16/04/2025
The Great Equaliser 💥
In 1851, at the Great Exhibition in London, visitors crowded round one of the pavilions where something incredible was being shown: a revolver that could fire not one, but six shots in succession, without any reloading!
The name of the remarkable gunsmith was Samuel C**t, and he owned C**t's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company.
In 1836, C**t received his first patent for a primer revolver, and after that he held the entire gun industry in his hands for 30 years. No one could produce such revolvers but C**t. His business over the years had its ups and downs, incredible contracts (such as with the famous Walker Rangers or with the United States military during the war with Mexico) and bankruptcies. However, anyone who wanted to work with the primer device in fi****ms had to work for C**t. As the owner of the largest privately owned gun manufacturer in the world, C**t's primary concern was intellectual property, extending the life of key patents. And thus maintained his monopoly.
By the time of Samuel C**t's death in 1862, his fortune totalled $15 million - an impressive sum even for the present day, and even more so for the 19th century!
C**t became an example for other entrepreneurs and the forerunner of the patent fever in the States, a phenomenon that was certainly useful for the development of many large businesses.
