BCO Holsters
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- Apr 23, 2019
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I am trying this for the second time. I was told by my Great Uncle the following information and asked me to post it here.
My Uncle is the US Copyright Holder to HANDGUNNERS GUIDE. He was a close personal friend and business associate of Chic Gaylord. His name is B.E. (Lefty) Lewis, founder of BELL CHARTER OAK, the successor of Chic Gaylord New York Custom Holsters.
When my Uncle received a copy of HOLSTORY as a gift from a friend, who apparently thought he would be pleased because it devoted a chapter to Gaylord who was his mentor, he was unpleasantly surprised to find otherwise. To say the least my Uncle was disturbed by much of what he read, therein. I mentioned that I had read some recent posts here on the Forum and discussed that with him. He was not pleased by that either and was irritated further. So I'm going to try and resolve the matter.
Mr. Witte and Mr. Nichols reprinted and infringed upon copyrighted intellectual property and trademarks owned by my Uncle, without his permission in their book HOLSTORY. That is an undeniable fact.
To add insult to injury, there are statements made about Chic Gaylord that are grossly inaccurate, or entirely untrue, in their book and subsequently some have been repeated on this Forum.
One example among several. Gaylord never used flatbed machines to stitch holsters. He used Campbell Bosworth and Union Lockstitch needle and awl machines exclusively. My Uncle states that he knows of no "rag trade" flatbed machine that could possibly stitch 7 to 10 oz. horsehide or cowhide using heavy 346 cord, during that time. The reverse stitching observation is correct, though kept a confidential proprietary technique until Theodore stole it from Gaylord for his SEVENTREES outfit. The only other makers that were clever enough to identify this technique, were Matt DelFatti and Derry Gallagher, both good friends of my Uncle Lefty.
Another one or two. Gaylord died from Cancer, not kidney failure as stated in the book. Gaylord was never a "toy maker" as stated in the book, that in itself is preposterous. He did design and make all the rigging for Mary Martin in Broadways "Peter Pan", but that was as close to toy making Chic ever got! Gaylord's association with Paris Theodore was merely coincidental with the fact that Chic was acquainted with Paris's Mother and Aunt by his association with the theater. That's where that started, so my Uncle says.
Chic used a rubber stamp with his logo on the reverse side of the belt tunnels on the rough out portion sometimes, on small holsters, black or gold leaf depending on the finish color. Otherwise his benchmark was die struck, and BELL CHARTER OAK still has the original dies, along with all original Gaylord holster cutting dies. It's not that he didn't care that much about his makers mark, according to Lefty. Chic was frequently asked not to mark the holsters by his clients, who long before Theodore, was trading with black bag spooks and other of that ilk.
There are other inaccuracies from the authors, who at best owe my Great Uncle their public apologies. The footnotes refer to Rob Garrett's interview of Chic shortly before his death as some kind of substantiation of the authors remarks. My Uncle ARRANGED the interview and WAS PRESENT for the entire interview, which later appeared in COMBAT HANDGUNS magazine in three parts. This footnote should not be interpreted as substantiation of the authors claims regarding other statements about Mr. Gaylord. I hope this sets the record straight.
God Bless You All;
Elmo
My Uncle is the US Copyright Holder to HANDGUNNERS GUIDE. He was a close personal friend and business associate of Chic Gaylord. His name is B.E. (Lefty) Lewis, founder of BELL CHARTER OAK, the successor of Chic Gaylord New York Custom Holsters.
When my Uncle received a copy of HOLSTORY as a gift from a friend, who apparently thought he would be pleased because it devoted a chapter to Gaylord who was his mentor, he was unpleasantly surprised to find otherwise. To say the least my Uncle was disturbed by much of what he read, therein. I mentioned that I had read some recent posts here on the Forum and discussed that with him. He was not pleased by that either and was irritated further. So I'm going to try and resolve the matter.
Mr. Witte and Mr. Nichols reprinted and infringed upon copyrighted intellectual property and trademarks owned by my Uncle, without his permission in their book HOLSTORY. That is an undeniable fact.
To add insult to injury, there are statements made about Chic Gaylord that are grossly inaccurate, or entirely untrue, in their book and subsequently some have been repeated on this Forum.
One example among several. Gaylord never used flatbed machines to stitch holsters. He used Campbell Bosworth and Union Lockstitch needle and awl machines exclusively. My Uncle states that he knows of no "rag trade" flatbed machine that could possibly stitch 7 to 10 oz. horsehide or cowhide using heavy 346 cord, during that time. The reverse stitching observation is correct, though kept a confidential proprietary technique until Theodore stole it from Gaylord for his SEVENTREES outfit. The only other makers that were clever enough to identify this technique, were Matt DelFatti and Derry Gallagher, both good friends of my Uncle Lefty.
Another one or two. Gaylord died from Cancer, not kidney failure as stated in the book. Gaylord was never a "toy maker" as stated in the book, that in itself is preposterous. He did design and make all the rigging for Mary Martin in Broadways "Peter Pan", but that was as close to toy making Chic ever got! Gaylord's association with Paris Theodore was merely coincidental with the fact that Chic was acquainted with Paris's Mother and Aunt by his association with the theater. That's where that started, so my Uncle says.
Chic used a rubber stamp with his logo on the reverse side of the belt tunnels on the rough out portion sometimes, on small holsters, black or gold leaf depending on the finish color. Otherwise his benchmark was die struck, and BELL CHARTER OAK still has the original dies, along with all original Gaylord holster cutting dies. It's not that he didn't care that much about his makers mark, according to Lefty. Chic was frequently asked not to mark the holsters by his clients, who long before Theodore, was trading with black bag spooks and other of that ilk.
There are other inaccuracies from the authors, who at best owe my Great Uncle their public apologies. The footnotes refer to Rob Garrett's interview of Chic shortly before his death as some kind of substantiation of the authors remarks. My Uncle ARRANGED the interview and WAS PRESENT for the entire interview, which later appeared in COMBAT HANDGUNS magazine in three parts. This footnote should not be interpreted as substantiation of the authors claims regarding other statements about Mr. Gaylord. I hope this sets the record straight.
God Bless You All;
Elmo
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