Working papers are intended to make results of my ongoing research available to others and to encourage further discussion on the topic. Comments and clarification are welcome. It has been 20 years since Knife World magazine first published information attributing the ROSCO knife brand to Los Angeles importer George Rose & Co.[1] Beyond that brief attribution, very little has been written about the ROSCO M4 bayonet or George Rose & Co.
The ROSCO M4 bayonet was one of several commercial M4 bayonets that were imported from Japan during the 1960s. This study provides contextual insight on the ROSCO M4 bayonet and its contemporaries (Kiffe, etc.). In addition, this study makes some unexpected findings regarding the scabbards found with ROSCO M4 bayonets.
Research also brought to light the extent of George W. Rose’s business enterprise and surprising intersections with historical events, the impacts of which are still with us today.
George Williams Rose
Born Hans-Georg Rosenbaum, January 20, 1920, in Konigsberg, Germany, he was an only child of Jewish extraction. He came to New York from Germany in 1935 at age 18. He moved to Los Angeles in October 1939. He changed his name to George Williams Rose and became a U.S. citizen.[2] His parents came to New York in 1937. In January 1940, they moved to Los Angeles and also changed their name to Rose.[3] He served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. Little is known of his service. He was drafted in May 1943 after completing 2 years of college and served as an enlisted man. [4]
Figure 1: The only image found of George W. Rose, taken ca. 1938 and submitted with his citizenship application.
George W. Rose’s Companies
George Rose & Co. began operation ca. 1946 as a wholesale distributor of inexpensive novelty items such as, jewelry, cigarette lighters, watches, etc. (ref. Figure 2)[5]
Figure 2: 1948 George Rose & Co. advertisement in Billboard magazine.
Rose obtained a Los Angeles city permit for selling firearms in 1952.[6] He also began selling edged goods: barbering implements; hunting knives; pocket knives; switchblades (legal to import and sell until 1958); and, occasionally, swords and bayonets. In addition, he sold a wide variety of other inexpensive imported novelty products.[7]
Rose created his first subsidiary, Madison Import Corp., ca. 1951–52 to facilitate importation of firearms, knives, and other products.[8] George Rose & Co. incorporated ca. 1955.[9] Around that same time, Rose also incorporated additional businesses, two of which were: Seaport Traders, Inc.[10] to retail firearms, knives, and novelty items; and, Merchanteers, Inc. to manage his businesses enterprise. [11]
To summarize, by 1956, all owned and operated by George W. Rose:
| George Rose & Co., Inc. | Wholesale Distribution |
| Madison Import Corp. | Importation |
| Seaport Traders, Inc. | Retail Sales |
| Merchanteers, Inc. | Management |
The four companies operated together from the same space, occupying six different central Los Angeles locations from ca. 1948 to 1977.
Heinz Werner Michaelis was manager of Rose’s broader business enterprise from its inception in 1951[12] until its 1977 closure.[13] Michaelis and his spouse were among the 17,000 Austrian and German Jewish refugees that fled to Shanghai from Germany ca. 1938–39, remaining there until the Chinese Civil War began to threaten communist rule.[14] They emigrated to the U.S. from Shanghai, China, in 1947.[15] Michaelis had skills and temperament that complimented Rose. Rose’s strengths were as a salesman and promoter. In Michaelis, he found a savvy manager and administrator.
By 1953, George Rose & Co. had wholesale representatives in various parts of the country who would visit retailers and solicit orders.[16] The company also published a wholesale catalog from at least 1948 (ref. Figure 2); likely until 1976.[17]
Seaport Traders, Inc. began mail-order retail advertising in 1956.[18] As shown in Figure 3, Seaport Traders advertised extensively in national magazines aimed at the male market.[19]
Figure 3: Examples of Seaport Traders, Inc. mail-order advertising.
In 1958, Rose began advertising Seaport Traders as a retail store.[20] At that time, he relocated to 1221 S. Grand Ave., a location he advertised as a “gun showroom” [21] and which stood directly across the street from the famous Pachmayr Gun Works. By 1961, Seaport Traders was offering retail customers a free catalog.[22]
George W. Rose’s ROSCO Brand
Products sold by Rose included brand-names (e.g., Colt & S&W firearms; Boker, Ka-Bar, & Western Cutlery knives). Rose also offered surplus firearms obtained from other importers (e.g., Golden State Arms, Hy Hunter, Interarmco Ltd., and Winfield Arms). However, much of his inventory was comprised of cheap commercial goods from Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain, imported through Rose’s Madison Import Corp. These were often sold under his own private-label, ROSCO.
As shown in Figure 4, Rose’s 1953 wholesale catalog included some of the first ROSCO-brand revolvers and displayed the ROSCO-diamond trademark.[23] The 1954 wholesale catalog features the ROSCO trademark on every page and lists 18 different ROSCO-brand products on the front cover.[24] ROSCO would likely have remained the Rose brand, had the events discussed further on not ruined it.
When the ROSCO brand was abandoned, imported products appear to have been advertised unbranded or more generically as: “Imported” or “Solingen.” However, old inventory bearing the ROSCO brand was undoubtedly still sold, it was just not advertised as such. Figure 5 shows the M4 bayonet listed in Rose’s 1971 wholesale catalog as “imported” rather than ROSCO brand.
Figure 5: Listing for the "imported" M4 bayonet in Rose’s 1971 wholesale catalog.
Commercial M4 Bayonets—A Brief Overview
Large-scale commercial manufacture of M1 carbines was impractical until January 1960, when the patent on the M1 carbine action expired.[25] At least 12 firms attempted to bring commercial M1 carbines to market in quantity ca. 1960–62, with National Ordnance; Plainfield Machine Co., Inc.; and Universal Firearms responsible for the vast majority of commercial M1 carbines produced during the 1960s.[26]
In 1963, the US Government released 240,000 surplus M1 carbines, allowing the National Rifle Association (NRA) to offer them for sale to members for $20 (one-fourth the cost of a commercial M1 carbine). The surplus M1 carbines came without magazines or any other accouterments. [27] Sales began May 1, 1963.[28]
At the time commercial M1 carbines were coming to market, the US Government appears to have released few surplus M4 bayonets.
The 1960s commercial M4 bayonets most familiar to bayonet collectors include those from: Kiffe Sales Co., a New York sporting goods retailer; Service Armament Co., forerunner to today’s Navy Arms Co.; Sportsworld, a firm we, essentially, know nothing about[29]; and ROSCO. Some 1960s commercial M4 bayonets are only marked “Japan” or are completely unmarked.
Common characteristics of 1960s commercial M4 bayonets are that they were patterned on the wartime leather-grip M4, were manufactured in Japan, and imported to the U.S. for commercial sale. The identity of the Japanese manufacturer or manufacturers is unknown. Similarities observed suggest that the same manufacturer likely supplied multiple U.S. importers. However, variances observed suggest that, over time, there may have been more than one manufacturer.
In 2018, Guns magazine digitized and made available all issues more than 50 years old. This served as a data source on advertising of the M1 carbine and M4 bayonet through the 1972 calendar year.[30]
The first commercial M4 bayonet advertisement found in Guns magazine was March 1961, when a New York dealer, American International Distributors, advertised “Carbine Bayonets—New M-8.” The bayonet and scabbard were priced separately. American’s odd description is taken verbatim from the 1961 Kiffe Sales Co. catalog.[31] In the December 1962 issue, Service Armament Co. (SAC) began advertising their commercial M4 bayonets. SACs earliest advertisements also priced the bayonet and scabbard separately. SAC advertising for commercial M4 bayonets ran sporadically in Guns through 1964, then regularly from February 1965–May 1966 (inclusive).
In the July 1963 issue of Guns, Eastern Firearms advertised both USGI and “brand new” M1 Carbine bayonets with scabbards. In the November 1963 issue, P&S Arms advertised USGI M4 bayonets, stating that they were “not an import.”
The mid-1963 availability of surplus USGI M4 bayonets with scabbards seems to have influenced sellers of commercial M4 bayonets to begin including the scabbard, as this appears the norm going forward. Multiple dealers continued advertising commercial and/or USGI M4 bayonets in Guns magazine through January 1967.
The abrupt discontinuance of M4 bayonet advertising in Guns magazine after January 1967 foreshadowed coming events. The surplus M1 carbines being sold through the NRA ran out ca. 1967. The Gun Control Act of 1968 ended private mail-order firearm sales. These events likely left retailers, as well as distributors like Rose, Kiffe, and SAC with unsold commercial M4 bayonet and scabbard inventory for many years. Surplus USGI M4 bayonets became more available during the 1970s, making commercial M4 bayonets increasinly difficult to sell.
The ROSCO M4 Bayonet
Figure 6: ROSCO M4 bayonet. (Author’s Collection)
Documentation on production of the ROSCO M4 bayonet is nonexistent. According to Rose, Madison Import Corp. was the importer of ROSCO knives made in Japan.[32]
George W. Rose was one of the earliest advertisers of commercial M1 carbines. In the November 1960 issue of Guns, Rose’s Seaport Traders advertisement included a commercial M1 carbine “just released.” That same month, Alpine Industries also began advertising commercial M1 carbines in American Rifleman magazine. From 1960–62, Alpine operated as the de facto sales agent for National Ordnance. Alpine Industries was located in Los Angeles, only 7 miles from Rose’s 1221 S. Grand Ave. location.
Rose’s early involvement with commercial M1 carbines suggests that ROSCO M4 bayonets were most likely imported ca. 1961–1962, contemporaneous to M4 bayonets imported by Kiffe and SAC. For reasons that will become clear further on, had Rose imported M4 bayonets after 1963, they would likely not have been marked ROSCO.
Rose wholesaled ROSCO M4 bayonets nationwide to retailers (gun dealers, surplus stores, sporting goods stores, etc.) into the 1970s. While no Seaport Traders retail advertising was found that specifically included the ROSCO M4 bayonet, Rose likely sold ROSCO M4 bayonets by mail-order in the Seaport Traders retail catalog until Seaport Traders’ demise in 1964. Rose also likely sold ROSCO M4 bayonets at the 1221 S. Grand Ave. and 1200 N. Soto St. storefront locations until the latter closed in 1968.
Note how the wholesale catalog listing shown in Figure 5 advertises “bayonets including sheaths,” but does not illustrate the scabbard. The scabbard in Figure 7 came on a ROSCO M4 bayonet that was one of the first bayonets that Bill Porter purchased when he began collecting in the late 1960s. He purchased this ROSCO M4 bayonet via mail-order from a California dealer (Garcia Arms) and this is the scabbard that came with it.[33]
Figure 7: Original scabbard that came with a ROSCO M4 bayonet purchased in the late 1960s. (Author’s Collection)
At first, I discounted this scabbard as just a (bad) “marriage” of a naked ROSCO M4 bayonet with a junk scabbard. On further study, the scabbard bears a resemblance to other scabbards advertised by Rose with imported knives, except for this scabbard’s addition of a restraining lace. The scabbard is marked “Japan” on the reverse. The hilt strap fits the ROSCO M4 bayonet grip perfectly. In 2020, a ROSCO M4 bayonet sold on eBay with an identical scabbard. Actually, two scabbards: one that the seller indicated was “the original rubbery vinyl type scabbard” and a USGI M8A1.[34]
The scabbard in Figure 8 is identical in styling and detail (same dimensions, stitching, rivets, snaps, and marking) except that it is made of stiff, glossy black vinyl. I have two of these scabbards, both found on Sportsworld M4 bayonets. This suggests that importation of Sportsworld M4 bayonets was likely contemporaneous to the ROSCO M4 bayonets.
Figure 8: Near identical scabbard found on Sportsworld M4 bayonets.
The vinyl scabbards shown in Figures 7 and 8 appear to be the original scabbards sold with ROSCO and Sportsworld M4 bayonets. The cheesy scabbards originally supplied probably help explain why so few ROSCO and Sportsworld M4 bayonets are found in them today. These bayonets are often found naked; or in M8A1 scabbards or commercial copies resembling the example shown in Figure 9. When found in M8A1 scabbards or commercial copies, these are, apparently, the marriages, made by collectors or dealers who wanted something better.
Figure 9: Copy of the U.S. M8A1 scabbard of the type frequently encountered with 1960s commercial M4 bayonets imported from Japan. The scabbard has a molded (unreinforced) plastic body and leather belt hanger. Several variations in color, markings, and finish exist. (Author’s Collection)
George W. Rose’s Intersections with Historical Events and Their Impacts
Rose had quickly became one of the largest U.S. importers and distributors of inexpensive foreign handguns. His 1955 wholesale catalog had over 60 different handguns and 4 non-firearm “starter pistols.” These were the profit center in his business model. In 1963, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) indicated that Rose’s reported net sales for the three years 1956, 1957, and 1958 totaled $936,000 (approx. $9.8 million in today’s dollars[35]). With respect to subsequent years, LAPD believed that Rose’s sales “have grown considerably due to the sale of the very popular Roscoe [sic],” a reference to Rose’s sales of the ROSCO .22 caliber revolver (ref. Figure 10). [36]
Figure 10: 1959 Los Angeles Yellow Pages telephone directory display advertisement promoting the ROSCO revolver.
Events of 1963–64, changed the trajectory of Rose’s business enterprise. Rose’s Seaport Traders company and ROSCO brand was among the most conspicuous importers/dealers highlighted during January 1963 Congressional hearings on mail-order sales of imported firearms.[37] (Another California importer/dealer who made the Committee’s radar to a lesser degree may be more familiar to bayonet collectors, Martin B. Retting.[38]) Rose’s Seaport Traders advertisement in Figure 11 was a hearing exhibit that was printed along with testimony about the ROSCO revolver in hundreds of newspapers nationwide.[39]
Figure 11: Rose’s June 5, 1961, Los Angeles Times newspaper advertisement of what are obviously Ingram M6 “Military Model” submachine guns (the same Ingram model that mounts a small rod bayonet).
In April 1964, Rose testified at a Senate hearing examining Importation of Foreign Firearms. Being subpoenaed forced Rose out of his depth, as dealing with the authorities was always handled by the savvier Heinz W. Michaelis. Against his attorney’s advice, Rose parried with questioners in salesman-like fashion, unwisely speaking off-the-cuff at great length regarding his importation and mail-order sales practices.[40] The more embarrassing of Rose’s statements were printed in hundreds of newspapers nationwide, further damaging Seaport Traders and the ROSCO brand.
The Warren Commission Report revealed that the handgun used to murder Dallas policeman, J. D. Tippit and with which Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to shoot an arresting officer in the Texas Theatre, was purchased by mail-order in March 1963 from Seaport Traders. Upon its September 27, 1964, release, stories naming Seaport Traders were printed in hundreds of newspapers nationwide. In his testimony to the Warren Commission, George Rose & Co. manager, Heinz W. Michaelis, detailed how they had purchased 500 of the handguns from a Canadian wholesaler in 1962, who shipped them to St. Albans, VT (an obvious reference to Century Arms), who then forwarded them to Rose’s 1225 S. Grand Ave. mailing address in Los Angeles.[41]
Rose did nothing illegal. However, the notoriety of 1963–64 ruined Seaport Traders Inc. and the ROSCO brand. Rose relocated his businesses and store to 1200 N. Soto St. in early 1964.[42] Seaport Traders ceased mail-order advertising mid-1964 and disappeared by year's-end. As shown in Figure 12, Rose also abandoned the ROSCO brand.
Figure 12: 1965 George Rose & Co. catalog cover showing absence of the ROSCO brand.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 impacted Rose’s business at every level. By 1969, Rose had closed his retail store and relocated his companies to an industrial complex that he owned.[43] Rose could no longer import the cheap zinc-alloy-frame revolvers that were the centerpiece of his wholesale business. Instead, Rose continued importing the same handguns as parts, minus the frame. He had zinc-alloy frames manufactured domestically on which the imported parts were assembled. Figure 13 shows how Rose’s 1971 wholesale catalog lists, as American-made, unbranded .22 caliber revolvers nearly identical to those he previously advertised as ROSCO-brand made in Germany.
Figure 13: Pre- and Post-1968 advertisements, showing what appears to be the same .22 caliber revolver as being imported, then American-made.
In 1968, Madison Import Corp. was replaced by a new Rose brand and importation entity, GEROCO Inc.[44] In 1974, serial killer Ted Bundy impersonated a police detective and attempted to kidnap a 19-year-old woman using GEROCO handcuffs.[45] The woman escaped because Bundy inadvertently fastened both cuffs to the same wrist. Police were unable to release the GEROCO handcuffs with their own handcuff keys. Later that same day, officers called to another location on report of a stranger stalking a high school girl found a handcuff key on the ground that didn’t work on police handcuffs, but released the GEROCO handcuffs.[46] A detective referred to GEROCO by a local surplus dealer spoke with “Mr. Michaels” (an obvious reference to Heinz W. Michaelis).[47] These incidents resulted in Bundy’s first conviction and imprisonment; and provided vital clues that convinced authorities from three states that Bundy was also the serial killer they had long been seeking.[48]
In January 1977, the GEROCO corporate name was acquired by others, marking the end of Rose’s import/wholesale/retail enterprise.[49] The business had reached a natural inflection point. “Stagflation” of the 1970s had likely slowed wholesale demand and increased operating costs. Rose’s indispensable man, Heinz W. Michaelis, was 68 years old. Since 1955, Rose had invested the profits from his business in commercial real estate.[50] By 1977, his commercial real estate holding company, GWR Properties Inc., represented significant wealth and also competed for his time.
Rose did not marry until 1979 (age 59) and never had children of his own. GWR Properties Inc. survived Rose’s 1999 passing, continuing operation until after Rose’s spouse passed away in 2004. GWR Properties Inc. was dissolved in 2006, after the last of the real estate holdings were sold off.[51] Their 6700 sq ft. Westwood home, alone, sold for $2.1 million in 2005 (and is valued at approximately $6 million today).[52] There being no survivors to inherit the estate, it became a charitable trust, the “Estate of George W. Rose,” which has given millions to Jewish charities (e.g., National Jewish Health, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles).[53]
Conclusion
Study of the ROSCO M4 bayonet reveals that Rose’s importation of the ROSCO M4 bayonet appears to have occurred ca. 1961–62. This study also reveals that importation of commercial M4 bayonets by Kiffe Sales Co., Service Armament Co., and Sportsworld likely all occurred contemporaneous to the ROSCO M4. What, at first, seemed to be a junk scabbard now appears to be the original scabbard sold with the ROSCO M4 bayonet and that a very similar scabbard appears original to the Sportsworld M4 bayonet.
Study of the ROSCO M4 bayonet also reveals that there was much more to George W. Rose’s business enterprise than George Rose & Co. Rose and his enterprise intersected with historical events in ways that were both surprising and impactful, but not always positive.
[1] Bernard Levine, “WHUT IZZIT Number 301,” Knife World, Vol. 29 No. 1, January 2003.
[2] Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999 [database on-line], Petition for Naturalization 91682, accessed February 15, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com
[3] Ancestry.com. Petitions for Naturalization 105551 & 105552.
[4] Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999 [database on-line], Petition for Naturalization 91682, accessed February 15, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com
[5] Juvenile Delinquency. Part 14, Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms: hearings before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in the U.S., 88th Cong. 1 (1963) (Statement of Sgt. George Carr, Investigator, Intelligence Division, Los Angeles Police Department), 3348.
[6] S., Carr, testimony on Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms. 3349.
[7] George Rose & Co. Wholesale Catalog (1955).
[8] I could not locate documentation of Madison Import Corp.’s incorporation date. However, Rose testified in U.S. Customs Court, ca. 1960, that “for approximately 10 years, he had been engaged in business under the name of the Madison Import Corp., importing general merchandise and guns.” United States Customs Court Reports, Volume 46 (Cases Adjudged January–June 1961), 65.
[9] I could not locate documentation of George Rose & Co.’s incorporation date. However, the 1955 wholesale catalog and the 1955 Los Angeles White Pages, Central Area, directory both use “George Rose & Co.”, while the 1956 White Pages directory uses “George Rose & Co., Inc.” https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-telephone-directory-collection/?fa=location:california%7Clocation:los+angeles+central+area
[10] S., Carr, testimony on Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms. 3348.
[11] I could not locate documentation of Merchanteers, Inc.’s incorporation date. Merchanteers Inc. handled accounting, business filings, HR, payroll, taxes, etc.
[12] S., Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms. Exhibit No. 45, 3349.
[13] Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Southern California Business Directory and Buyers Guide (1977), 277.
[13] Ancestry.com. Petition for Naturalization 156575, accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com
[14] The New Star Company, Emigranten Adressbuch Fuer Shanghai [Emigrant Address Book for Shanghai] (November 1939), 91. (An address directory published in German for the Austrian and German Jewish refugees in Shanghai.) Both Heinz and Gerda Michaelis are listed, residing at the same address.
[15] Ancestry.com. Petition for Naturalization 156575, accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com
[16] George Rose & Co., Salesman Wanted, Southwestern Territory, Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), Sept. 14, 1953, Page 21, Newspapers.com
[17] I have digital files with portions of Rose’s 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1965 wholesale catalogs; and a complete original hardcopy 1971 wholesale catalog.
[18] National Rifle Association, The American Rifleman (June 1956), 63. The earliest Seaport Traders, Inc. display advertisement found.
[19] Examples found include: American Legion, American Rifleman, Boy’s Life, Ebony, Electronics Illustrated, The Elks Magazine, Field & Stream, Guns, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Railroad, Shooting Times, Sports Afield, and True Adventure.
[20] Library of Congress, U.S. Telephone Directory Collection, Los Angeles Yellow Pages (1958), 828, Accessed March 15, 2021, https://www.loc.gov/item/usteledirec02342/
[21] Seaport Traders Inc., Texan .22 advertisement, Mirror News (Los Angeles, CA), February 5, 1960, Part 1 page 5, Newspapers.com
[22] LOC. Los Angeles Yellow Pages (1961), 940, Accessed March 15, 2021, https://www.loc.gov/item/usteledirec02354/
[23] George Rose & Co. Wholesale Catalog (1953), ROSCO appears on pages 16–18 and the back cover. (I only have a partial catalog. Pages 1–12, 19–28, and anything after page 36 were not observed.)
[24] George Rose & Co. Wholesale Catalog (1954), (I only have a partial catalog. Pages 1–9, 18, 19, and anything after page 28 were not observed.)
[25] David M. Williams, Automatic Firearm Construction, Patent 2308257, filed September 22, 1941, and issued January 12, 1943, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2308257.
[26] The U.S. Carbine Caliber .30, Post WWII Commercially Manufactured M1 Carbines, The Carbine Collectors Club, accessed February 15, 2021, http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbines.html.
[27] Mark Keefe, The M1 Carbine: 10 Little-Known Facts, American Rifleman, National Rifle Association, May 14, 2020, https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/5/14/the-m1-carbine-10-little-known-facts.
[28] Ben Avery, “Carbines Offered For NRA Members,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona), Sun. Apr. 28, 1965, 119. Newspapers.com
[29] There has been speculation that Sportsworld was a Los Angeles retailer or a Chicago, retailer. However, there were in the 1960s (and still are) dozens of American businesses using the name Sportsworld. Unless/until an individual with first-hand knowledge or documentation (e.g., catalog, advertisement, packaging, etc.) surfaces, the true identity of this retailer may remain a mystery.
[31] Gary Cunningham, “Bayonet Points 31,” U.S. Military Knives (February 2006), accessed April 15, 2021, http://usmilitaryknives.com/bayo_points_31.htm
[32] S., George W. Rose, testimony on The Importation of Foreign-Made Firearms. 3678.
[33] Bill Porter, “Porter’s Report, Page 7” U.S. Military Knives (March 2004), accessed April 15, 2021, http://usmilitaryknives.com/porters_page_7.htm
[34] Collection Hero, Vietnam War Collector Price Guide and Gallery, accessed March 3, 2021 https://vietnamwar.collectionhero.com/view_item.php?id=8180
[35] Consumer Price Index, 1800-, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, accessed October 6, 2022, https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator/consumer-price-index-1800-
[36] S., Carr, testimony on Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms. 3350.
[37] S., Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms, 3185–3466 inclusive.
[38] S., Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms, 3202, 3254; 3337, 3342–43, 3348, 3352–53, 3356, 3358; 3431.
[39] S., Interstate Traffic in Mail-Order Firearms, Exhibit No. 8, 3197.
[40] S., Rose testimony on The Importation of Foreign-Made Firearms, 3646–3721.
[41] Hearings Before the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, Exhibits Volume VII, Testimony of Heinz W. Michaelis, 372–379.
[42] City of Los Angeles, Online Building Records, 1200 N. Soto St., Building Permit, issued 2-17-1964, Accessed February 20, 2021, http://ladbsdoc.lacity.org/idispublic/
[43] No local retail advertising was found for this location. Numerous “help wanted” advertisements found were all for back-office positions: telephone order clerk, bookkeeper, typist, etc.
[44] 1967 was the last year that Madison Import Corp. appeared in the Los Angeles White Pages, Central Area, directory; GEROCO Inc. first appeared in the 1968 White Pages directory, https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-telephone-directory-collection/?fa=location:california%7Clocation:los+angeles+central+area
[45] Detective Robert Keppel, King County (Washington), Dept. of Public Safety, Additional Information Sheet/Officer’s Report, entry dated 10-21-1975.
[46] Wikipedia, s.v. Ted Bundy, last modified October 4, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy
[47] Detective Roger E. Dunn, King County (Washington), Dept. of Public Safety, Additional Information Sheet/Officer’s Report, entries No. 108–110, dated 10-21-1975.
[48] Wikipedia, Ted Bundy.
[49] California Secretary of State, Business Search, Entity Number C0790772, shows incorporation under different owners January 20, 1977, accessed February 23, 2021, https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov
[50] California Secretary of State, Business Search, Entity Number C0303306, accessed February 23, 2021, https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov
[51] California Secretary of State, Business Search, Entity Number C0303306, Certificate of Dissolution of GWR Property & Mortgage Co., Inc., accessed February 23, 2021, https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov
[52] Realtor.com, 865 Warner Ave., Los Angeles, CA, accessed October 5, 2022, https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/865-Warner-Ave_Los-Angeles_CA_90024_M14625-91719
[53] As of 2020, The Estate of George W. Rose was shown to have made cumulative donations of between $1-$4.9 million to National Jewish Health. The Estate is also shown as a legacy donor to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and has also made six-figure one-time donations to fundraising campaigns there.
© Ralph E. Cobb 2022 All Rights Reserved
