The George Lawrence Leather Company

boykinlp · Feb 16, 2025

Getting kinda slow around here, so I thought I would post something that I hadn’t before

, and Lawrence needs some love.

Here are my vintage Lawrence catalogs. I don’t own many. The first one is the earliest one I’ve ever seen for this company. It’s a 1937 George Lawrence Leather Company Catalog, Portland, Oregon. This Catalog Is 7 Pages And Describes Their Hunting And Fishing Offerings. I Believe This May Be Their First Gun Leather Catalog. I like that it is actually addressed and stamped. It Is Addressed To Lyle E. Sheldon, Copenhagen, NY.

The second one is a 1945-46 Lawrence Leather Sporting Goods & Saddles catalog: This is a 6x9" fold-out 48-page self-mailer featuring "The Silver Eagle" show saddle No. 999 on the back. It includes a blue price list stapled into the center. It is one of the last GLCo catalogs to feature team harness, and one of the first to feature holsters and shooting leather in the opening pages.

The pictures below show the front and back of each catalog.
Larry

boykinlp · Feb 16, 2025

My third one is a 1948 Lawrence Leather Line catalog: This is a 20-page 6x9" catalog with a fabulous colored cover with a scene that stretches across the front and back. Like the catalog above, it features shooting leather up front and riding leather in the back. In this era we started to see an increase in leather sporting goods in the GLCo catalogs.

My fourth one is a 1953 Lawrence Saddlery Catalog No. 53: This is a 12-page 6x9" fold-out self-mailer featuring "The Phoenix Pride" flower-stamped saddle #885 on the back. Aside from two pages of headstalls and reins, this mailer is fully dedicated to saddles. This saddle section shrank in future GLCo catalogs.
Larry

boykinlp · Feb 16, 2025

The coolest thing about the last three catalogs is that they are NIB and I actually got them from Peter Lawrence. He is the great-great grandson of George Lawrence, founder of the George Lawrence Co., the famous saddlery and harness maker in Portland, Oregon dating from 1857. His father William “Bill” Lawrence III ran the leather factory for 30 years when the company manufactured primarily leather shooting gear, and Peter worked at the GLCo as a student in the early 1980s, making him the last of five generations of Lawrences in the family business. I conversed back and forth with him, and he is a great guy with some interesting stories. I even invited him to join us here, knowing his stories would be appreciated by the gun leather folks here since we love history.

Please post pictures of any catalogs, holsters, or anything else related to the George Lawrence Leather Company.

I know we have some real gems in this group!
Larry

turnerriver · Feb 16, 2025

Thanks, Larry, another good idea. Ephemera and catalogs are keys to knowledge. I corresponded with Bill Lawrence and bought some things from him including the S&W M&P card below. Lawrence was a Smith & Wesson distributor during the mid 1900’s.
The Warshal’s item is dated 1939.

Regards,

NRA-Life-Member · Feb 16, 2025

George Lawrence Company Catalog list

George Lawrence Co. Catalog List – Columbia Gorge Discovery Center

ENNE-FRAME · Feb 16, 2025

Larry well done!!!

Front and rear covers

1937 Lawrence Eighty years since 1857 front and back

1945 1946 Leather Sporting Goods and Saddles

ENNE-FRAME · Feb 16, 2025

front and back covers

N° 53 Leather Sporting goods catalog

N° 53 Saddle catalog

ENNE-FRAME · Feb 16, 2025

1948 Sporting goods catalog, front cover , first page and rear cover

Leather Sporting Goods N° 63 front and rear cover

ENNE-FRAME · Feb 16, 2025

Lawrence no numbering or date front and back

Lawrence N°114 front and rear

ENNE-FRAME · Feb 16, 2025

Lawrence
"Fine Leather Sporting Goods since 1857"
A tradition of excellence since 1857
N°121 front and rear

rednichols · Feb 16, 2025

Enne frame, I agree that the Lawrence cats with a two digit number signify the year -- No. 53 w/b 1953. And agree that those with a four digit number are the years since claimed founding date -- so No. 117 would be 1974. Other companies have done the same with their numbering so as to not stale-date their catalogues; but many including Lawrence and Heiser have counted their first year's cat as if it were No. 0 vs No. 1, which is unlikely, eh? We don't count our first born child as No. Zero.

A full understanding of such companies is that the founding date used by Lawrence and Heiser (used three different years!) and Myres and Bucheimer and even Bianchi, is for a prior company. In Lawrence's case that company was Sherlock Bros into which family George Lawrence married; he bought out the Sherlocks in 1893 and changed the name accordingly. Sherlock holsters do exist even today and look very much like a Gallatin or a Maine & Winchester: aka California style.

Yes, 1937 the earliest known full gunleather catalogue for Lawrence. Prior holsters with their name appear to have been made for them by Wyeth by 1932.

ENNE-FRAME · Feb 16, 2025

Geo Lawrence #27L

Here is a Model 27L for a Smith & Wesson 38/44 Outdoorsman, and the 1937 catalog that shows it.

boykinlp · Feb 16, 2025

turnerriver said:
Thanks, Larry, another good idea. Ephemera and catalogs are keys to knowledge. I corresponded with Bill Lawrence and bought some things from him including the S&W M&P card below. Lawrence was a Smith & Wesson distributor during the mid 1900’s.
The Warshal’s item is dated 1939.

Regards,

I got one of the S&W M&P cards too. I wonder what the history of them is? I know that on the Helpful Hints Brochures there is 2 different forms of this card printed in different versions of those brochures. I wonder what Lawrence used those cards for? I am still hopeful that Peter will join us here at some time.

Larry

ENNE-FRAME · Feb 16, 2025

George Lawrence #211

Here the holster 211 always for Smith & Wesson 38/44 Outdoorsman and in the same page of the 1937 catalog.
The holster in the photos was produced years later, as can be seen from the more recent marking.

boykinlp · Feb 17, 2025

This is my earliest George Lawrence holster. It is a Lawrence Model 9 22A Holster. It is made from rather thin leather and has been modified by a previous owner with the rather crude lacing around the opening. Strangely enough, I believe the George Lawrence Company did some of the best looking floral carving in the leather holster business, but this holster has a really simple rope style carving on it. Do any of you have a prewar floral carved example? I picked this one up years ago for two reasons. First, if my research was correct, it is a pre-war holster based on the type of snap used. The snap is stamped G L C o in the 4 quadrants (for George Lawrence Company). I have a closeup picture of the snap below. It is made to fit a .22 auto (Colt Woodsman) with a 4 1/2 inch barrel. Second, I believe this football shaped style logo was only used before WWII on their holsters. I have a close up picture of it below too.
Larry

turnerriver · Feb 17, 2025

You’re correct, Larry both the snap and logo on that model 9 holster are pre-war. The rope design is embossed. I agree, Lawrence’s carving was first rate. Here are a couple examples, the third holster is pre-war.

Regards,

Kansasgunner · Feb 17, 2025

I’ve posted these George Lawrence holsters before , and I’ll take any opportunity to show them again! Here we go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SuperMan · Feb 17, 2025

A few years ago a member here contacted me asking if I would be interested in a S&W Pre-27 made in 1952...since I was born in 1952 I said yes... Turns out he had a letter stating the gun was shipped to the George Lawrence Company on May 21, 1952...the day I was born...30 miles south of the factory in Hartford.

So a few years later I'm looking for a Lawrence holster to go with the gun...it is a 6". And there ends up being a BRAND NEW IN THE PACKAGE Keith designed #120... And it was the correct holster for the .357 Magnum 6", not the more common 6.5"...

Bob

The Target Stocks on the gun were added...it came with the numbered to the gun Magna grips. The Target stocks came off a 1950 Target .44 Special but it now wears Cokes...

boykinlp · Feb 17, 2025

More of my George Lawrence Company Holsters:
Larry

turnerriver · Feb 18, 2025

A few more.
As this thread shows, Lawrence was a prolific maker, there are great examples out there.

Regards,

The George Lawrence Leather Company

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