Tobin Arms

Tobin Arms was a firearms manufacturer established in Norwich, Connecticut, in the early twentieth century and later relocated to Woodstock, Ontario. The business is associated primarily with the Tobin Simplex, a line of side-by-side, breech-loading shotguns offered in hammerless and hammer configurations and sold in multiple grades. Its products occupied a broad range of the sporting-gun market, from relatively accessible models to highly embellished guns with upgraded barrel materials and optional mechanisms. The company developed from the professional and patent-related activities of Frank Major Tobin, a Canadian-born firearms salesman who had worked for Norwich-area gun companies including W.H. Davenport Firearms Company and Hopkins & Allen Arms Company. Tobin acquired rights connected with a breech-loading firearm patent granted to C. M. Wollam in 1893. The Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company was incorporated in Norwich in 1903, with Tobin serving as president. Manufacturing followed at a rebuilt mill site, and the first Tobin guns were shipped in September 1904. The principal early product was the hammerless Tobin Simplex double gun. Norwich production covered 12- and 16-gauge guns in a wide range of grades. Contemporary descriptions and surviving examples distinguish models through differences in finish, barrel steel, engraving, internal treatment, and optional features. Buyers could specify automatic ejectors, a single selective trigger, or both. Lower-priced versions used Trojan Nitro Steel barrels, while higher grades could be fitted with Fluid Steel Krupp Essen barrels or DeMoya Fluid Steel. The reported Norwich production total for hammerless doubles is approximately 11,089 guns, although this figure is generally presented as an accepted estimate rather than a documented audited total. In 1909, or approximately 1909–1910, the enterprise moved its principal operations to Woodstock and was incorporated in Ontario as Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company, Limited. The Canadian company continued the Simplex line in 12- and 16-gauge versions, introduced a hammer double using the same basic frame and bolting arrangement, and added a simple .22-caliber single-shot Boy Scout rifle. Canadian production was also organized in several grades, with advertised prices extending from modest sporting arms to more elaborate versions. The Woodstock operation continued to advertise at least into 1916, but evidence indicates that part of the factory had by then been occupied by the Arnold Thompson Tool Company. The company disappeared from Woodstock city directories after 1916, and its corporate charter was surrendered in December 1921. Firearms production is generally considered to have continued until about 1925, after which Tobin Arms ceased operations. The brand is therefore principally of interest to collectors of early twentieth-century American and Canadian sporting guns rather than as an active firearms business. Frank Major Tobin remained in Woodstock after the manufacturing venture ended. His later activities included service as secretary of the Canadian Stove Manufacturers Association and involvement in projects such as a collapsible boat and early milk-carton experiments. He died in 1939. Tobin firearms are now encountered as historical sporting arms, with identification often relying on markings, serial-number ranges, gauge, grade, barrel steel, and the distinction between Norwich and Woodstock production.

Frank Major Tobin was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1862. His early work included a period at sea, but he later moved toward the American West, where he met Anna, his future wife. By the late 1890s he was living in Norwich, Connecticut, and working as a sales agent for W. H. Davenport Firearms Company. Around 1901 he held a similar position with Hopkins & Allen Arms Company, both of which gave him commercial connections in an important American firearms center. Tobin became associated with the rights to a breech-loading firearm design covered by U.S. Patent No. 498,043, issued to C. M. Wollam on May 23, 1893. The Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company of Norwich was incorporated in 1903. Its listed officers were Frank M. Tobin as president, A. L. Potter as vice-president, and B. H. Palmer as secretary-treasurer. The company acquired a former grist-mill site, rebuilt the premises, and installed facilities for producing its own sporting guns. The resulting Tobin Simplex was a hammerless, side-by-side double-barrel shotgun. Initial shipments began in September 1904. The line was made in 12- and 16-gauge and was divided into grades with significant differences in price and finish. Options included automatic ejectors and a single selective trigger, while the most elaborate versions received extensive embellishment and gold-plated internal parts. Barrel specifications also varied: less expensive guns used Trojan Nitro Steel, intermediate and premium models used Krupp Essen fluid steel, and some top grades offered DeMoya fluid steel. Norwich manufacture continued into 1909. The commonly cited serial-number range for Norwich hammerless doubles ends at approximately 11,089, a figure accompanied by an accepted production estimate of roughly 11,089 guns. The business then moved to Woodstock, Ontario, where Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company, Limited, was incorporated on August 9, 1909. The Canadian operation continued making Simplex shotguns and expanded the catalog with a hammer double based on the same general frame and locking system. It also offered a basic .22-caliber single-shot Boy Scout rifle. Woodstock production covered a similar range of grades and gauges. Advertising continued into 1916, but the factory's position appears to have weakened during that period. At least part of the premises was occupied by the Arnold Thompson Tool Company, and the Tobin company no longer appeared in Woodstock city directories after 1916. Its corporate charter was surrendered on December 19, 1921. Firearms production is generally reported as lasting until approximately 1925, although the documentary record does not provide a precise final production date. The accepted serial-number range for Woodstock hammerless doubles is approximately 11,090 to 18,395. These ranges, together with patent markings, gauge, grade, barrel steel, and mechanical features, are important to collectors attempting to distinguish Tobin guns made in Norwich from those made in Woodstock. After the manufacturing business ended, Frank Tobin remained in Woodstock. He became secretary of the Canadian Stove Manufacturers Association and participated in other commercial and technical projects, including work involving a collapsible boat and early milk-carton concepts. He died on October 10, 1939. Tobin Arms is now a defunct historical firearms brand whose products survive primarily through private collections and the secondary market.

• 1925

  Firearms production ended

  [1]Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org

  Tobin Arms is generally reported to have ceased firearms production by about 1925.

• 1921

  Canadian corporate charter surrendered

  [1]Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org

  The Woodstock company's charter was surrendered to the provincial authorities on December 19.

• 1916

  Tobin advertising documented into the late production period

  [1]Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org

  Advertising for Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company, Limited, continued at least into 1916, while evidence indicates another tool company occupied part of the Woodstock factory.

• 1909

  Operations moved to Woodstock

  [1]Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org

  Tobin Arms shifted its principal manufacturing activity from Norwich to Woodstock, Ontario, where a Canadian company was incorporated later that year.

• 1904

  First Tobin Simplex guns shipped

  [1]Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org

  The first hammerless Tobin Simplex double shotguns were shipped in September, beginning commercial production.

• 1903

  Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company incorporated

  [1]Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org

  The Norwich, Connecticut company was incorporated with Frank M. Tobin as president and began preparing a rebuilt mill site for firearms production.

• 1893

  Wollam breech-loading patent issued

  [1]Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org

  C. M. Wollam received U.S. Patent No. 498,043 for a breech-loading firearm design later associated with the Tobin firearms venture.

A historic maker of graded sporting firearms, positioned from practical field guns to higher-grade double shotguns with upgraded steels, decoration, and optional mechanisms.

• Side-by-side sporting shotgun · 1904

  Tobin Simplex hammerless double shotgun

  The Tobin Simplex was the company's principal product: a breech-loading, side-by-side, hammerless double shotgun made in 12- and 16-gauge. It was sold in a broad range of grades, allowing buyers to select different levels of finish, engraving, barrel steel, and mechanical equipment. Automatic ejectors and a single selective trigger were available as options, and the highest grades could include gold-plated internal parts. Norwich and Woodstock examples are commonly distinguished through markings and serial-number ranges.

• Side-by-side sporting shotgun

  Tobin Simplex hammer double shotgun

  The Canadian operation added a hammer-equipped double shotgun using the same general frame and bolting arrangement as the hammerless Tobin guns. It broadened the company's sporting-gun range while retaining the side-by-side configuration and graded-market approach associated with the Simplex name.

• Single-shot rifle

  Tobin Boy Scout rifle

  A simple .22-caliber single-shot rifle was added during the Woodstock period. It was marketed as a Boy Scout rifle and represented a lower-complexity rimfire product alongside the company's more prominent double-barrel shotguns.

1. 1Tobin Armsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2U.S. Patent No. 498,043patentimages.storage.googleapis.com