Ethan Allen, Gunmaker: His Partners, Patents & Firearms by Harold Mouillesseaux

Table of Contents

Ethan Allen is considered to be the father of the pepperbox revolver. This important book gives complete details on him, the years during which he worked, the pistol which he perfected and the other arms which he and his companies manufactured.

The pepperbox was probably the most important gun produced during the first half of the 19th century. It was used in the expansion of settlement to the west from 1837 onward, and was considered to be good protection from "bandits, renegades or Indians." It was the only multi-shot weapon available and there were distributors · spread from Boston to California. Its quality, price and effectiveness made it a most significant factor in the opening of the west.

The pepperbox was only one of the arms made by Ethan Allen and his companies located at Grafton, Mass., Norwich, Conn., and Worcester, Mass. from 1831 to 1871. They also manufactured s ingle shot pistols, rifles, percussion revolvers, lip fire revolvers and many other arms designed for protection or sport. Each is thoroughly detailed in this very fully researched book.

Ethan Allen stated that he started his business with $12.00, but the companies which he headed, Allen & Thurber, Allen Thurber & Co., Allen & Wheelock, and E. Allen & Co., were leading manufacturers in their era and in their area.

The author's training and vocation have forced him to treat this as an economic study but his avocation has compelled him to treat it as a collector's reference. With the addition of Dun & Bradstreet statistics and other financial details for the various companies, facts about the period in which each arm was developed, and some 300 photographic and line illustrations of the people, arms and patents, he has succeeded with both requirements to produce a book which will serve a most useful function when taken from the shelves of any librarian, historian or collector.