That's neat info, GGN. I always like hearing about your findings and seeing the photos you post.

Congrats on finding a rare one for your collection.

 

Thanks for the kind words, Icberlin. Always happy to hear from a fellow Hoosier.

There's recently been more concern and concentration by collectors attempting to straighten out this family of guns' actual timeline of various ownerships. It's a real puzzle we're working on, especially because there are no surviving factory records from any of the ownerships.

There's only a fairly limited amount we can prove from examining surviving specimens, but there's a wealth of info from these survivors which we can use to piece together some very convincing scenarios. That's why finding as many survivors as possible is one of our goals.

If you ever happen on any of 'em, please let me know. I need all the help I can get. :bthumb:

Best regads ~ ~ ~ GGN

 

the thing i hate most about this forum is that you see cool stuff like that and start to scour the web and spend money you shouldnt

by the way super cool piece from the golden days of adventure

 

:yeahthat:

Some kinds of knowledge are very dangerous....to your wallet.

Very, very interesting firearm! GGN -- thanks for adding to my firearms knowledge -- this is definitely one of the most fascinating firearms I've seen in a long time. :bthumb:

 

The guy resposible...

Here's a refresher History class about Anthony fiala, the guy who had these cased outfits designed especially aimed at the needs of clients using his outfitting services company in New York.

Anthony was a world famous explorer, he traveled with Teddy Roosevelt on at least one of TR's Amazon Expeditions - which Anthony also outfitted through his NYC company, Fiala Outfits, Inc.

Before sports celebrities became our nationsl "heroes" and appeared on bubble-gun cards, Anthony was one of our country's first celebrities at the turn of the century to appear on a cigarette card. The folks featured thusly were the ones everyone wanted to "be like," not just the children.

Be sure to read about his background - below...

The books he authored on exploring the Arctic are still available occasionally on the Web. Both his outfitting company and the gun company used the polar bear in their company logos!

Best regards ~ ~ ~ GGN

 

$?

 

Long story . . . I paid the owner what he asked, AFTER he had bought a rare N-S 1925 stock/holster for the OLD Colt Woodsman, THEN he learned from my sig line on the invoice that I was interested in Fialas. At that juncture we found a mutually acceptable price for his Columbia set.

Suffice to say he got back most of what he had just spent with me. We both came away happy with our new toys . . . :bthumb:

Best regards ~ ~ ~ GGn

 

Fine gun and great story. Those were the golden days for sure.

 

Thanks, Vincent. If you enjoy the old timers of that era here's one I'm heavily involved in restoring which you migh find of interest. It's really oddball old .22rf single-shot which you can read about at this URL:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2901996#post2901996

It's a real challenge.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ GGN

 

ohh, nice find...:bthumb:

I`m very intrigued by the multiple set-ups, any chance for a run down and some more pics, detailing the different set-ups etcetera ??

 

Thanks, Flashman. Not sure I understand exactly what you mean by set-ups. The outfit has just THREE basic configurations, depending upon how the owner of a 3-barreled set is using the gun at any particular time.

The set has the 3" bbl for concealed carry; 7.5" bbl for range and plinking; and the forestocked 20" bbl which could be either rifled or smoothbore, and in combination with the detachable stock, turned the pistol into a repeating rifle or shotgun for hunting.

The Fiala is a repeater NOT a semi-auto, as it still must be recycled by hand after each shot simply by pushing the slide forward so it can strip another cartridge from the magazine and slide it into the chamber. The gun is then cocked so should be carried with the safety ON.

Here's a pic of such a set. The Hi-Standard in upper right corner is just to show the family resemblance, and the 12.5" barreled gun at bottom is a Special Order gun.

Is this what you had in mind? Any other questions, please feel free to ask. :bthumb:

Best regards ~ ~ ~ GGN

 

:t GevarmGunNut, exactly what I had in mind.

I like your set, and having had some thought along the lines of the Fiala "multi-role system", even though I had no idea of the Fiala system before your current post. I own a 103 series sport king, that have I thought of as a litterary centerpiece in a somewhat similiar system...

I guess I have some googling and general reading to do. Thanks again for sharing.

 

An interesting side note on these guns, they were hardly known by the general gun collecting fraternity a few years ago. Only a very limited number of people were aware of their existence, and it seems those folks weren't anxious to share any info. They evidently wanted to keep them as their own little private bailiwick. It is a UNIQUE, one-of-a-kind design.

This gun was unknown to me when I stumbled across one on a dealer's table at a nearby gun show in 2005. He explained it was NOT a Colt Woodsman (which I was kinda' looking for) and told me basically what it was. NO detailed info! I was fascinated, but hesitant to pay his $300 asking price.

Later at home I got to thinking about that oddball gun. I had spent more than 6 decades being interested in guns, owning dozens of different kinds, attended hundreds of gun shows both here and in Canada, but I had never even HEARD OF this odd critter!

That's when my search began for both the guns and some knowledge about them. I too find them fascinating beasties. :bthumb:

Hopefully more folks like Flashman and timberbeast63 may become Fiala devotees sometime in the near future, so we'll have more eyes searching for them. The more of 'em we can dig out of the closets, basements, attics, sheds and barns of the past, the more we'll learn about 'em.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ GGN

 

I've read about these in a rimfire book I have.

 

Squires Bingham, I musta' missed your post back in April. I'm always interested in ANY articles which even mention the Fiala family. They are VERY few and far between. Part of their fascination for me.

I am very interested in hearing WHERE you found the Fiala info. And, if it's something I've not seen I may be able to find a copy of the publication. Thanks in advance for any help.

So very little is known about them and with no surviving factory records it is just VERY FORTUITIOUS that one man had the foresight years ago to begin accumulating original ads, catalogs, etc., about them even though he collects another brand of semi-auto. He also began the very detailed Fiala Survivor List which has helped all of us to study and sort out some of the mysteries about these guns.

The collecting fraternity owes John J. Stimson, Jr. a big thanks for his historical efforts on these and other guns. :bthumb:

Best regards ~ ~ ~ GGN