, Rabensburg inherited the property in 1948 after the death of his mother, Wilhelmina Rabensburg-Girndt nee Ehlinger. This photo was taken in 1890.

PHOTO NO 2. The third home workshop was in Austin, Texas at 1104 W 7th Street. The N J Rabensburg family lived in this rented house from 1932 until about 1939. My mother, Alene Rabensburg, is posed before the front porch of this house located on the crest of a hill. She and my Dad were married a day or two before this photo was taken in August 1938.

PHOTO NO 3. The fourth home workshop was again in Austin but at the "new" house located at 1903 Shoal Creek (later 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd.) This house was owned by N J and Lillian Rabensburg and was built in 1939 or thereabouts. The workshop was assembled in the garage in about 1951 and was dismantled following the death of Rabensburg in 1961. This photo was taken in 1942 or 1943.

Note: There is no photo of the first home workshop located in La Grange.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	history1.jpg (40.9 KB, 40 views)
	Alene Rabensburg August 1938 7th Street Home of Newton & Lillian Rabensburg in Austin, Texas.jpg (60.1 KB, 37 views)
	Newton Joseph Rabensburg Home Austin Texas 1903 N. Lamar (Shoal Creek) Photo 1942 or 1943.jpg (85.7 KB, 40 views)

Hey! Look what I bought New Years Eve (See attachments below). Texas, within 100 miles of Austin, is a great place to shop for a “N J Rabensburg” holster, but one might have to break the bank to do so. But I did it and drove 180 miles round trip and returned this evening.

Yes, it is marked “A W Brill”, but that name is now synonymous with “N J Rabensburg” the person. Ask anybody living in the 20th Century, who shopped for a holster at the A W Brill Company in downtown Austin or ordered a holster or more by written correspondence to N J Rabensburg after 1932.

Yes, again, all of these witnesses are now dead, with the exception of my sister and me. However, interested people today should now have a better understanding of the holster making techniques, should be more informed after reading an Austin American newspaper article written in 1959 and seen the light after viewing several photos of the actual A W Brill maker stamp used by the man, N J Rabensburg.

“Brill” holster enthusiasts, who have been a part of this Smith and Wesson Forum, should now recognize that N J Rabensburg and A W Brill maker are one and the same after 1932.

I hope no one finds fault with this holster and says it is not a N J Rabensburg. I am told it fits a 4 3/4 inch barrel. I did notice the back of the holster does not have any side stitches but just at the bottom. The leather is also thinner and unlike the thickness of my unfinished basket weave holster.

Could this be a design for a children's toy cap gun? I had a holster when I was a kid, but I do not think my holster was by N J Rabensburg. If I did, what happened to it? He did make me a children's belt and that disappeared from my closet when I left for the University. I believe the belt was a basket weave pattern. I think my mother gave it to my nephew. Great thinking on her part.

Our family did spend Christmas with my grandparents in Austin when I was about four or five years old, which is about the time I got my colt-type gap gun. My grandfather could have easily made a holster and belt for me at that time to fit my toy's design and barrel length and my waist for the belt with a little room for growth. The holster could have later been placed into my father's gun cabinet when our family moved to a new house in Houston during the early part of 1953. It along with my father's basket weave holster may have disappeared about the same time in 1986 after my father's death.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	20220101_001621 (2).jpg (41.0 KB, 61 views)
	20220101_001639 (2).jpg (33.1 KB, 56 views)
	20220101_001730 (2).jpg (71.4 KB, 54 views)
	20220101_001744 (2).jpg (44.0 KB, 51 views)
	20220101_002029 (2).jpg (40.5 KB, 54 views)

Thank you, Red, for your recent comments. Your points are well taken. I hope you will continue to post. Your comments are necessary.

I am getting better at identifying a “Brill” holster by N J Rabensburg from afar and by observing the stitching patterns up close front and back.

The few online photos of my recent holster purchase were enough for me to proceed with confidence. The deal was transacted along with pick-up within less than 24 hours.

However, after I got home, I saw that one of the familiar stitching patterns on the back was not used. This did make me feel very uncomfortable. Everything seemed to be in place initially, but something was now noticeably missing from my holster when I compared it to other “Brill” holsters made by N J Rabensburg.

Photo No 1 attached below shows the back of two recently posted A W Brill holsters made by N J Rabensburg with what I am calling conventional stitching patterns.

Photo No 2 shows a photo of the back of my recently purchased holster.

Photo No 3 shows the back of my holster again but with the missing stitching pattern drawn by hand in white dashed lines. Both of the two holsters in Photo No 1 do have the missing stitching pattern.

Photo No 4 deals with another matter and shows a facsimile of my childhood toy cap gun.

Since an additional layering may be missing, does this mean my holster was designed for a light-weight revolver? The online website says it held a Colt Single Action Army Revolver with a 4 3/4” barrel. I thought my holster may have actually been a children’s design holding a toy cap gun.

I believe my grandfather made such holsters for children as well. He may (or may not) have made a holster for me in the early 1950s as a surprise and belated Christmas gift. I did receive a toy cap gun from my parents at Christmas at this time, which was similar to this online (for sale) vintage 1950s era “Hubley Texas Jr. Toy Cap Gun” (See attached Photo No 4).

We spent Christmas also about this same time in Austin, therefore, it would have been an easy process for my grandfather to have taken the necessary measurements from my toy gun and to get my waist size. I remember the belt (and perhaps the holster) arriving later by parcel post in Houston.

My toy gap gun and holster went missing at an early age. I remember my mother telling me to be careful, and I think she thought it was poor policy for me to kill all of my friends in the neighborhood.

I did manage to keep and wear on a regular basis my basket weave pattern belt; however, it too went missing when I left for Austin and the University. It sported the classic sterling silver buckle, loops and tip.

Please note that my recently purchased floral patterned A W Brill holster by N J Rabensburg is almost like new. It shows almost no wear and tear, which might suggest it was used as a children’s holster, which got put away early for safe keeping about seventy years ago.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	Holsters A W Brill Smith and Wesson Forum.jpg (41.4 KB, 40 views)
	20220101_001642 (2).jpg (34.3 KB, 36 views)
	20220101_001639 (2).jpg (36.8 KB, 35 views)
	Hubley Toy Gap Gun (2).jpg (17.6 KB, 37 views)

Good morning,
Not Red, but I believe your holster is 100% authentic by your grandfather. The “missing” stitching you are referring to is to secure the holster lining to the body. As your holster is unlined that stitching is unnecessary.
Your holster is the first A.W. Brill that I have seen that is unlined.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,

__________________
Tim
SWCA #2697

Tim,

Thank you for your reply and your very helpful comments.

Sincerely,

Neale Rabensburg

I failed to mention in my previous posts about the bonus, which came with my recently purchased “Brill” holster by N J Rabensburg. It was accompanied by a vintage belt by M L Leddy Company of San Angelo, Texas. It is a tooled leather design with a fancy sterling silver buckle, loops and tip with a 10K gold overlay and features ruby gem inserts (by Holland Jewelry of San Angelo, which was founded in 1918).

M L Leddy started his business in 1922 and the company now has locations both in San Angelo and Fort Worth. This is a high-end Texas enterprise, which is family owned and operated.

Wow! Its online displays are exceptional. Beautiful leather boots, accessories and jewelry are beyond compare.

The same buckle, loops and tip with a 14K gold overlay bring thousands of dollars on eBay. I polished the silver and took some photos for you to see. The belt is way too long for me but displays nicely with the holster for color and design.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	20220102_130711 (2).jpg (76.6 KB, 42 views)
	20220102_131112 (2).jpg (63.9 KB, 43 views)
	20220102_131232 (2).jpg (97.8 KB, 42 views)
	20220102_131259 (2).jpg (92.4 KB, 40 views)
	20220102_131415 (2).jpg (121.8 KB, 38 views)

Great belt and buckle set! Holland’s started their line of western “jewelry” in 1936. The jewelry store was founded by Chase Holland in 1918 in San Angelo, TX and continues to operate in San Angelo making custom western buckles and accessories.
M.L. Leddys store in the Fort Worth Stockyards is one of my favorite places to visit when I’m in the area. Years ago I rode a custom M.L. Leddy cutting saddle. My horseback days are over, but I still haunt the old saddle shops when I travel!

__________________
Tim
SWCA #2697

Thank you arabensburg for these informative posts you have shared here. I've enjoyed every tidbit, even over and above the holster business.

Here's some photos of holsters on hand here, just to help things along.

My sister, Gayle Hall-Herring nee Rabensburg of Austin relayed a story to me recently of one of her childhood memories in the N J Rabensburg workshop located at 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd. For some reason, I was not around.

The story goes there was a visitor, who, according to her, was in uniform. His arrival was not by car but rather on horseback. Since my sister is three years my senior, the time period could have actually been during the late 1940s. My absence would suggest that I am too young to be running about unattended, and, thus, missed this exciting spectacle.

If I am too young to be a witness, then the home workshop located at 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd in Austin was in operation even earlier than 1951. The new start date could now be closer to 1949 when I was about three years of age.

Since my sister’s eyes were glued to the horse, she was not sure if the uniformed man was a customer or just visiting. My guess he was a peace officer hired by the City of Austin to patrol Pease Park and the Shoal Creek trails, which stretched for a few miles south to downtown where the Creek emptied into the Colorado River. I have not found anything online of a mounted patrol division during those years. There could have been a small unit, and I do plan to find out.

If the peace officer was a customer, then his business may have been holster and/or belt related or possibly a quick repair or a horse accessory item such as the bridle or even the saddle. If a visitor, then he was an acquaintance and a former customer, who dropped by to say hello. Anyway, it was an exciting moment for my sister.

The peace officer probably had land on the fringes of Austin where he lived and kept a horse or two. Pease Park would have been a good place to secure his truck and trailer away from through-traffic congestion. The main park facilities, which included swings, picnic tables, a pavilion, tennis courts and a wading concrete pond, were located at the south end. This area with its off-street parking nearby was literally a stone’s throw of N J Rabenburg's hill property and home workshop located at 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd.

While on patrol, the peace officer on horseback may have started from Pease Park and followed Shoal Creek downstream along the remaining remnants of Shoal Creek Blvd and the existing creek walking trails to about W 6th Street near downtown. The return would have followed the same route. The day of the officer’s visit was most likely Saturday since my family were visiting from Houston arriving the prior evening.

If anyone out there has a better story of why this peace officer rode up to the N J Rabensburg house on horseback, I would like to hear that story as well and then add it as a possible scenario.

The photo below shows my sister and me on horseback in Houston in front of our house located on Gardenia Street. The year is 1950, and I am four years old. The year of the visit by the peace officer in Austin to the workshop was probably made the previous year.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

Gayle and Neale on Horseback Garden Oaks 1950 (2).jpg (64.5 KB, 32 views)

There was another item not previously mentioned in the N J Rabensburg home workshop located at 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd. in Austin, Texas. The item was neither a tool or a device directly related to the making of a holster or belt but rather a piece of wall art. It was a rather large painting on (Bison?) leather of a portrait of a native American, who is draped in a colorful, warm blanket and a protective brown fur neck collar. This painting was attached to the rear wall of the garage workshop.

It is believed that N J Rabensburg acquired this leather painting about 110 years ago when he was traveling and working in the western part of the United States as a young man in his early twenties. It may have given him comfort and support to see this portrait as a backdrop in his workspaces over the course of fifty years.

The face of this native American painted on a thick piece of leather carries authority and respect and was appropriately showcased as a piece of western art. In 1911, or thereabouts, when it was acquired, it may have already reached an antique status and was, thus, painted much earlier in the 19th Century. Perhaps one day an art professional can date this portrait on leather with more accuracy.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	Even Larger Indian Painting on Leather NJ Rabensburg Collection Hung in His Workshop Late 19th E.jpg (69.2 KB, 37 views)
	Very Large Indian Painting on Leather NJ Rabensburg Collection Hung in His Workshop Late 19th Ea.jpg (46.9 KB, 31 views)

I posed some questions to my sister a few days ago about the peace officer on horseback, who visited N J Rabensburg in about 1949 at his home workshop located at 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd. She responded with some new information not previously noted. I suppose my questions uncovered some lost memory. Anyway, this is the latest recall from my sister Gayle Herring of Austin:

Our family arrived in Austin from Houston on Saturday in the early part of the afternoon (and not Friday evening as reported earlier in Part 1). The peace officer and horse were already there. The garage door was in the up position, and his horse was standing on the driveway landing near the door and tied to something inside the garage or to the door itself.

Upon arrival, I was probably taken upstairs while my sister, who was six years old, remained down to watch the horse. According to her, the peace officer was in a city uniform and not styled in khaki or earth tones or sporting a western hat or Stetson.

The officer was probably there on business because he picked up a package or small box before departing. My sister also noted that the saddle was fancy with shiny silver accents.

With this new information, it sounds like he may have been in a parade in downtown Austin that morning and had returned to Pease Park where his truck and trailer were parked. He would have used Shoal Creek and its trails to travel by horseback to and from downtown. The fancy saddle might suggest a holiday celebration.

Arriving Saturday would give our family only a one night visit, however, if this was Labor Day weekend, then it would have been two nights since the actual holiday followed on Monday in the year 1949. My sister would have started first grade on Tuesday.

These are our latest thoughts and memories of the peace officer on horseback.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Newton Joseph Rabensburg at age 25 years married Lillian Edna Speckels on July 23, 1915 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in La Grange, Texas.

N J Rabensburg had only recently returned to Texas from Price, Utah and bought a partnership in an existing saddlery, which became known as Zwiener and Rabensburg Dealers in Saddles, Harness and Vehicles with a town square location.

The wedding couple spent their honeymoon week in Dallas and returned to La Grange and took residence in the “Speckels House” about September 1, 1915. Lillian was a schoolteacher and may have continued to teach until the following year, when she gave birth to her first son Aubrey.

The following wedding photos are attached below:

1. Wedding portrait for Newton Joseph Rabensburg and Lillian Edna Speckels.

2. The interior of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in La Grange, Texas, which was festooned with wedding decorations.

3. The two flower girls, who led the wedding processional down the aisle of the church.

4. The reception dinner for the guests and family following the wedding. The wedding cake is featured in the middle between the two rows of tables. The steeple of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, which rises above the tree line, can be seen midway in the background. (The steeple had become barely visible in this photo due to fading; however, recent restoration has made the entire photo image much clearer.)

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	N J Rabensburg and Lillian Speckels Wedding Portrait (4).jpg (45.1 KB, 17 views)
	N J Rabensburg and Lillian Speckels Wedding Inside Church.jpg (92.2 KB, 16 views)
	n j rabensburg and lillian speckels flower girls wedding (3).jpg (54.1 KB, 16 views)
	N J Rabensburg and Lillian Speckels Wedding Dinner Party July 23 1915 Henry W Speckels Home (3).jpg (150.5 KB, 19 views)

How does one get two grandfathers together at Christmas. I should have remembered this story a month ago. These two except for age and birth century had little in common.

N J Rabensburg was of German ancestry, language and cultural and the other, Arthur Rives Buck, was Scots-Irish and English. Both could boast ancestry back to Texas under Spain and Mexico, the Republic of Texas and early Statehood. No contest there, and, unfortunately, this common link was not discussed back in those days.

“Those days” were the Christmas Holidays of 1953 through 1956. My maternal grandparents arrived in Houston either by train or by automobile via other west Texas friends or relatives on their way to Houston as well. N J Rabensburg and Lillian in 1953 drove from Austin in their brand new silver blue Ford coupe with radio and heat and stick shift transmission with overdrive. Life was good in 1953.

Winter in Houston was freezing cold that first year with all of the grandparents under one roof with temperatures hovering just above the ice mark. It was also a great time to be snuggled with family crammed into the front and back seats of our new Cadillac for a tour of Christmas yard and light displays. My parents had a large holiday party in 1953 for friends and relatives and lots of kids. I remember Christmas 1953 with fondness.

Back to the grandfathers. The cure or the link, which bound these two guys together at Christmas time, was not business talk or sports but rather drinking pleasure in the form of hot toddies. Hot toddies were a special brew of bourbon, honey, citrus and spices. It was heated in a metal pitcher and poured into shot glasses time and time again in the privacy of the formal living room. No one else was invited.

This gathering by these two gentlemen continued for more than an hour and probably closer to two hours to the chagrin of the grandmothers, whose urgings went unnoticed. These two guys found something to talk about because the conversation, which was elevated at times, continued with occasional laughter and could be heard even with the doors closed. Also, the grandfathers found a cure for colds or sinus problems during the Holidays.

Submitted by: Neale Rabensburg

The lease history of 300 E 6th Street and 302 E 6th and perhaps the even earlier 218 E. 6th Street in downtown Austin for the A W Brill Company needs to be explored to a greater degree. The information, which I have obtained with the help of others or available online have concluded that N J Rabensburg continued to use the A W Brill name as his company name from 1935 forward. We do know that the “Brill” holsters carried on with the A W Brill maker name following purchase. Please correct me if you think otherwise or have something to add now with regards to the company name.

The incorrect history of the A W Brill Company as touted in recent years by others certainly says the A W Brill Company survived well into the mid-20th Century as a retail establishment making the “Brill” holsters. One vintage leather company on the west coast, which has written a history of the A W Brill Company, continues to quote the following: “The A. W. Brill Company remained successful into the 1960s…..”.

The A W Brill Company may have continued to survive after 1935 but not as a retail establishment as it had been formerly and not as the maker of custom leather products, which would include the “Brill” holster. Please remember the newspaper public notices in 1935 and again in 1937 saying “N J Rabensburg” as the “Successor to A W Brill”.

The Brill family may have retained the A W Brill Company name and used it some other capacity following the acquisition in 1935. It would be helpful for an A W Brill direct descendant to step in now and clarify this point.

N J Rabensburg may have, thus, not acquired the A W Brill Company and its name but rather its reputation, the inventory, its customers, and the lease location on E. 6th Street. Why am I saying this now? The reason is because of the following:

Two photographs have surfaced in my collection, which clearly show the name of the company located on 300 E 6th Street as “N J Rabensburg” and not “A W Brill”. Both photos are dated 1942 and one of these has N J Rabensburg and his son Aubrey standing on the sidewalk in front of building with “N J Rabensburg” clearly labeled on the glass window.

The two colored photos are recent photos taken of the intersection at E 6th and San Jacinto Streets. The buildings at 300 E 6th Street and the adjacent 302 E 6th Street are clearly in view at the northeast corner of this intersection. Both were built during the 1880s, however, the first level entry and windows of particularly 300 E 6th Street have changed back and forth over the years as either windows or doorways. The window in the 1942 photo is presently a doorway. The San Jacinto outside staircase to the second floor level is shown in all three photos.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	N J Rabensburg and son Aubrey before 300 E 6th Street in downtown Austin (4).jpg (111.8 KB, 38 views)
	300 E 6th Street Victorian Building 1880s (2).jpg (24.0 KB, 34 views)
	300 E 6th Street Austin Texas (2).jpg (88.7 KB, 38 views)

I located another cache of vintage and historical photographs of the N J Rabensburg family, friends and associates, who played a role in his life during his formative years, his adult life and, for a select few, a part of both.

I thought these might be helpful for the collectors of the “Brill” holster to have a visual of some of the people surrounding N J Rabensburg during his seventy-one year life span. A picture does speak a thousand words and does help to make the story more real and beneficial.

On this post, I want to talk briefly about one person, namely, Anita Brewer (Howard), who was a columnist for the Austin American newspaper. She chose N J Rabensburg in April 1959 for a featured article on his holster making career.

Anita Brewer was an important person in her own right. She was also the only reporter in this country to have secured a private interview with Judge Sarah T. Hughes in Dallas, Texas following the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Judge Hughes was aboard Air Force One and swore in Lyndon Baines Johnston as the new President of the United States.

In our great population of millions of people, it is interesting how there are connections within this big picture on a more minuscule level of just one person to another. Relationships of people to people, who might be seemingly unrelated, are actually connected and do have a story to tell.

In the case of Anita Brewer, the connections might be placed on the circumference of a circle where the start meets the end after traveling the full arc of 360 degrees. A piece of Brewer’s story goes like this, and it starts with N J Rabensburg:

1. N J Rabensburg is interviewed by Anita Brewer of the Austin American newspaper in April 1959, and her article is about his holster making career.

2. Brewer, a few years later, is the only reporter in this country to have secured a private interview with Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes of Dallas, Texas following the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

3. Judge Sarah T. Hughes, a short time earlier aboard Air Force One, had sworn in Lyndon Baines Johnson as the new President of the United States.

4. Lyndon Baines Johnson was a mentor to John Connally, the Governor of Texas, who was also shot in the Presidential limousine in Dallas.

5. Governor John Connally was married to Nellie Connally, who was also sitting next to her husband in the Presidential limousine on that fateful day in November 1963.

6. Nellie Connally nee Brill was the daughter of Arno W. Brill of Austin and Kathleen Inks of Llano County, Texas.

7. Arno Brill and the Inks family played a major role with N J Rabensburg’s move to Austin and the A W Brill Company.

8. N J Rabensburg becomes the successor to A W Brill in 1935 and has a rewarding leather career in Austin making “Brill” holsters for thousands of customers over the course of 29 years.

9. In April of 1959, Anita Brewer contacts N J Rabensburg for a personal interview about his holster making career, and, thus, the start meets the end.

After reading the above, some of you are probably saying “So what!” When I learned of Anita Brewer and some aspects of her life and career, I got goose bumps thinking about the above interconnections and the summary of her story where the start finally meets the end.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	Anita Brewer (6).jpg (16.8 KB, 14 views)
	Anita Brewer Howard middle age (2).jpg (38.9 KB, 14 views)
	NJ Rabensburg 1959 Austin American Nespaper Article Page 1.jpg (89.9 KB, 20 views)
	NJ Rabensburg Austin American Newspaper Article 1959 Page 2.jpg (77.4 KB, 17 views)
	Rabensburg in shop (5).jpg (67.3 KB, 13 views)

Okay, I have been doing some homework as well on Charles W Kluge. Kluge, pronounced Klu’-guh, the German way, was not only a person with leather artistic talents, but he had connections most likely with the Rabensburg family since his youth.

Wow, did anyone know that? Well, it has not been proven, yet. The evidence at this stage is circumstantial. However, if he was indeed connected, then there may be one more persons besides a member or two of the Inks family and Arno W. Brill, who pushed or pulled N J Rabensburg to Austin and the A W Brill Company in 1932.

If the preponderance of the evidence goes in favor of Charles W Kluge, then Kluge must be added to the “Important List” of shapers and supporters of N J Rabensburg. However, we may have to wait a little longer to see if Kluge qualifies for that noted position.

What I do know and speculate so far about Charles W Kluge is as follows:

1. Charles W. Kluge was born in Bastrop, Texas on June 22, 1862. (If he grew up within that community, then the plot really begins to thicken.)

2. Henry B Rabensburg, the father of N J Rabensburg, was also born and raised in Bastrop, Texas. His birth year was 1864.

3. The population of Bastrop during the 1880s is about 1500 to 1600 people.

4. Charles W. Kluge and Henry B Rabensburg are contemporaries and from German stock.

5. Charles and Henry both become saddle and harness makers.

6. Charles and Henry may have apprenticed together while living and working in Bastrop.

7. Charles and Henry both leave Bastrop about the same time during the mid-1880s to find a new business climate and love.

8. Charles W Kluge moves west to Austin, marries and has five boys.

9. Henry B Rabensburg moves east to Fayette County (and later Wilson County), marries and has two sons and one daughter. N J Rabensburg, however, is the youngest and only surviving child.

10. Henry B Rabensburg establishes a saddlery on the town square in Floresville, Wilson County, and is credited by that community as one its leading citizens.

11. Henry B Rabensburg is, unfortunately, killed on November 26, 1890 when his son N J Rabensburg is only 15 months old.

12. N J Rabensburg as a youthful teenager picks up where his father left off and develops his own style and artistic skills in custom leather products including saddles, harness, chaps, belts and holsters.

13. While working as an apprentice for La Grange Saddle and Buggies, N J Rabensburg may have contacted the Kluge Brothers in Austin, Texas during one or more business trips between 1907 and 1910 and, thus, renewed an old Bastrop family relationship.

14. Three of Charles W Kluge’s sons were about the same age as N J Rabensburg. It would have been hospitable for Charles to befriend the young N J Rabensburg and introduce him to his family during his Austin visit(s).

15. Charles W Kluge was a generation apart from N J Rabensburg, but the two apparently shared many of the same artistic skills in the tooling of custom leather products.

16. Since the parents of Charles W Kluge in Bastrop were probably well acquainted with Jacob and Theresa Rabensburg, who were the grandparents of N J Rabensburg, it is reasonable to assume that Charles W Kluge and N J Rabensburg maintained a friendship and a probable business relationship over the course of many years.

17. Could Charles W Kluge have been a mentor to N J Rabensburg?

Please note there is more to follow about Charles W Kluge.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

I am told that this holster may be a Kluge.

Kevin

Attached Images

	90A6B29F-7C61-4133-B140-F3AF2BFC439E.jpg (71.3 KB, 34 views)
	04307280-949A-45CB-8CCB-94397F7705B4.jpg (64.4 KB, 39 views)

__________________
Unshared knowledge is wasted.

My early Brill attributed to Charles Kluge by Red. LH for 4” N frame.

__________________
Tim
SWCA #2697

It is not a Brill by anyone, but a Sunday scabbard made by the likes of Robert and/or Bedell Rogers. Only their Sunday scabbards for L.A. Sessums, and with their own marks, used that particular sewing on the backside of the fender, to hold the ends of the cuff in place. They may even have used a sewing machine to do this, unlike both makers of the Brill and nearly all makers of Brillalikes who used hand sewing, and even rivets, instead.

I think I posted these images already, but:

earliest da (2).jpg Brill by Kluge

brill autos (5).jpg Brill by Rabensburg

sessums da (2).jpg Sessums by Rogers

b rogers (32).jpg Rogers after Sessums

voss late (5).jpg Voss who was one of two dozen copyists

And by 'copyist' I mean no offense here; it's clear that Captain Hughes played Johnny Appleseed with his new design and visited every saddler in Austin and a huge circle around that city which was his HQ until 1908.

__________________
Red Nichols The Holstorian

The Austin Statesman newspaper on May 18, 1924 came out with an article on the history of the A W Brill Company, the people working in it and their roles played. It also touted the products sold, the noted successes and details about the Company’s wholesale outreach efforts. The title of the article was as follows:

Local Business Made Famous by High Grade Work
On Specialties in Leather Goods”

Charles (Charlie) W and Henry Kluge (Klu’-gah) are noted in the article both as the former owners of the Company from 1885 to 1912 (the Kluge Brothers) and then as current employees (1924) of the A W Brill Company. Charlie serves as a custom leather maker and Henry, as a financial adviser/accountant.

The article gets more specific about Charlie’s role as an accomplished “saddle” maker and notes the following:

“In 1912 Mr. Brill (August) bought the saddle and harness business of Henry and Charlie Kluge. The business had been founded twenty-seven years before---in 1885 to be exact. The Kluge brothers both work for Brill at the present. Henry Kluge is the bookkeeper, while Charlie Kluge is one of the most famous saddle-makers in the country. His saddles are works of art for he works with the artist instinct to achieve the perfect, if possible.”

In May 1924, Charlie Kluge is 61 years of age and getting ready to turn 62 years of age the following month. He has reached fulfillment and was in the countdown for retirement or at least a noticeable slowdown. Like N J Rabensburg many years later, he would probably continue making custom leather products in retirement but on a limited basis and with fewer choices.

The Austin Statesman may have exaggerated the truth about the number of products sold by the A W Brill Company but the sheer numbers, even discounted, are overwhelming. The staff necessary to accomplish such goals would be many. The newspaper offers these amazing sale numbers:

1. “More than 200 saddles were sold by this thriving wholesale company, as well as hundreds of sets of harness and pieces of harness (in 1923).”

2. “One of the A W Brill products has made the Austin company famous the country over among peace officers. During the past 12 years, one expert leatherworker has been kept busy supplying Texas Rangers and other peace officers with belt and scabbard for their guns. Thousands of these scabbards and belts have been made. All of which have been made to special order and sell at $5.50 a set delivered to the buyer.”

(Please Note: The above reference to “scabbard” appears to be a misnomer, and the reporter/writer meant to use the word “holster”. A scabbard by my understanding is a protective cover for a rifle and is not carried on a belt but rather secured to a saddle or across the shoulder by attached straps. Correct me if there is another interpretation for scabbard).

My guess is the A W Brill Company under the in-house, artistic direction of Charles (Charlie) W Kluge coupled with the shrewd business tactics of a young Arno W Brill made every effort to use available contract labor in the Austin and surrounding central Texas area. By doing so, the Company experienced little overhead and received a finished product on a wholesale basis. The number of sale items at the Company would, thus, increases substantially, and match the touted sale numbers as noted in the article of May 18, 1924.

The “Mystery Man”, who is identified as the maker of thousands of “holsters” and belts for guns for the Company remains an unnamed source with the title limited to “expert leatherworker”. Charlie Kluge, unfortunately, is not the named source even though he is obviously a person of importance and noted a number of times within the article. He was given credit but limited to the category of saddle making.

August and Arno Brill, in my opinion, intentionally kept the maker of holsters and belts unnamed in the newspaper article because the “Mystery Man” was actually a group of “Mystery Men”, who were mostly contract labor. Charles W Kluge is, of course, an exception and the only one of the group able to carry the A W Brill maker mark.

The “expert leatherworker” in the article is rather a contingent of early Brill-a-likes, who were selling their unmarked holsters and belts through a central clearing house, which was the A W Brill Company of Austin. Captain Hughes may have seeded the crop, but it was the A W Brill Company of Austin that reaped the rewards and sold many early Brill-a-likes made outside the Company. I am sure that Charlie Kluge’s holster, however, was considered to be top-of-the-line.

Sideline businesses at the A W Brill Company noted in the Austin Statesman newspaper article are quoted as follows:

“Shortly after Mr. Brill bought the business, he added as a sideline, VEHICLES, shoe findings and shoe machinery. Just at the present his shoe finding business is a most profitable sideline. One product of A W Brill is an “All-Texas product in every sense of the word. This product is a sturdy brown shoe. The cows, from which the hides going into the shoes were taken, were native cows. The hides were tanned in Texas: the shoe was made in New Braunfels, Texas, by Texas workman, and are being sold in Texas by the Brill Company.”

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Some Kodak moments taken on the driveway landing before the N J Rabensburg garage and home workshop located at 1903 N Lamar Blvd in Austin, Texas. My grandparents, N J and Lillian Rabensburg, are looking over and up to the business sign, which has recently been installed. The signage facing Lamar was placed in the south yard garden area and hung from a limb from a nearby tree

Lillian is leaning up against Newt, Jr’s 1950 or 1951 Chevrolet Hardtop convertible. I believe the family has gathered for a family portrait to be taken on Saturday morning by a local photographer. The day of this Kodak moment is either Friday or Saturday morning.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	N L Rabensburg Standing in Front of His Garage 1903 N Lamar Blvd cc 1951 or 1952 (2).jpg (62.9 KB, 28 views)
	N J Rabensburg Business Sign 1903 N Lamar Blvd (2).jpg (89.6 KB, 27 views)

I would like to reminisce a little more about Christmas 1953, when both sets of grandparents came to stay in my parents’ new home in Houston. This was the first occasion when everyone was under one roof for an extended stay. The grandfathers, N J Rabensburg and Arthur Rives Buck, as a mentioned in a previous post, came from different backgrounds. Rabensburg was urbane, polished, and smooth while Buck was rural, earthy, and reserved. However, they managed to communicate quite well in several discussions in the privacy of our home living room. These discussions were often enhanced by an accompanying and stimulating brew of hot toddies.

I was probably wrong in my previous post when I said that the early Texas backgrounds of these two grandfathers, were probably not discussed during their Christmas fireside chats in the living room.

N J Rabensburg was obviously not a cowboy, but both he and his father, Henry B Rabensburg, were saddle and harness makers and, thus, associated from a business standpoint with cowboys and the ranching and farming worlds.

Arthur Rives Buck was a retired farmer, but his father and grandfather were cattlemen and rode the Western and Eastern Trails north out of Texas across the Red River to the cattle markets located in the railway centers of Kansas.

N J Rabensburg did not have much in common with Arthur Buck, but Rabensburg did share a great interest in the ranching world of Arthur’s father and grandfather. Arthur, who was normally a good listener, was not so when it came to storytelling about life on the cattle trails during the 1870s and 1880s between central Texas and Kansas and even as far north as Montana.

These stories, which were passed on to Arthur by his father, Emmett Julian Buck, who had also received stories from his father, Augustus (Gus) Richard Buck, were told often in the first person and kept those, who were within hearing range, totally captivated and teetering on the edge of their seats.

Think “Lonesome Dove”. These were the experiences of the drivers and life along the trail including encounters with Indians, storms and stampedes, entertainment, friendly companions, dances, and music.

These cowboy drivers packed black patent leather shoes and formal attire, violins, and guitars along with the expected guns, rifles, scabbards, rope, spurs, boots, belts, canteens, blankets, saddles and other leather paraphernalia. Cargo wagons had to accompany for the overflow.

The attached photo was taken in 1881 of the cowboys, who were associated with the D & O Ranch located in Concho County, Texas at the crossing of the Goodnight Loving Trail with the Western Trail. The free range for this ranch in the late 1870s covered over 400 square miles. Cattle drives north from D & O Ranch used the Western Trail, which passed to the east of Abilene, Texas. The Western Trail continued north to Fort Griffin and then crossed the Red River at Doans Crossing into Oklahoma.

I relate to one or more of these seated four gentleman in the photo. The eighteen year old young man, who is seated second from the right, is my great granduncle, Austin Monroe Buck. He is the uncle to my grandfather, Arthur Rives Buck, and the younger brother to Emmett Julian Buck, who road both the Eastern and Western Trails and played a Russian violin (modified as a fiddle) made in St Petersburg during the early 1850s.

I think N J Rabensburg embraced these Texas cattle drive stories, and it could have been the connecting link that tied these two grandfathers together during the Christmas Holidays of 1953.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

Cowboys (4).jpg (105.5 KB, 27 views)

I have seen the photos of two holsters recently on the Smith and Wesson Forum, which are “Brill” look-a-likes. One holster was actually posted several years ago, and the other more recently in 2021. Both are floral designs and unmarked and are considered by the experts to be very vintage or “early Brills”. I would consider them both to be ultimate “Brill” designs by either Charles W Kluge and/or N J Rabensburg and not Kluge alone.

Before I get jumped on, I would like to explain why. “Early” Brill holsters by Charles W Kluge should bear the A W Brill maker mark. His holster was the calling card for the A W Brill Company up until his departure in 1932 or thereabouts. The subject two holsters above are not marked and the cuff is totally decorated, which might suggest they are both “Brill” look-a-likes” and not made by Kluge.

If the two subject holsters are early “Brill” look-a-likes, then they should bear no maker mark if they are marketed through the A W Brill Company, and these two fit the bill. The A W Brill Company would have to be selling multiple “Brill” look-a-likes along with Charles W Kluge’s in-house holster to meet the “thousands” of sale figures as noted in the Austin Statesman article of May 18, 1924. Since the above two designs are close in appearance to an N J Rabensburg “Brill”, I want to include both as possible Rabensburg holster candidates.

Differences and similarities of the two subject holsters are as follows:

1. The stitching pattern on one of the above two holsters is not a close match to N J Rabensburg’s 1932 to 1961 holsters. But does it have to be? Since the time period is earlier and probably in the 1920s, then the stitching pattern may have remained dynamic and continued to evolve for Rabensburg.

2. I have not seen the back of the other holster even though a request was made.

3. One of the floral patterns of the two subject “Brills” is a close match to one of the leather templates in the Rabensburg Collection.

N J Rabensburg could, thus, be one of the “Brill look-a-likes” and marketed by the A W Brill Company. As I have stated previously, I think Rabensburg decided to specialize his leather business in about 1929 to holsters and belts. Since he was already in the wholesale exchange with the A W Brill Company, he may have struck a deal with Arno W Brill and with the consent of the Company’s artistic director, Charles W Kluge, for the retail sale of Rabensburg’s unmarked holsters and belts in Austin starting around 1930.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Charles W Kluge may have made the two unmarked subject holsters (see Post #100), that is, between 1906 and 1912 and prior to his employment at the A W Brill Company; however, I speculated the same, but discounted that thought since Kluge would be making a “Brill” look-alike at the moment N J Rabensburg was introducing his original holster design to Captain Hughes. I thought any copy “Brills” including any made by Kluge would have followed a few years later and perhaps after N J Rabensburg left Texas for New Mexico around 1911.

Captain Hughes and other peace officers, who wore N J Rabensburg made holsters during those early years, should have remained loyal to Rabensburg, at least, until 1911.

There was a one or two year hiatus in the leather making world for N J Rabensburg while he was learning the wholesale business in Dallas starting in 1909. There, he probably made no holsters or belts. However, I would guess occasional train rides to La Grange might satisfy any holster or belt backup orders for the Texas Rangers and other peace officers. I speculated in a previous post that N J Rabensburg may have had his first home workshop in an out-building on one of the properties of his Ehlinger uncles in La Grange.

If Charles W Kluge did make the two subject unmarked holsters between 1906 and 1912, then they were both made at his Kluge Bros Company. Since this Company was a significant downtown Austin leather enterprise with more than 20 years in business by 1906, then I would expect identification on the back of these holsters, and there was none. This is why I continue to hang my hat on a slightly later time period. These two subject unmarked holsters, in my opinion, were made on or after 1912 and would have been sold on a retail basis from the shelves of the A W Brill Company.

Also, if I were in the shoes of N J Rabensburg and knew that my holster design was being copied and sold to my very own customers during those early years, then, I would have stepped up to the plate and raised some threatening objections. Also, if the demand were great for my holsters and belts, then I would have made every effort to satisfy those demands. I think Rabensburg was very conscientious and kept the supply and demand in balance for his holsters and belts until his departure for New Mexico in about 1911.

Unfortunately for N J Rabensburg, he apparently lost some of his former and potential new customer base when he made the decision to leave Texas in order to further his educational experience in New Mexico and Utah. I believe that Captain Hughes and other peace officers were loyal to N J Rabensburg but up to a point.

During the four year absence from Texas by N J Rabensburg starting in 1911, Captain Hughes and other peace officers may have found it necessary to shop elsewhere and approach other holster makers to copy the design of their N J Rabensburg made holsters so as to meet a growing demand by other fellow peace officers. Thus, the “Brill” look-alikes were born, in my opinion, probably on or after 1912, when the doors of the A W Brill Company first opened.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Looking forward to reading it!

Kevin

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An enhanced photo of N J Rabensburg holding his first grandchild, Barbara Gayle Rabensburg. The picture was taken during the World War II years in Houston on June 4, 1944. The granddaughter, Barbara Gayle, is just shy of her first birthday.

Rabensburg is standing in the side yard of his son's home in the Houston Heights Addition located in the 1500 block of Oxford Street.

N J Rabensburg is also standing in front of a shiny black four-door sedan. The car has my interest. It was my Dad's company car. His boss probably thought it unbecoming for his chief petroleum geologist to be bicycling his way everyday to and from downtown Houston. It was the War and gasoline rationing.

My Dad (Aubrey Henry Rabensburg) tried to enlist but was turned down for military service during the War. The Military wanted him to continue with the discovery of oil and gas reserves, which he did in earnest. Unfortunately, he suffered a nervous breakdown after the War due to his attempts to overcompensate.

Back to the car. Most of the new cars in the US during the WWII years were 1941 vehicles. Some 1942 models were made, but production was stopped for conversion to the manufacture of war machinery.

The car behind Rabensburg and grandchild is a classic Lincoln Zephyr 1941, which sported a powerful V-12 engine with an oversized search light and rear view mirror mounted outside to the driver side's door.

This car had been my father's boss's personal car in 1941, which was replaced for a new model of one of the early production and rare 1942 models (make unknown).

My father's boss of 29 years was John W. Mecom, Sr. of Houston and Liberty, Texas. He was an independent oil man with some fame attached.

I have been sick since Friday with high fever, chills and fatigue due to a reaction from my Moderna booster shot. Fever left within 24 hours, but the fatigue remains, and I have been sleeping for three days.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

	N J Rabensburg Holding Grandaughter Gayle 1944 (2).jpg (117.1 KB, 33 views)
	Aubrey Rabensburg 1940 At Front Door Leading to Garage Apartment 3511 Watson (3).jpg (34.7 KB, 30 views)
	Scan_Pic0170.jpg (64.2 KB, 28 views)

Love the Lincoln.

Thanks for the photographs!

Hoping you'll feel better soon.

Is the word “scabbard” another name for a handgun “holster”? No, it is not. According to present-day reference material, a “scabbard” is defined as a protective sheathing for a sword, knife, or a rifle firearm. It is not used as a holder for handguns.

On the contrary, written documentation during the first half of the 20th Century, at least in Texas, supports the term “scabbards” as a holder for handguns, which means there was a change of terminology starting after the end of World War II.

My grandfather, N J Rabensburg, uses the word “holster” on his outdoor sign for his home workshop located at 1903 (N) Lamar Blvd in Austin. This sign, which hung from a tree limb, was placed on his south lawn and garden in about 1951 or 1952.

Historians for leather-made products might find it helpful if the reference gurus would expand their word definition and include the word “scabbard” for handguns as well, at least, up until the mid-20th Century, when the word “holster” came into fashion. Unfortunately, the word “scabbard” did not remain as a possible synonym but rather got deleted entirely. This omission only adds to the confusion of those reading historical data.

Two examples using the word “scabbard” as a holder for handguns are as follows:

1. The reporter for the Austin Statesman newspaper article released on May 18, 1924, concerning the A W Brill Company in Austin, continues to use the word “scabbard” throughout the article with regards to a handgun holder. One part of the article says the following:

“One of the A W Brill products has made the Austin company famous the country over among peace officers. During the past twelve years, one expert leatherworker has been kept busy supplying Texas Rangers and other peace officers with belt and SCABBARD for their guns. Thousands of these SCABBARDS and belts have been made.”

2. The obituary for Charles W Kluge (died in January 1944), which was sent to me recently by Red Nichols, says in part the following:

“Kluge designed a SCABBARD and belt for a six-shooter that was worn by practically every peace officer in Texas and filled orders all over the world.”

The surviving family of Charles W Kluge chose to use the word “scabbard” in 1944 as a description for handgun holder. Apparently, during the World War II years, the fashionable word “holster” was not yet chiseled in stone.

In summary, the word “scabbard” was apparently the correct word to use as a holder for a handgun during the first half of the 20th Century. The word “holster” came into fashion after World War II. It appears to have been adopted almost immediately. “Scabbard” as defined later was only applicable to swords, knives, and rifles. Unfortunately, nothing is mentioned historically in today’s reference material about the previous definition for the word “scabbard”.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

Attached Images

N J Rabensburg Business Sign 1903 N Lamar Blvd (2).jpg (89.6 KB, 19 views)

RARE! Floral pattern leather holster by "A.W. Brill/Austin, TEX," for Colt O.P. | eBay

Anybody here pick this one up? I have been watching it, and since the auction is over, I can post it. Is this a N J Rabensburg holster or a much later one? It sure is pretty!
Larry

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	image.jpg (71.4 KB, 11 views)
	74AD27AB-9019-4804-AA9A-44F3ECFCC7E7.jpg (75.8 KB, 10 views)

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I have been watching it as well. Yes, it is an N J Rabensburg made holster with some wear and tear but, otherwise, a nice floral pattern. I bought one, which was very similar, on New Years Eve 2021.

Submitted by Neale Rabensburg

My dad always called 'em scabbards.

A rose by any other name...?