Maker Specific.......A.W. Brill

[lawandorder]

Thanks to boykinlp for the thread on Lawrence, some beauties for sure in that one.

Lets try Mr. Brill, may be a bit difficult to get a bunch of images of his excellent work.
Floral tooled, 4 inch N frame.

 

[Doc Barranti]

Here is a near mint Brill for a Colt SAA shown along side my version that I call the Ranger...



The same Brill holding the custom Colt built for my all time favorite gunwriter...



And here is another shown with my 1908...

 

[Doc Barranti]

Forgot to add this one... John was kind enough to let me handle what I consider to be the finest holster I've ever laid my hands on... shown along side one of my Ranger models for a 1911...

 

[boykinlp]

Well, I WISH I could add something to this thread, but I don't have a Brill in my collection yet. I haven't seen to many for sale, and the ones I have seen, have been dogs.

The ones that have been shown here, so far, are fantastic and I hope there will be more shown.

 

[lawandorder]

Here is one for a 1911 that a previous owner trimmed slightly to fit his needs.

 

[lawandorder]

And another Basket weave one I gave to one of my friends because he is one of those Colt folks. Gotta admit I like the look of the iron he paired it with.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

The Brill is my favorite design from the old masters of the early to mis 1900s. The style can be modified like the Threepersons has by many makers. These are all Brill influenced to some degree, but not dead on and some farfetched obviously.






The same holster on different belts with different guns in it...









And believe it or not, even this one...

 

[turnerriver]

They are few and far between and much sought after. Here's the few that I've managed to acquire.
N frame 4" with a hammer protector.

As Mike said, this is a fine holster- one of the finest I own. For a Colt Government Model. The other Brill is for a 4" K frame.

Good idea, Tony.
Regards,
turnerriver

 

[Doc Barranti]

They are few and far between and much sought after. Here's the few that I've managed to acquire.
N frame 4" with a hammer protector and K frame 4".

As Mike said, this is a fine holster- one of the finest I own. For a Colt Government Model.

Another 4" K frame holster.

Good idea, Tony.
Regards,
turnerriver

John, that N frame Brill is pretty doggone impressive too!

 

[fat tom]

I only have one,a gift from the originator of this thread (thanks again Tony ). I have tried numerous,and I mean NUMEROUS,guns in this holster and have yet to find one that fits properly. Since there is no size code,I have no other way to identify the gun for which it was made. It's a cute little bugger though.



f.t.

 

[Pig Hunter]

Could someone please post a picture of the welt side that shows how the bottom were the flap meets the bottom of the of the holster pouch. Thanks, Mark

 

[nyeti]

I love Brill holsters. I have had Alex at American Classic Gunleather make me some super cool variants (not sure if it is okay to post them). I have a Ranger coming from Doc Barranti and a full rig from Keith44spl with his version. I am hoping for a very Brill Christmas this year.
Turnerriver.....that 4" n frame holster is stunning. Good stuff.

 

[SAFireman]

4" K Frame, basketweave Brill

I bought this one sight-unseen here on the forum. I liked it so much that I had to run out and buy a K frame to fit it

Now, if I could just find one for an N frame

 

[Doc Barranti]

Found another pic...left to right: 1911, SAA, Police Positive and 1903/08
Bottom shuck is one of mine...

 

[Doc Barranti]

Giving this thread a bump!

Hoping some other folks have some pics to add!

Here are a few of my Ranger model that I've made.

 

[crazyphil]

Doc Barranti made the Brill with hammer protector shown above in post #15 for me. It was inspired by Turnerriver's Brill with hammer protector shown in post #9 above. It is excuisite in every way. I became interested in Brill 2 or 3 years ago when Butch Cassidy's .45 and (Brill) holster sold at auction for $175,000. You can see good photos of Butch's Brill if you Google: California Auctioneer's to sell Butch Cassidy's 'Amnesty' Colt .45. Actually there were two Brill's: August the Dad 1872-1954 and Arnold the Son 1896-1968. The Butch Cassidy holster was made by August the Dad probably in 1896. Legend has it that the "Austin Style" Brill was designed by Texas Ranger Lee Trimble, but Brill didn't make Trimble's holster until around 1925.

 

[crazyphil]

Please excuse my spelling in previous post. I meant to say the Brill made for me by Doc Barranti is exquisite not ecquisite. But in either case Mr. Webster says "it is marked by flawless craftsmanship...beautiful, ingenious,
delicate, or elaborate execution."

 

[Russell Cottle]

Here's one I owned and wore. I gave it a holster collecting friend of mine after I'd retired.

 

[policerevolvercollector]

This 1936 vintage Colt Official Police .38 Spl. that served w/ U.S.Customs in Tampa Florida has been mated w/ this holster for a long time (maybe its' entire working life)

 

[walkinghorse]

I only have one,a gift from the originator of this thread (thanks again Tony ). I have tried numerous,and I mean NUMEROUS,guns in this holster and have yet to find one that fits properly. Since there is no size code,I have no other way to identify the gun for which it was made. It's a cute little bugger though.



f.t.

Karma idea! The individual that has the perfect fit gun for this holster wins it in a karma!!
Of course you being a shrewd trader would insist upon receiving the gun to confirm the perfect fit, and then an appropriate trial period to confirm fit over time!