Richard Lee and Lee Custom

[Green Frog]

I have a historical question, and don’t really know where to put it, so here goes. I have frequently expressed my liking for the old Lee Priming Tools with screw in shell holders. As I have read what historical information I can find here, I’m trying to understand how they (along with the red plastic units in some kits) relate to Mr Lee’s tenure at the earlier company that bore his name. Did he have anything to do with their design prior to his untimely departure from the company, did someone else design them while he was still there, or did they appear later?

Along with this, I’ve seen some of the Pistol Rests labeled “Lee” and others Mequon. Can I assume this unique product was designed and introduced post-Richard Lee, or would he have had a hand in this item’s design as well?

The can of worms is overturned and they’re wiggling everywhere, the ducks are busy chasing them and no longer in row. What a mess!

[Green Frog]

A quick Google search exposed a couple of articles about the relationship between Lee and Lee Custom as they split. The statement was made that after Richard Lee became less and less closely with his old company no new innovations were forthcoming from the company. Does this mean that the priming tool with special screw-in shell holders (and the similar version in plastic) were at least developed under the Lee era of Lee? Further, how about the pistol rest? If the company that became Mequon made no innovations, did this also come from the Richard Lee influence or was there a different R&D department in the original Lee Custom that excluded Richard, or did he lose (abandon) the intellectual property that led to those products? I have a couple of Lee Loaders with the red plastic priming tool and a paste on Mequon sticker on the box, and I think I even remember a "Zero Error" set in the woodgrain cardboard box and having the same sticker. Things must have gotten pretty hectic around there in those days, because they sure are confusing now.

Froggie