There are many myths, rumours and legends associated with the American Samuel Colt. Was he a talented entrepreneur, a rogue con man or an inventor and revolutionary? Today we shall make a small excursion into history and try to find out who was Mr Samuel Colt, whose name has become a household name over the last 150 years.
All comes from childhood
Our hero's life journey began in the town of Hartford, Connecticut, in the south of the United States. By the way, the place has Ukrainian accents: at different times public figure Anton Vasinchuk, engineer Roman Skochdoply, sailor Alex Dyachenko and even uncle of Stepan Bandera Osip were born or lived here! Therefore the small town is rather uncommon, as for a population of only 125 thousand people.
On his fourth birthday the future gunsmith has received - that you thought? A toy gun made of bronze! This gift was fateful, awakening in the boy an unwavering love for weapons and everything connected with them. On the second day, the boy had already got hold of some gunpowder somewhere. With a little bang from the next room his parents knew that it would last forever. Nothing could quell their child's passion for machinery and firearms.
At the age of 11 Colt ended up on a farm in Glastonbury, where he did his homework and attended school. Here he was introduced to the Compendium of Knowledge, a scientific encyclopaedia which he found more interesting to read than the boring study of the Bible. The articles on the inventor of the steamboat, Robert Fulton, were a great inspiration to Colt. He also noticed that other Compendium inventors had performed feats once considered fantastic - and he wanted to do the same. Later, after hearing soldiers talk about the success of the double-barreled rifle and the impossibility of a gun that could fire five or six times without reloading, Colt decided that he would create that "impossible gun".
The future inventor became seriously interested in technology at the age of 12. Two years later, on the Independence Day, he invited residents of his hometown to a demonstration of the underwater mine he had built and placed it in the middle of a lake, but he did not calculate the strength of the powder charge. The spectators were doused from head to toe, for which the teenager was nearly beaten. A young man, who turned out to be local mechanic Eliza Root, stepped in for the boy. He would become a supervisor at Colt's factory in the future.
After a year of study, Colt is kicked out of university for starting a fire while doing experiments in the chemistry room. Quite expected, wasn't it? But young Samuel wasn't upset and took a job as a sailor on a merchant brig. A major life idea struck him as he watched the ship's helm and capstan (a device for raising and lowering the anchor) turn. Right as he was sailing, Colt carved from wood a relic of his imagination - a model of a revolving drum. This relic is now housed in the Colt Museum.
Patent and first success
On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt receives his first patent for a 6-shot revolver of .45 caliber. Only 10 days later he starts his own production. The debut model was first called "Paterson", after the city in which it was manufactured then - "Texas" for its popularity among the inhabitants of this republic. At the time, Colt was 22 years old.
One point is important to clarify here. Sometimes Samuel Colt is erroneously attributed the title "inventor of the revolver" - in fact, the idea of using a rotating drum to create a multi-shot gun had been in the air for a long time. The first shotgun with a six-shot barrel was manufactured in France in 1629. However, Mr. Colt's revolver had certain quality standards and became the first mass-produced revolver, and thus put the production of this type of weapon on stream. For example, the same Steve Jobs did not invent the smartphone. It was created by IBM. However, the founder of Apple made it mass-produced. And that means exactly what the very device in everyone's pocket is today.
There is a famous American proverb that reveals the significance of Samuel Colt's invention for the establishment of democracy in the USA: "The Lord God made all men different, but Colonel Colt made them equal". And this is indeed true! As paradoxical as it may seem, nothing encourages peace like guns. After all, anyone, regardless of physical strength, could now defend themselves with a Colt pistol. Not without reason, Colt's most famous product, the legend of the Wild West, a 45-calibre six-shot revolver of 1872, was nicknamed "Peacemaker".
Colt's creation was a hit: it was used as a basic military weapon by civilians and soldiers alike. The revolver, which fired six times without the need for reloading, enabled its owner to repel many more troops who were not similarly armed. The story of a unit of 15 Texas Rangers defeating a squad of 70 (!) Indians proves it best.
Promotion techniques
Just like Jobs, the "great equalizer" was not only an inventor, but also a talented entrepreneur. For example, he was one of the first to come up with the so-called "spam" technology. It would seem that this term spam appeared thanks to the Internet, which was still more than 150 years old. However, our hero already then began to do something similar - namely, sending samples of his revolvers. He personally presented unique, engraved copies of his revolvers to heads of state, military officers and celebrities, which immediately caused a surge in orders. You can also call him a pioneer of native advertising, because he paid people to write stories about his weapons. Colt commissioned Western artist George Catlin to create a series of paintings depicting exotic scenes in which Colt guns were widely used against Indians, wild animals or bandits, which became the very first form of "product placement" advertising. In addition, he introduced the phrase "new and improved" into advertising, which has now become a cliché. He also demonstrated the commercial value of brand recognition, as the word "revolver" in French is le colt. The innovation of Colt's marketing methods (especially at that time) is simply amazing. It seems as if the universe itself was in favor of this gentleman's success.
Even then, Colt understood that it was necessary not only to produce a quality product, but also to tell people about it. This is the only way the business will move. And even if you come off as a scandalist or spammer - they will know about you! And if you are very lucky - then one day they will write in an article...
Strict orders
But any promotion and advertising work only when the product is worth it. And Colt's product was really of high quality. Although the colonel had not served in the army for a single day, he managed his factory with military discipline. The working day started at 7 am, and people were fired for being late. There were some innovative principles in the production process itself.
First, a worker performed only one operation on one machine, for example, cutting or drilling.
Secondly, the principle of interchangeability: to speed up production, weapons parts should be as universal as possible. This allowed to assemble a sample very quickly from any parts. This method helped Colt to become one of the first to effectively use the conveyor.
Thirdly, it is machine production. Of course, human resources were used, but the main role in production was given to automatic machines. But Colt insisted on final manual finishing and polishing of his revolvers to give them a handmade feel. Attention to detail in all its glory.
All these principles were revolutionary for those times, so guests and journalists often came to the factory to admire the "giant iron monsters" and create a report. Which, in turn, also raised brand awareness! Win-win at its best.
With a virtual monopoly, Colt sold its pistols in Europe, where demand was high due to strained international relations. By telling each country that others were buying Colt pistols, he was able to get large orders from many countries that were afraid of falling behind in the arms race. Bold? Sure. Effective? You bet!
America said goodbye to Colt with volleys of thousands of rifles and revolvers he made - so, in the words of a local newspaper, "the cannonade was like on a battlefield".
Legacy
Mr. Samuel Colt's contribution to gun culture and the subsequent history of gunsmithing can hardly be overestimated. He is not just a brilliant entrepreneur and a man who always knew what he wanted and proved it every time. His innovative principles turned firearms from a utilitarian object into a symbol of American identity. And the rigorous quality standards and sophisticated marketing methods proved to be worth it. Such passion for their work inspires and sets an example until today. If the name of Colt today is used not only for revolvers, but also for franchises to which he has nothing to do, then it says something, doesn't it?..
by Anton Kolosov
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