Chamberlin Cartridge Co. ammunition box featuring a wild turkey gobbler circa late 1800s

Object/Artifact

Wild Turkey Archives

An image from a Winchester collectibles book of the Chamberlin Cartridge Co. ammunition box featuring a wild turkey gobbler; Note the rarity and estimated value!

Name/Title

Chamberlin Cartridge Co. ammunition box featuring a wild turkey gobbler circa late 1800s

Entry/Object ID

TAFC001A0012

Description

The Chamberlin Cartridge Company was founded by Frank L. Chamberlin in Cleveland, Ohio, sometime around 1885. Though virtually unknown today, the company made a significant contribution to cartridge manufacturing by inventing a practical machine for loading paper shotgun shells. Before Chamberlin's invention, nearly all shotgun shells were hand-loaded by dealers or sportsmen. In addition to essentially creating a more modern process for factory-loading sporting shotshells, the company standardized the 25-shell "quarter box". It may have been the first to feature animal illustrations on shotshell boxes to indicate the intended game. Such a box from the Chamberlin Cartridge Company is pictured in a 2000 reference book. The box references a price list for the year 1886-7, which gives us the timeframe for its release. This is truly a gem among wild turkey collectibles, and the very high rarity rating in the book suggests that only one example of the box may currently be known.

Cataloged By

Brent Rogers

Created By

[email protected]

Create Date

July 5, 2026

Updated By

[email protected]

Update Date

August 9, 2026