Lc smith gun
Thanks to these gentlemen, Syracuse became the center of America’s typewriter manufacturing industry and eventually became known in many circles as “Typewriter City.” Brown then began their typewriter-company journey that lasted several decades - making millions of dollars due entirely to Smith’s financial acumen and Brown’s mechanical genius.
![lc smith gun lc smith gun](https://griffinhowe.com/pub/media/catalog/product/f/w/fwe1266631-1_3.jpg)
gun, nicknamed the “Sweet Elsie,” continued to be manufactured by Hunter Bros. Hunter took many of the craftsmen and most of the equipment once owned by Smith with him. company, which commenced moving the business to Fulton. Smith sold his gun manufacturing business to the Hunter Bros. Brown continued to make improvements to his gun patents while also designing and developing other projects including a design for a ‘visible’ typewriter (unlike original typewriter machines, typists were able to immediately see what they were typing). This gun was so advanced for its time that it remained unchanged for more than 60 years.Īt its peak, the company employed 175 men, running close to 100 machines. In 1886, Brown patented a design for the hammerless gun. Smith gun, marketed as “the gun that never shoots loose and is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” Trap shooting was a popular sport and the LC Smith gun received many accolades from trap shooters nationwide. This patent was followed by several others, leading to the design of a gun in 1884 that would become an American legend - the L.C. Brown was a gifted inventor and quickly designed and received a patent to manufacture a new cocking mechanism. Brown had been hired as a lathe operator in 1878. Gun sales began to drop off and Smith decided that he needed to develop and manufacture a more unique gun.įortunately, for L.C.’s sake, an individual by the name of Alexander T. The building had previously been the site of a carriage manufacturer. Smith moved his factory to a building located in the what was once the 100 block of S. Smith retained the rights to continue to manufacture guns originally patented by Baker. Wilbert, remained as L.C.’s plant manager. In late 1879, Baker dissolved the partnership and opened the Ithaca Gun Company along with Livermore and Leroy. Despite financial success, Baker realized that he could not work with L.C. Another of L.C.’s brothers, Wilbert, also worked in the factory. Smith and Baker were partners with Smith’s brother Leroy and brother-in-law George Livermore. It was a popular gun and the company grew significantly. The gun developed by Baker was a breech loading gun. The company began with eight employees and three milling machines. It had a large shooting gallery located on the roof for testing purposes. Burns soon provided Smith with the necessary funds to purchase a gun-manufacturing plant located near the Armory off Walton Street in 1877. Smith’s father-in-law had made his fortune in the saddlery business through his lucrative contract with the Union Army. Flora Burns, daughter of former Syracuse Mayor Peter Burns. Smith had recently made the acquaintance of Ms. Baker, convinced him that the future was in the manufacturing of guns, namely his Baker gun. Soon after his arrival in Syracuse, L.C.’s hometown friend, W. The lumber business was booming at the time due to the building requirements of the salt making industry. and his brother, Leroy, to Syracuse to set up a lumberyard on the corner of Burt and South Salina Streets. Smith moved to New York City when he was age 23, but returned to Lisle penniless within two years. L.C.’s father was extremely entrepreneurial, making a comfortable living as a general merchant, sawmill owner, and operator and tanner. located in Broome County, just north of Binghamton. At the age of nine, his family moved to Lisle, N.Y. Before the typewriter industry that made him his greatest fame and fortune, Lyman Cornelius Smith was a renown Syracuse gun manufacturer. However, Syracuse was an exception to that statement.
![lc smith gun lc smith gun](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/RH5R3R/breeder-and-sportsman-horses-l-csmith-guns-are-winners-arthur-webb-broke9s-targets-oat-of-100-with-hu-new-i-c-smith-gnu-at-the-aert-gun-club-shoot-birds-point-april-2-1889-l-c-smith-bans-are-manufactured-and-guaranteed-by-the-hunter-arms-co-fulton-n-y-phil-e-bekeakt-pacific-coast-representative-san-francisco-cal-fishing-tackle-mi-gun-goods-416-market-st=-below-sansome-s-f-clabrough-golcher-amp-co-guns-gun-goods-85-send-ior-catalogue-eishug-tackle-538-quotmarket-street-s-f-do-you-wish-to-win-at-the-traps-cgi-rv-trap-ouldi-loads-asli-yoiir-dealer-du-RH5R3R.jpg)
Guns are not usually associated with typewriters considering their primary purposes are vastly different. Smith factory in 1885 (PHOTO CREDIT: OHA Collection)