1193

William Lyman, Lyman Gun Sight, ca.1880s Correspondence Group Lot

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Historical Memorabilia Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:40.00 - 80.00 USD
William Lyman, Lyman Gun Sight, ca.1880s Correspondence Group Lot
PLEASE CONTACT US TO REGISTER FOR LIVE BIDDING OR ABSENTEE BIDDING AT:

PH: 1-201-944-4800
FAX: 1-201-839-3336
Web: www.archivesinternational.com
Email: info@archivesinternational.com

TheTimed Internet Auction will take place on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 beginning at 11:00 AM EST.
Connecticut, ca. 1880s. Lot includes 3 items, all related to William Lyman, inventor of the Lyman Gun Sight, Includes: a postal cover, addressed to William Lyman of Middlefield Connecticut, with Detroit, Michigan postage handstamp on front, Middlefield, Connecticut postage handstamp on back; the corresponding handwritten letter from a hunter, who requests Lyman's help regarding the choice of gun and cartridge for "large game" hunting, Fine-VF condition; and the final item is a target shot grouping from a rifle on the back of an advertising card for R. R. Oesterrich's Staple and Fancy Groceries store, VF condition. It appears as if the letter and envelope were written by R.R. Oesterrich, however the green print is faded and in a difficult penmanship to read. William Lyman (1854-1896) was an innovator and inventor whose primary interest was improving gun sights. He received his first gun flip-sight patent in 1879, and founded Lyman Gun Sight. Lyman held seventeen sight patents, including for an ivory bead front target sight in 1885 and for the Winchester repeating rifle sight in 1893. After William Lyman’s death, the Lyman Company incorporated in 1901, and was headed by William’s brother Charles starting in 1917. The company expanded its product line in 1925 with the acquisition of the successful Ideal Products Reloading Tool line. Other product areas included the black powder firearms line. Business increased sharply with military orders for metallic gun sights and parts during World War II. The company began to study ballistics in the 1950s, testing on sight, and published their own data starting in the 1961 edition of the Lyman Handbook. Family owned since its inception, the business was sold in 1969 to The Leisure Group from Los Angeles and was renamed Lyman Products for Shooters. In 1977, it was sold again and renamed Lyman Products Corp.