Perhaps Professor Witty thinks that Col. Criswell has been taking notes and remembers that . . . the HeiserKeyston branding appeared early 1950s, likely as early as 1952? And by the late '50s the brand had become Heiser-Keyston-Lichtenberger. In terms of relevance to the date of the Brauer patent. Late '60s it had become just Keyston, not even the 'Bros', with addresses in the SF area, the LA area, and the Denver area.

Heiser as a company actually disappeared from Colorado when the operation was sold to (or simply taken over by) Keyston during 1950. Instead, the company really was Keyston Bros., a foreign corporation (i.e., from another State) that was d.b.a. (doing business as) The Heiser Co in Colorado. Still the Heiser name, but now the Keyston Co.; even all the players had changed including all the Heisers; and its staffers who had long since moved over to Colorado Saddlery; which at that exact moment fired up Hunter Corp to be their gunleather arm.

Heiser was not Heiser, Bianchi is not Bianchi, Safariland is not Safariland, Rogers is not Rogers, it's all kind of a 'shell game' for us commoners. I know even Hunter has been under different owners for quite some time now. Ditto Hume, Myres, Berns-Martin, perhaps every darned one of modern makers. There has never been a family succession plan for any of the makers that I can think of; if the founders don't sell up then the heirs will.

__________________
Red Nichols The Holstorian