Here's a link for those who can't access the posted one (like me):
https://web.archive.org/web/20210202203 ... d-holland-
This sad situation for Holland & Holland, for me, falls into the category of a couplet I used to repeat about industry and so much of it, which I had noticed:
Style over substance,
Personality over performance.
This is the attitude of most consumers nowadays, and it leads companies to seek "branding" as a substitute for excellence. The proper branding allows people to see what one bought, as the logo is prominently displayed for all to see how much money one spent on merchandise.
Back before WW2, my Dad was in the Army and was taught how to fly fish. When I was young, Dad tied his own flies and then began making his own bamboo fishing rods. Dad referred to spin casting fishermen as "hardware fishermen." I can well remember how, camped out along some trout stream, Dad would dig out his compact fly tying bench and vise and began making up his own flies.
There was a company, Orvis, that catered to people of means and beginning in the 70s, their products began to be fashionable. Most of the people wearing Orvis clothing didn't care that much for fly fishing, but they wanted to be associated with the wealthy and so they bought the Orvis cloths.
Similarly, in downtown Chicago, there was a company, Abercrombie & Fitch. They were safari outfitters to well-to-do people, including African safaris. They had a gun shop in their store that was a place of legend and wonder to me. They did not carry guns like Brownings (which was an expensive gun years back), but much more exclusive guns. It was there that I saw a Purdey shotgun in a green felt-lined leather case, with four barrels of increasing length and various chokes. The gun was lavishly engraved and the price tag, around 1965 or so, was $20,000. A lot of money for a gun.
But the African trade went down, and Abercrombie & Fitch sold out and became a clothing line. Rather than selling clothes for wealthy safari clients, instead the clothes were (and are) marketed to malnourished teenagers. They appear as if the most strenuous thing they do is zip up their skin tight clothes, which are expensive, even though there isn't much material in them.
My brother became interested in bicycling and in the 70s, I picked up on it, as well. The fellow who taught me bicycling warned me to spin the pedals at a high rate, or cadence, or I would blow out my knees. As my knees have always given me trouble, I listened. By the 80s, people began to appear riding bicycles who wore loud, flashy jerseys like the Tour de France cyclists and the 8 panel shorts to go with them. But when I watched them bike, they would lug down to a very slow cadence, throwing their bike side to side as they tried to ascend a hill. They obviously burned more energy flopping their bike around than they did going up the hill! But, they had the fancy Tour de France road gears, rather than the larger cogs we lesser people used who "spun" the pedals, rather than "lugging" them.
It took practice to spin the pedals and stay in the saddle without bobbing up and down, but these folks didn't (and don't) do that, they have no time to practice and learn in their busy schedules. Rather, what's important is that they appear wearing expensive bicycling clothes and using a bike geared for a professional racer.
Even the magazine article refers to Bentleys, but of course, the real Bentleys died back in 1931, when Rolls Royce bought them out. Why? Bentleys were raced by the fabulously wealthy "Bentley Boys," heirs to South African diamond and gold mines. There was a real cachet to the brand, so Rolls Royce bought the company during the Depression. The company concentrated on their aircraft engine business (which didn't go to well) and to make ends meet, they sold Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles to the British company Vickers. Finally, Vickers decided to cash in and sold Rolls Royce to BMW (who made the engines for Rolls Royce and Bentley cars by that time) and, in a brilliant money-making coup, sold Bentley to BMW's competitor Volkswagen.
So, when you buy a Rolls Royce or a Bentley now, do you get a real Rolls Royce or a real Bentley?
That's the name on the cars, but however fine or expensive they are, you're not really getting something from the hand of W O Bentley, as even Lagondas and Aston Martins had in days of yore. You do get an advertisement about how much you can spend (or borrow) for an automobile.
But:
African hunting is going to be over in another 25 years and so shall the market for such weapons.
Yes and no.
We can't have 20 billion people living on earth and have all of the wildlife we read about in Ruark, Selous, et al. The history of humanity would indicate what choice will be made, so yes, in 25 years hunting in Africa will be over -- I agree.
But a fine gun, one that is made by expert craftsmen, will always be recognizable and desirable. Even if there's really no place to use it for its intended purpose. Nobody shoots Habsburg wheel locks or Durs Egg flintlocks anymore (at least, they shouldn't!), but they are worth a lot of money today. There will always be rich people willing to pay money for such guns. Some will only want to appear with one or be associated with one, but some will by such guns because they love them and admire what they represent, which will become increasingly rare as time passes.