Table Of Content

Please handle this volume with care. <l>\0 TheUniversityofConnecticut Libraries, Starrs £ _\ ref,stx TS535S291953 American gun makers 3 1153 DQflb7E7S 2 - ^ v- fSERVED i FOR 1 BPERENCf | **• EADING NOT TO IE TAKEN ^ROM TUf URRARV Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/gunmakerOOsatt AMEMGAE! MAmm <SOT MAHEM OTM by ARCADI GLUCKMAN — Colonel U. S. Army Ret. and L. D. SATTERLEE THE BTACKFOhE CO. HARRISBURG, PA. R ESERVED FOR EFERENCI EADING NOT TO Bf TAKEN «=ROM THE LIBRARY Copyright 1953 by THE STACKPOLE COMPANY SECOND EDITION, REVISED Including SUPPLEMENT OF AMERICAN GUN MAKERS All Rights Reserved L. C. CATALOG CARD NO. 53-5668 Printed in United States by THE TELEGRAPH PRESS Established 1831 HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA F©HEWOHP Some thirteen years have passed since the first printing of American Gun Makers, and though the original work published by Ulbrich Company was brought up to 1949 by the issue of a Supplement, it is felt that since more of the mist surrounding the activities of our early arms makers has lifted, the time has come to correct and delete, to edit and add, and place in the hands of the gun-loving fraternity a revised volume incorporating old material brought to date within the knowledge available; the contents of the Supplement of American Gun Makers, and new material gathered or contributed in the past four years. It is perhaps appropriate here to quote from the Foreword of the original work. "It is regrettable that some of the historically most important arms makers are dismissed with but a few lines; no reflection on their craftsmanship, or the volume of produc- tion. It is a hopeful sign that this situation is being slowly but surely corrected as new biographical and historical facts are uncovered, pertinent documents come to light, and col- lectors, students and historians interested in research and delving in old forgotten papers and tomes, contribute of their knowledge and finds. While it has been our purpose to include only the known producers of complete American small arms, or of their major parts, it is quite likely that many firearms makers of old, their names garnered from ancient directories and documents, are included, though no arms have been met with bearing their name. Mere repairs and maintenance would have yielded a precarious living in those days, and proud of their craft, practically all the old gunsmiths were firearms makers, though for natural reasons, many left the products of their handi- work unsigned during the Revolution, and even later. It is to be noted that single dates, or double dates indicat- ing a short period of activity, are indicative only of the general period of such activity, having been gleaned from old city directories, tax rolls, advertisements, local histories, etc." We might add here that no available source has been neglected in the compilation: documents, archives, directories, tax lists, local histories, tombstones, family and friendly remin- iscences, oral tradition, magazine articles, newspaper advertisements, letters to the undersigned, maker's marks and the arms themselves;—all have contributed their grist, and it is but natural that along with the meal much chaff is included. There are un- discovered "repeaters," due to varied spellings or changed loca- tions; some are included as gunsmiths who merely inscribed their name for pride or security of possession; some may be foreign and some may never have existed and have been brought in by "asso- ciation." To all these errors of fact or interpretation, we plead guilty and will be happy to make amends or correction when brought to our attention. Included in this edition are the available initials, names and other data of our early Ordnance personnel, civilian and military, as a matter of historical interest, and to facilitate the identifica- tion of inspectors of our early contract arms. Grateful acknowledgement is made to Messrs. Robert Bingham, Milton DeS. Clow, Miner Cooper, Roy E. Green, Calvin Hetrick, J. James L. Mitchell, L. C. Quick, J. W. Pittock Jr., and the late Richard D. Steuart for generous contribution of much original data and biographical sketches of the original edition, and to Messrs. Walter M. Cline, John G. W. Dillin, Robert Gardner, James E. Hicks, Dr. Paul B. Jenkins, Ned H. Roberts and Stephen Van Rensselaer, for their earlier works and research, and to Rhea Mansfield Knittle and Stuart M. Martin for their studies of early Ohio gunsmiths, all of which greatly facilitated the task of the undersigned. To all who contributed new material or brought attention to past errors and omissions, heartfelt THANKS. Sincere appreciation for important contributions of data is expressed to Messrs. Wm. C. Almquist, Don H. Berkebile, Frank Donham, W. R. Felton, C. Charter Harrison, Dr. T. Herron, W. H. Kelly, Wallace J. Mundell, Harold L. Peterson, P. Shaw, Sam E. Smith, Gerald J. Teesdale: to Harry Wandrus, Wes White and Robert C. Whiteman for generous contribution of material on early Pennsylvania gunsmiths; to William Abbot Jr., Jerry and Sue Hirtle, Frank E. Mar- tin, Deuel Richardson, Harry C. Rife, Russell Smith, M. Urner, J. William C. Weaver and David Weimer for indirect contribu- J. tions. Space limits acknowledgement to all. Again special acknowledgement of great indebtedness is made to Donald Baird of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. Mr. Baird's critical and constructive com- ments and unselfish assistance in material, generous and valuable as to quantity and quality, have been of inestimable value. The unfortunate meagerness of many of the entries is self- evident. It is hoped that this inadequacy may be rectified in the future through the generosity and cooperation of the readers, whose additional and correctional material, sent in care of the publishers, will be carefully preserved and incorporated in future editions. Arcadi Gluckman — Colonel U. S. Army Ret. L. D. Satterlee