Sam Colt

I thought I would take another look at some of the books on my shelf and give a "skim-over" to let the readers know what they are about. I'm starting off with Sam Colt and His Gun, The Life of the Inventor of the Revolver, by Gertrude Hecker Winders, published by the John Day Company and copyrighted 1959 by the author. This edition is the Fourth Impression, and this particular book was in a library since it still has the small envelope that holds the checkout card glued to the inside cover. The library identification has been covered over with a black marker.

The title and subtitle explain the contents pretty well, but they don't get into the details, of course. Born in 1814, Colt had always been fascinated with guns, getting his first muzzle-loader at a young age. He invented a mine and then had the brilliant idea for a repeating pistol. The first models failed, but he kept at it, and to earn money, he gave demonstrations of nitrous oxide. With the money, he went on to perfect and patent the Colt revolver and died in 1862 at age 47. Thousands of his revolvers, muskets and rifles were used in the Civil War by the north.

The book may have been written for high school libraries as it is easy to read and understand with illustrations. But that is my own thought about it, an interesting story nonetheless.

Although not in effect yet, FTC rules will require beginning Dec 2009 a disclosure statement. To wit, I have not received any money or a free gift for this blog post.