A little Texas historical story - A. W. Brill Holsters

N J Rabensburg Was the "Successor" to A W Brill

The Austin American newspaper dated June 27, 1937 gave notice to the public of N J Rabensburg as the "Successor" to A W Brill. Brill would have been August W Brill, the founder and owner. N J Rabensburg is now in control of the A W Brill Company located on a corner at 300 E 6th Street in downtown Austin.

The Bastrop Advertiser newspaper dated September 26, 1935, however, provides an earlier date for possession by N J Rabensburg by almost two years. The property address at that time was next door to 300 E 6th Street at 302 E 6th Street.

These two newspaper notices are probably a series of repeat notices to the public of N J Rabensburg's control of the A W Brill Company both in Austin and surrounding towns. The 1937 notice in the Austin American newspaper also provides a change of store address.

By 1935, the Brill family apparently has little or no involvement with the Company or with the making or selling of leather products including the "Brill" holster.

Submitted by A Neale Rabensburg

Sometimes you learn the most amazing things here. But I have a fun, very secondary question - kind of a thread theft but maybe not:

I am Neale Rabensburg, the grandson of saddle and holster maker, Newton Joseph Rabensburg, who was associated with the A. W. Brill Company in Austin, Texas for 23 years both as an employee from 1932 to 1937 and as the successor/owner from 1937 until about 1955. During his retirement, N. J. Rabensburg continued to make holsters, belts and other leather products at his home workshop located at 1903 N. Lamar in Austin. He died in 1961 at the age of 71.

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Mr. Rabensburg, as of this writing by me, has 13 posts. Seven (7) of them are in this thread. By way of opposing example, Texas Star has 20,000 plus; DWalt, the OP, has 28,000+ posts.

Query - Neale, how did you happen to be here now, when did you join the Forum, is it just coincidence that you're here for this thread or were you advised by a friend already on the S&W Forum?

Just curious. Your timing is so perfect I had to ask.

N J Rabensburg The Saddler and Holster Maker from 1907 to 1961

N J Rabensburg started his leather career in Fayette County, Texas. His father, Henry B Rabensburg, also operated a Saddlery, but in Floresville, Wilson County, Texas. Henry was, unfortunately, killed in 1890, so his wife, Wilhelmina Ehlinger, and their young son moved back to her roots at Live Oak Hill near Ellinger, Fayette County, Texas.

Wilhelmina remarried to Charles Girndt, who would later become Sheriff of Fayette County. N J Rabensburg may have apprenticed as a leather maker first in Ellinger and then in La Grange, where he worked at the La Grange Saddle and Buggy Shop located on the southwest corner of the town square.

N J Rabensburg expanded his leather carrier through exposure by traveling first to Dallas, then out-of-state to New Mexico and then finally to Price, Utah. There he made showplace saddles. One was for cowboy Joe Anderson, who rode on it during the Stampede in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1913 and 1915. A photo of what is believed to be this very saddle is attached.

N J Rabensburg returned in 1915 to La Grange and his boyhood roots and married Lillian Edna Speckels, the daughter of Mayor Henry W Speckels. Rabensburg goes into partnership with Zweiner on the northside of the town square. A interior photo of this store shows N J Rabensburg on the left and his partner Zwiener opposite. The date is probably opening day of this store in 1915 with spurs, ropes and blankets to the left and saddles, buggy whips and yokes to the right.

N J Rabensburg opened a Saddlery in Llano, Texas in 1920, where he remained until 1932. He served the town of Llano as an Alderman and Mayor. His store was located on Bessemer Street, which becomes Ford Street on the other side of the Llano River. His store was located within close proximity to the Llano River and may have suffered flood damaged more than once.

N J Rabensburg finally moved to Austin and eventually took over operations of the A W Brill Company located in downtown Austin. N J Rabensburg retired in about 1955 but continued to make holsters and belts (and other leather products) in his home workshop located at 1903 N Lamar across from Shoal Creek and Pease Park. A photo copy of the front exterior of his home and garage workshop is attached. This photo was taken about 1942 after N Lamar cut through and took off a portion of N J Rabensburg's front yard and hill.

Got one!

I have a A.W. Brill holster owned by my late friend and retired Ranger: Curtis Becker. I helped him move him from one residence to another and Curtis saw that I had a carved leather holster in which I carried my BBQ gun. He tossed me a saddle tan basketweave holster and said" Its yours, I dont need it any more"! Turned out to be a A.W. Brill holster.!
My S & W Registered Magnum was a perfect fit.... Ill not get rid of either until I achieve room temperature.
Ill try to post pics as so as I figure out how to do it with my iphone.

ARabensburg,
Now that's what I'm talking about.........love, love, love the pictures!! Having the floral carved front faces of the holsters is very cool. The partial finished holster is neat too. BTW, I'll take the awesome display case anytime it is available! Is the house still in Austin or has it been razed to make room for something else? Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Larry

The Smith and Wesson Forum and Me (A Neale Rabensburg)

I started to make my introductions to the Smith and Wesson Forum in May 2018 and more specifically to Red Nichols.

Rox Ann Johnson, an archivist at the Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives in La Grange, Texas found discussions about my grandfather on the Smith and Wesson Forum in early 2018.

I am an amateur historian and a Board member of the Fayette Public Library and the Heritage Museum and Archives in La Grange. I was working at the time on the development of an exhibit about my grandfather's involvement with the Zwiener and Rabensburg Saddlery in La Grange during the years 1915 to 1920.

I was in the process of assembling all of his tools and devices, which were used in N J Rabensburg's home workshop located at 1903 N Lamar in Austin. Besides tools, there was a writing/spool desk, a Sessions wall clock cc: 1889 from the Parry Buggy Company of Indianapolis, a large block of granite for tooling and stamping leather, an oil painting of an American Indian chief on a large piece of leather and a wooden vice and "stitching horse".

I remembered all of these items as well including their exact placement in his garage workshop. By training, I am an architect with the State of Texas and have a photographic memory so I can see the holsters and belts prominently displayed in two glass cases tagged and ready for sale. On the opposite and southside of the garage was his workshop with a customer's order perhaps being made.

There were times when my sister and I were able to watch our grandfather making a holster or belt with a bright light shining from the floor joists above. He would be wearing a protective apron, a cap with a translucent bill to diffuse some of the harsh light and eye glasses with a magnifying attachment. A radio, which was placed below the only window at the side yard garden was always in the "on" position sounding welcoming music and the news of the day.

We, as children, were allowed to observe but not speak. During our visits to Austin, I was in his workshop on a regular basis. It was cut into the side of the hill so natural rock, shell and stone walls were visible behind fabric drapery on three sides. The cave-like setting gave the shop a more comfortable, even temperature. The upstairs house did offer early air conditioning but only in the rear bedroom.

I am seventy-five years old at present and my sister is three years my senior. I believe the home workshop was functioning in about 1953 or a few years prior to his retirement from A W Brill. My memory of the house goes back to the late 1940s.

Fortunately, My Dad, Aubrey, saved many of his father's workshop items. My sister and I picked up the gauntlet and split these items among ourselves following our father's death in 1986.

Red Nichols was working on his book when he and I started to communicate along with others on the Smith and Wesson Forum. I provided some new information, but Red had already been studying the subject of the "Brill" holster and N J Rabensburg several years earlier.

In 2018, I was unaware of any changes to the history of my grandfather. There was no controversy more than thirty plus years ago because some customers and family were still alive to keep it straight. But now with everybody gone, except for my sister and me, the story of my grandfather and the "Brill" holster and the A W Brill Company has, unfortunately, become twisted and rewritten in a way that takes credit away from N J Rabensburg and gives it to another man of distinction, but who has no notable leather skills and was absent from the A W Brill Company by 1935.

What source created these falsehoods, when the true 20th Century story is available online. Facts are facts. Thank God for the Smith and Wesson Forum and Red Nichols, who researched all of this material years earlier and tried to get the story straight again. Red is an expert in holster design and studied more closely the "before and after" periods at the A W Brill Company or, more specifically, before N J Rabensburg and after N J Rabensburg.

My job now is to get the story correct. I am not casting any aspersions on the Brill family. The Brill and Rabensburg families were not only close business associates but close friends as well. Arno W Brill was an honorary pallbearer at my grandfather's funeral in Austin. Arno's wife, Kathleen Brill, was a very good friend of my grandmother Lillian. Lillian gave Kathleen Brill my grandfather's writing/spool desk following his death in 1961. Kathleen gave it back to me in 1968/69, when I was at the University of Texas. My parents and I met Kathleen Brill and her daughter Idanell (Nellie) Connally years later at a country club in Houston. The joys from that reunion says there was no controversary between families during the 20th Century. The Brills and Connallys would never have condoned this reversal of historical facts.

My Dad had a few dates with Idanell Brill when he was a student at the University of Texas at Austin. Idanell's father Arno had a working relationship with N J Rabensburg perhaps as early as 1923. Arno's father August may go back even farther to 1907 when N J Rabensburg was 17 years of age and working with Captain Hughes of the Texas Rangers.

Please spread this correct information with your colleagues. I am working with other forums and websites doing the same. News outlets in Texas may have interest as well.

Obviously, much of what I absorbed as history and fact over the years has been incorrect. I am very pleased to see this corrected by the contents of this forum post.

Rumors and conjecture seem to have a way of becoming legend over the years. I appreciate the contributions of Mr. Rabensburg in correcting the historical record.

Best regards.

N J Rabensburg's Home in Austin Survives But at Another Location

Yes, N J Rabensburg's home in Austin located at 1903 N Lamar was cut up and moved in a one story format to a neighborhood, which is immediately south of Town Lake (Lady Bird Johnson). I actually tried to find it about 20 years ago but with no luck.

My grandmother Lillian moved to a smaller but similar house on West 29th between N Lamar and Jefferson. Darrell Royal was her neighbor about one or two blocks to the north and could be seen walking on occasions.

The hill, which had been their home lot at 1903 N Lamar has since been pulverized and replaced at street level with office buildings. The hill was nice but steep for a car to climb especially with the horsepower during the 1950s.

Fortunately, my parents drove Cadillacs, but the ascent was still a roaring, full throttle exercise in order to make the driveway landing in front of the garage door. Everything was way up there, and we were gasping for air when we finally arrived.

German heritage people like to be on the top of the hill. Its a defensive thing. The view of Pease Park and the edges of Shoal Creek with its forest of trees and a rising hill beyond, offered a pleasing setting. N Lamar below did add street noise, however, some of that got deflected toward the park.

Nights were great there with low level lighting shining across the hills of Austin using "Moon" lights, which were arranged in the form of a Texas star. These giant tall steel towers of lights were brought to Austin from one of the World's Fairs decades earlier when electricity was a new form of energy.

Submitted by A Neale Rabensburg

Gun Templates Used by N J Rabensburg to Make "Brill" Holsters

These gun templates were used by N J Rabensburg in his home workshop located at 1903 N Lamar in Austin and were probably used years earlier at the A W Brill Company located in downtown Austin on E 6th Street.

One of the templates still bears the faded inked handwriting of N J Rabensburg and is labeled "For small automatic".

Detail of Wooden Stitching Horse Used by N J Rabensburg to Make "Brill" Holsters

The wooden stitching horse used by N J Rabensburg in his home workshop in Austin. Its age, however, might suggest it was used many years earlier in Llano and La Grange as well. The seat is sheathed in leather. The two arms of the vice at the top are draped with an unfinished basket weave "Brill" holster.

The foot petal at the bottom controls the tension and lock for the vice.

Photo Portrait of N J Rabensburg Cc: Late 1940s/Early 1950s

This portrait of N J Rabensburg was taken during the end of his active career at the A W Brill Company located on E 6th Street in downtown Austin. It was probably taken during the late 1940s or the early 1950s.

This is how I remembered him as a boy of five years. He was always neat and dressed more formally and always within a starched white shirt. There was no tummy on this gentleman. He was always trim and very fit and commanding.

N J Rabensburg's Clock and Buggy

The Parry Buggy Clock had a prominent location in his home workshop in Austin, and it was wound every few days without delay.

I collect vintage pendulum clocks because of that particular wall clock in his workshop. I was amazed at the quality of the picture of the Parry surrey, which was painted in gold on the back of the glass in the pendulum box.

This clock according to Parry descendants was made prior to 1890, therefore, it was around when my grandfather N J Rabensburg was born in Floresville, Wilson County, Texas.

I am looking up now at that same clock as I write this post.

One of my grandfather's buggies, which was sold in La Grange, Texas prior to the Great War for the United States, has since been restored and displayed in a south Texas museum. It bears the name on a plate attached to the rear of the seat support, which reads "Zwiener and Rabensburg La Grange Texas".

arabensburg said:

The wooden stitching horse used by N J Rabensburg in his home workshop in Austin. Its age, however, might suggest it was used many years earlier in Llano and La Grange as well. The seat is sheathed in leather. The two arms of the vice at the top are partially covered with an unfinished basket weave "Brill" holster.

The foot petal at the bottom controls the tension and lock for the vice.

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Making leather holsters and accessories was a part-time sideline business throughout my law enforcement career, evolving into a full-time business when I retired in 1995. Total of 43 years in the business (1972-2015), of which I hand-stitched everything for over 30 years. I used a bench-mount stitching pony, couple of stitching awls, harness needles, and hand-waxed thread for many years. Leather gloves (finger tips removed to aid dexterity) help protect the skin. Good lighting and a magnifier help. Layout, marking the stitch pattern, punching every hole, and working two harness needles in opposite directions is tedious and tiresome work. Each piece takes a lot of time and effort.

For those who have never performed such work, it is incredibly hard on the hands, wrists, forearms, and shoulders. I credit those efforts as the most probable cause for my (several) carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel surgeries and the continuing pain and inflammation issues.

In later years, when full-time production became necessary to meet demand, I invested in a commercial-grade power stitching machine, as used by saddle makers. A 45-minute hand-stitching project could easily be done in 3 or 4 minutes.

The true masters of the craft in earlier years worked very hard with minimal tools, and their efforts should be appreciated for the efforts they represent.

LoboGunLeather said:

...The true masters of the craft in earlier years worked very hard with minimal tools, and their efforts should be appreciated for the efforts they represent.

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Well said, Lobo.

N J Rabensburg's Oak Writing Desk with Spool/Thread Drawers

This oak writing desk was located at 1903 N Lamar in the home workshop for N J Rabensburg. He wrote his notes and invoices on the leather inlay top. It set immediately in front of the glass covered display cases for his holsters, belts and accessories.

Walking into the garage workshop, to the left was the desk and display cases and to the right at the south wall was the workshop counters and tools. The car was in the middle. When he was engaged, the car moved out to the landing.

This desk is very old and probably was made in the late 19th Century. After the death of my grandfather in 1961, my grandmother Lillian gave the desk to Mrs. Arno (Kathleen) Brill.

In 1968 or 1969, Mrs. Brill thought that I should have the desk since its was a part of my grandfather's legacy. She brought it over to my grandmother's house on West 29th Street in Austin. She and I spoke briefly at that time, and that was my second encounter with the Brill family. The first was probably in 1961 during my grandfather's funeral. Arno Brill was an honorary pallbearer.

The desk was exhibited a few years ago in La Grange, Texas at the Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives. A copy of an original invoice dated March 1916 from Zwiener and Rabensburg, Dealers in Saddles, Harness & Vehicles, is displayed on top.

Granite Block for Stamping and Tooling Leather N J Rabensburg Home Workshop in Austin

This granite block and stand were up against the south wall of the home workshop for N J Rabensburg located at 1903 N Lamar in Austin. The block was used for stamping and tooling of leather items.

This piece of granite used to be clean and shiny; however, it set outside in my Houston backyard for more than ten years. This block and its original wooden stand were displayed a few years ago in La Grange, Texas for the Zwiener and Rabensburg Exhibit held at the Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives. The stand, which originally had been natural wood, was later painted a soft pink color by my father Aubrey Rabensburg for reasons unknown.

The weight of the block requires the lifting power of three men and a trolley to move it about. It was a job hauling it into the Museum and to the second floor. The elevator came in handy for the upstairs exhibit display.

Mr Rabensburg, any close up pictures of your grandfather's tools would be appreciated. We all have favorite awls, knives etc. Thank you so much for participating in this discussion.

N J Rabensburg Tools in Detail

The arrangement of the tools and their locations within existing containers and a wall mounted tool device remain a guess. I tried my best for the Zwiener and Rabensburg Exhibit held in La Grange several years ago.

The tools also suffered abuse in storage since 1997 with more exposure to heat and humidity. I attempted some cleaning but stopped after awhile. There were too many, and the improvements, which were made to some, were not that great.

Enlargement of 1959 Photo of N J Rabensburg with Tools and Six "Brill" Holsters

The enlargement of the Austin American newspaper photo dated April 14, 1959 shows my grandfather in a pose with tools to the left, right, below and in both hands.

Noteworthy in this photo are six A W Brill holsters tagged and ready for sale. The topmost holster with a greater enlargement reveals the "Brill" mark.

Please note that N J Rabensburg is posed in the 1959 photo not only with some of his tools, holsters and belts but also with the exposed top of his granite block, which was shown in a recent post and photo.

N J Rabensburg's My Three Sons

I never saw my grandfather N J Rabensburg as the family man. I am sure he was proud of his three sons, but my grandmother Lillian took the lead in that department.

We as grandchildren recognized very early his temperament and walked around on tippy toes during visits to Austin. The home had a pleasant environment when we were outside or below in the garage.

My grandfather did not discourage visits to the workshop as long as we the children remained quiet, did not disturb any work in progress, place fingerprints on the glass display cases or worse disturb a tool.

I think my grandfather did love me, and it became evident to me when he was about to die. He was lying in a hospital type bed with daily nursing care, but in his home at 1903 N Lamar. My parents had received a call to come to Austin as soon as possible. I was pulled out of school that same day, and we drove from Houston arriving in the late afternoon.

He was in the rear bedroom, which was light and bright with its walls of windows, and covered in white. Unfortunately, he was speechless and partially paralyzed. I walked over to him and said something brief like "Pepa, I hope you get better".

I did touch his hand, and there was acknowledgement from his eyes, and I want to think a slight movement in his arm. I knew at that moment he was lucid, recognized me and cared. I was fourteen.