Thanks for all of the responses.
It is interesting to note some history on the "VLA" perfin (Von Lengerke & Antoine) a high end sporting goods company later bought out by Abercrombie and Fitch:
Quote:
In 1938, the VL&A Chicago Company after losing faith in the public eye was bought out by Abercrombie & Fitch, although they did operate under the VL&A name until the closing of the store in the early 1960s. The downfall of VL&A can be somewhat associated with their less than attractive history in Chicago from the late 1920s through the late 1930s when the company sold out.
In the late 1920s, with the coming depression Chicago was home to the Capone & Moran Gangs running liquor and crime in the city, and bringing with them a blood bath of murders during this time period. The Von Lengerke & Antoine or VL&A Chicago Company would have been on what was considered Al Capone's turf, and with VL&A selling firearms, holsters, ammunition etc. the store was frequently shopped by Capone gang members, and maybe even Big Al himself. On February 14, 1929 the St. Valentine's Day Massacre occurred at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois. Seven men were killed by machine gun fire by 5 of Al Capone's gang members. They later found 2 of the machine guns used in the massacre and through ballistics testing these 2 Colt Thompson Machine Guns were proven as the weapons used in the massacre. Later through serial number research, they were proven to have been sold by Colt, and delivered to Von Lengerke & Antoine or VL&A Chicago.
Posted 08/11/2014 8:46 pm
