Bannerman's Island & His Army-Navy Surplus Empire

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arcticap

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These articles are about Bannerman's Island and Frank Bannerman, the man who bought US military surplus by the ton and then sold it to the public and nations around the world.
His father started and ran the business until he signed up to join the civil war, after which 13 year old Frank took it over.
By 1905, his warehouse & showroom took up a whole city block in Manhatten and he still didn't have enough storage space.
At the end of the Spanish American War, he had bought 90% of all the captured goods including a huge storehouse of black powder.
It's estimated that 50% of all publicly displayed cannons were bought from Bannerman's.
He was still selling kepi's and surplus civil war guns throughout the 1930's and into the 1940's, as well as other items that were being stored in their original crates.
Read more about it below:

Bannerman’s Castle: The ultimate Army-Navy store
--->>> https://www.guns.com/2015/11/07/bannermans-legacy-ultimate-army-navy-store/


Bannerman Island: A Mystery Island on the Hudson--->>> http://www.hudsonriver.com/bannerman-island
 
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Some time in the 1990s, a member of my muzzle loading club told us a story about how he was a tractor-trailer driver for the US Army.
He said that he was ordered to pick up a load from a warehouse in New York that was being closed down, and that the truck was filled with all kinds of surplus civil war era items.
He said that if he had realized its value at the time, that he would have grabbed some of it and buried it, to keep for himself.
After reading the end of the 1st article about how the Army and NYPD destroyed Bannerman's left over goods, I can't help but to think
that he was actually involved in disposing of Bannerman's stuff.
 
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I remember going with my cousin to Bannerman's store in Manhattan in the 1950s when I was still in high school. There were bushel baskets full of cavalry sabres for a few dollars each. We each bought one and took them wrapped in newspaper back to his place on the subway.
 
An old friend, now long gone, from our Illini Muzzle Loaders club, showed me his collection of US military firearms including examples from the late 1700s through the 1930s. All very good to excellent. My comment was, "Wow, you have a fortune tied up here!" (This was when original Colt muskets were $100 and I was making $5000 per year). "No, I don't have over fifteen dollars in any of them. Got 'em from Bannerman's. If they weren't good enough, I'd just order another one". I wonder where they all wound up.
 
Arcticap that was a great read. I have read about Bannermans long ago but had no idea how extensive his collection was.
 
You can see Bannerman's Castle clearly from Metro-North Hudson Line trains that run right along the Hudson River from NYC to Poughkeepsie. It's right there. Most of the commuters who see it every day have no idea what it is.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...b58c4d288765fa!8m2!3d41.4551278!4d-73.9890837

Just to nitpick the writer of the second article, it's not technically "Bannerman Island." It's Bannerman Castle on Pollepel Island.
 
Just yesterday I saw a "crime drama" TV documentary. It was a true story about a woman who basically killed her husband through a kayak drowning. It took place in the river right at Bannerman's. They showed the island and the castle several times, and I wondered how many people recognized the place for what it was.
 
Original Bannerman catalogs show up from time to time on ebay.

They sold EVERYTHING!!!

I lost my original collection of Bannerman, Weisz and Dixie catalogs in a 1980's flooded basement.:(

I spent a lot of time drooling over the pictures and even built a complete Sharps carbine out of unused spare parts from those three companies over the 1960s - 1970's.:cool:

Thanks for the links arcticap - memories!

Here is another one:


and one more:


more:
 
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We grew up in WV. My brother and i worked for a neighbor who had a contract to deliver mountain laurel, dogwood and honeysuckle (azalea) and to a landscaper in Yonkers, NY. Owners first name was Lannie. It required 7-10 days of digging for a truckload. i drove the truck.

Bannerman's downtown store was located at 579 Broadway. We visited the store numerous times. After navigating a truck with a 20 foot long bed in traffic i had enough. After that we parked the truck and hired a taxi.

That Bannerman's store had everything. They sold military .45-70 and .30-40 ammo for about two cents per round. We always took stuff to our buds in WV. My brother bought an officers .45-70 carbine for 15 or 20 dollars.

In the middle 1960s US Army EOD conducted some cleanup on the island.
 
I have a Bannerman Springfield Trapdoor Carbine. I am glad they were there.

Is yours an original carbine or a cut down rifle? I have a carbine (1884) that looks like a cut down rifle. Maybe a Bannerman? I bought it in Hawaii about 1969 for $35 without rear sight. Rounded up an original 1884 sight and it now shoots very well.
 
When I was a kid one of Dad's buddies dropped off a rifle for me to clean it was a Mauser 71/84 carbine. I could find no pictures or discriptions of the gun anywhere ( looked nothing like the German Service carbines) so when he came back I ask him where it came from. His answer was that his Dad had bought it "from either Sears or Bannerman's"

It looked to me to be a slightly better than Bubba cut down of a regular rifle. I thought it rather handy and regretted at the time not having access to any 11mm Mauser ammo.

Oddest supposedly Bannerman gun I saw as a kid was an unmarked Sharps Percussion carbine. A Bud had it over his bed (and an unmangled Type 99 in his closet an Uncle brought back from the pacific)

-kBob
 
I once watched a club member firing a .50-70 Remington Rolling Block Carbine with BP cartridges.
I have very little doubt about where that gun was originally obtained from.
It led me to wish that I had one too.
 
As a Rogers and Spencer fan, I have two Euro Arms editions, it pains me to think had I been introduced to black powder in the 50's I may well have been able to obtain an original from said purveyor as he purchase the entire lot of 5000 guns from the government. Those pieces are still out there somewhere. :(
 
Amazing and interesting story. Thanks for posting. I gave up when I became an RN, my many hours of wishing for those "good old days" after I spoke to some who survived the early 1900's. This was back in 1986, when I made a friend at a nursing home who fought in France in WW1. He told me of friends dying from minor infections, TB, becoming crippled from polio and of the common deaths of women in childbirth. Sure would love to have hit the store with $300 cash of the times in hand however.... Don.
 
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That is really cool. Imagine the deals.

Yes. But remember that the average person back then made $2-$5/day before the depression. After 1929 they didn't make anything until WW2 started.
There were lots of surplus items and no GCA '68.

When I was in college, Lahti pistols were advertised in every sporting magazine. I wanted one because they looked a bit like a Luger but I didn't have the $25-$35 they wanted for one. Now you can't find them for less than $1500.

upload_2018-9-22_10-43-46.jpeg
 
Just yesterday I saw a "crime drama" TV documentary. It was a true story about a woman who basically killed her husband through a kayak drowning. It took place in the river right at Bannerman's. They showed the island and the castle several times, and I wondered how many people recognized the place for what it was.
I Remember that episode. One of those "Law and Order" ones I recall.
 
I want to thank Clembert because I wouldn't have looked Bannerman's up if he didn't ask about those Model 1841 Tom & Jerry cannons on display at Clemson. :)
I live not far from there. If anyone is interested, I can ride over and take some pictures of the cannons to post here. ClemBert, what part of the campus are they located on?
 
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