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When I visited with Chic, I was given one of his catalogs from 1958. After the comments from the previous posting, I thought I would share a few pages from history. These are not the best photos but they do show how Chic was the father of modern concealment rigs and that, in some cases, very little has changed.

A little piece of trivia, Chic sold thousands of the 8-Ball pocket rig to the U.S. Postal Service.

If you are really interested in Chic, try to find a copy of his book, "Handgunner's Guide." You can still find some original printings for under $50.00. Also Bell-Charter Oak did a reprint several years ago. The owner, Lefty Lewis, was a friend of Chic's and is offers some old style holsters.

http://www.bellcharteroakholsters.com/

Enjoy.........

Rob

PS This stuff is even older than Louie!

The cover from 1958


Chic's personal introduction to his holsters.

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We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. George Orwell

your'e killing me rob....all those GREAT revolvers and autos form '58!!!
mr. gaylord did indeed seem ahead of the curve. the rake on the treasury and 357 models look like he really had it figured out. do you know when the "fbi rake" was instituted?? and the 45 crossdraw, you see some makers starting to offer them today. wouldn't it be cool if all postal workers had to qualify and carry today. perhaps we would have a little more politeness in todays society. great stuff rob, thanks for sharing-cam

Just AWESOME!! He was the man and the design/designers of todays holsters owe a lot to him. $7.00 for the best money could buy at the time, Inflation sucks!

Hey Cam:
Of course I'm not Rob but....I might be able to answer a question for you. The term "FBI Rake" has been around for a long time. At least 40 years and most probably much more than that. I suspect it stems from the early years when the FBI firearms program was being promoted as the firearms training to use. Up until recently, I never saw anthing in print or heard any statements indicating a particular degree of raking as the "FBI Rake". More recently I've read forum posts and magazine articles claiming that 15 degrees of muzzle rear rake is the "FBI Rake". I don't agree. I think the term was originally used simply to describe a muzzle rear rake of non-specific degree. Gaylord certainly made his share of holsters for Federal officers. And MAYBE that's what promped the term since most holers of the time were simple (straight drop we would call them now) holsters. I have one of Gaylord's scabbards here in my collection. It measures a bit more than 40 degrees of muzzle rear rake. That amount of rake is huge by today's standards although one holster recently issued to Federal agents measures 32 degrees of muzzle rear rake. Most people have to wear the holster well back of their strong side hip to be able to draw and then you may have to resort to the old "FBI Crouch" to do it. Which, by the way, is what Gaylord used as did most officers of the 50's, 60's and into the 70's.

And cross draws have been available from then to now. The holster type has been discouraged because of cited safety issues, I think, based mostly on open uniform wear of spring opening cross draws worn mostly on the off side hip (9 o'clock for a right hander). I haven't seen any of those holsters worn by police since the 70's. Many current cross draw holsters for concealment are variants of the Nelson #1/Sparks BN-55 which are much more difficult to draw from if you're not the wearer. Because of their position on the body, I think they are more easily protected from a gun grab because you are more likely to see an attack from the front, your arms have more strength toward the front of your body and you can more easily get both hands on your gun if necessary. Rangemasters don't like them because of the sweeping motion.

A little long winded but I hope that helps.

thanks matt...great info-cam

still my favorite holster design bar none is the Speed Scabbard, have versions from Lou Alessi, Sparks and picked up a TR today.

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www.mattlamey.com