By Larry B. Schuknecht
Friedrich Justus Johann von Lengerke (April 23,1854-Oct. 7,1929) was born in Oldenburg, Germany where his father-Friedrich Johann Christian Gerhard Eduard Adolph von Lengerke (Sept. 6, 1823- Oct. 10, 1908) operated an Armament business. He emigrated to America in 1871 and settled in Hoboken, N.J. His mother Ida (nee: Springer, June 23, 1823- Jan. 5, 1905) ) and his eight siblings soon followed. In 1876 his father’s business in Germany went Bankrupt. In 1882 Justus in partnership with Ernst Detmold formed the Von Lengerke & Detmold Company in New York City. Justus’ brother Oswald worked with with him in the business and in 1892 moved to Chicago where he and Charles Antoine established the firm of Von Lengerke & Antoine. In 1928, the year before Justus passed away, the New York firm of Abercrombie & Fitch purchased both Von Lengerke & Detmold and Von Lengerke & Antoine. The Von Lengerke & Antoine firm continued to operate under that name until 1959.
The following pages from the 1927-1928 Von Lengerke & Detmold catalog are those that apply to the German hunting guns that they imported. The entire catalog contains 235 pages of guns, hunting, fishing, camping equipment, ammunition, and everything else of a sporting nature.
