As far as I know Hoffman was a derringer maker himself and did not use
any Henry Deringer guns that were surcharged. I only know of two of
these guns and I am sorry that I am not able to obtain them for
photographing. I can tell you that they are highly ornate similar to the
O’Dell manufactured guns. Hoffman was located in Vicksburg.
Louis Ferdinand Alexander Hoffmann was born in Berlin, Prussia in 1823.
His father was an officer in the Prussian army but died when Louis was
9. His mother died when he was 11, leaving five orphan children. Louis
came to America in 1852 settling for a short time in Patterson, New
Jersey, then moving to St. Louis, Missouri and on to Vicksburg in 1854.
During his early years in Europe he was brought up in the machine shop
of Borsig of Berlin, then the largest of its kind in Europe. This fact
later may explain the heavy European influence on Mr. Hoffmann’s guns.
From 1854 til 1857 he worked in Vicksburg at the Zimmerman and Reading
Foundry, learning the art of metal craft. In 1857 at the age of 34 he
had saved enough money to start his own business.
His first ad in the Vicksburg Daily Whig dated October, 1857 states:
“New gun shop—Louis Hoffmann takes pleasure in informing his community
and the public generally that he will carry on the gunsmith business and
all its branches. It will make rifles to order, stock guns and pistols,
etc.”
The 1860 Vicksburg City Directory list six gunsmiths working for him,
One of these was Adam Schafer who later went into the retail business
himself and Philadelphia Henry Deringers are known to be marked with his
agency’s name.
Hoffmann’s earliest known address was listed in 1857 as China Street and
later on Washington Street. The Washington Street store burned in 1879
and new buildings were erected on Clay Street. This became known as the
famous “Hoffmann Block.”
In 1886 the former Louis Hoffmann or Hoffmann Hardware Company was
incorporated and the name changed to Louis Hoffmann Hardware Company,
Inc., Hoffmann Block, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Depending of these mentioned names and addresses, you can date your guns
roughly.
The successors of the Hoffmann Hardware & Gun Company is in business
today under the name of O’Neill McNamarra Hardware Company.