Grease Barbie Doll
Grease Barbie Doll
America’s Greatest Gunmaker?: Nobody You Know
Who was the most important gunmaker in American history? There must be at least half a dozen — and maybe up to a score if you thought hard about it — leading contenders. Let me get into the spirit of things by naming, off the top of my head and in no particular order, Oliver Winchester, Samuel Colt, Messrs. Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson, Christopher Spencer, John Browning, Christian Sharps, the Remington brothers, John Garand, Eugene Stoner . . .
Each and every one of these individuals could with some justice claim the mantle of America’s Greatest Gunmaker. But I’m giving the laurel to someone you’ve probably never heard of. In my view, instead of languishing in obscurity his name should be not merely a household one, but a national one celebrated each year with a parade, a day off work, a monument, and some fireworks. For it was he who almost singlehandedly laid the foundations for the United States’s economic supremacy by developing a first truly “interchangeable” rifle in the first half of the nineteenth century. Think of him as the Alexander Graham Bell of weapons technology, the Steve Jobs of rifle design, the Henry Ford of the gun industry. Only completely obscure. And who never made any money.
So who is this illustrious Unsung Hero already? Blessed with the anodyne name of John Hall, he was Maine born (in 1781) and was obsessed from his early 30s with creating machines — humans were not up to the task, thought he — that would make rifles, thousands of them, each perfect and indistinguishable from the others. Hall dreamed that one could manufacture a batch of rifles, dismantle them, randomly mix each gun’s parts — from the tiniest screw upwards — and then reassemble them. They would function immaculately, or so the theory went.
Now, to us this might not seem so extraordinary a dream; after all, factories around the world today produce many millions of identical television sets, microwave ovens, Barbie dolls, and so forth. Even the computer you may be reading this on is the same in every particular to a vast horde of others. There is nothing inherently individual about it.
At the time, however, what was called “interchangeability” was considered the Holy Grail. So high were the obstacles confronting inventors that few believed it could ever be achieved — for any product, let alone anything as sophisticated as a rifle. It was destined, they thought, to remain a fool’s quest. Only Hall, who had set up a Rifle Works at Harpers Ferry Armory, thought otherwise. For decades, he worked all hours of the day, struggling against disbelieving superiors, costcutting beancounters, and incompetent bureaucrats, to build the world’s first mass-produced rifle. Indeed, so driven was Hall that he not only wanted to win the prize but to do it with a highly advanced breechloading weapon. (These then-newfangled guns loaded through an opening behind the barrel and above the trigger, which increased speed of loading and fire, as opposed to muskets, which were charged with ball and powder at the muzzle).
It’s difficult to communicate the vaulting ambition of Hall’s objectives to modern readers. Just as there was no mode of transport faster than a horse in pre-industrial America, everything, absolutely everything, was made by hand, some elbow grease, and a few tools in small workshops scattered around the country. Take a gunsmith, for instance. Following a lengthy apprenticeship, he would establish his own shop in which he fashioned for himself every part of a gun, from boring the barrel, to molding the screws, to carving the buttstock, to attaching the sights.
Even with an apprentice of his own to help, he could turn out only a few guns a month and owing to the vagaries of construction, his level of skill, his preferences, and the quality of materials, each was slightly different from the one before. To the naked eye, they might look outwardly similar, but in a piece of equipment subjected to the titanic thermo-dynamic forces that a gun is, even an imperceptibly loose nut would eventually shake free and and cause a potentially lethal explosion. Worse, as there were no yardsticks to standardize performance or measurements, one gunsmith’s weapon would be profoundly different from that made in an adjacent county or even across the street: Some would be heavier, some would have longer barrels, some fit larger calibers . . . Everything about them was individual, in other words.
Hall was, in the end, a tragic figure. By 1830, after nearly twenty years of toil, he finally had his machines ready, had produced a limited number of rifles, and had acquired a sheaf of admiring reports from the army’s trials. On the cusp of worldly success, Hall fell victim to his insistence on working alone, aided only by a team of hand-picked, superbly trained mechanics. Time had caught up with him. His breechloader mechanism, once revolutionary, lagged behind newer entrants to the gun market and upstart rivals (like Colt) were discovering for themselves the secrets of interchangeability. He had always been “difficult to get along with” but he was too old, and now too reluctant to listen to advice or to introduce changes, to keep his fiefdom at the Rifle Works. Gently, he was pushed out of Harpers Ferry by a younger generation of engineers and ordnance specialists.
His health rapidly deteriorated and he died on February 26, 1841. Hall’s rifle was shelved shortly after and the world moved on and forgot about him. Today, not a single likeness of the great man exists and just a few specimens of the great Hall breechloader are kept in museums. In fact, while I was writing the book, American Rifle: A Biography, I was allowed to enter the Smithsonian Institution’s hallowed Gun Room — a vast storehouse of deadly weaponry not open to the public. After donning white gloves, I picked up a Hall, still a magnificent piece of engineering after all these years, and marveled at the beauty of its mechanism.
Hall, however, did enjoy a posthumous last laugh. The mechanics to whom he imparted the secrets of interchangeability went forth into the world, multiplying and prospering. In their vast diaspora, they applied the teachings of their high priest to every sector of the country’s business enterprise, bringing to an end the era of individual craftsmanship and small-scale manufacturing. Hall’s rifle, in short, heralded the shock of a new industrial age and the rise of the American superpower.
The names of Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington resound still today — but they owed their all to this plucky, cranky Yankee from Maine.
©2008 Alexander Rose
About the Author
Born in the United States, Alexander Rose was raised in Australia and Britain. A military historian and former journalist, he is the author of Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring, and his writing has appeared in the New York Observer, the Washington Post, Studies in Intelligence, and many other publications. His website is www.alexrose.com .
Barbie Grease
|
|
BARBIE STICKER COLLECTION STICKERS – x 10 PACKETS – NEW £3.90 |
|
|
Genuine *Barbie* Cash Register £4.50 |
|
|
New Handmade Party Dress Clothes Gown For Barbie Doll ba128 £0.99 |
|
|
One Barbie doll and one teenage doll plus one barbie head £1.99 |
|
|
NWTGirls Kids Barbie Princess Swimsuit Bikini Size 3-4Y Costume Tankini Swimwear £3.21 |
|
|
Bundle Barbie/Sindy Dolls £1.99 |
|
|
11 x JOB LOT OF KIDS QUARTS WATCHES,TAZ,BARBIE,TWEETIE PIE £4.00 |
|
|
CUTE 1pcs Pink Barbie Electronic Watch Children KIDS gifts £0.80 |
|
|
New Handmade Princess Wedding Party Dress Clothes Gown For Barbie Doll £0.99 |
|
|
Lot 5 Pcs Fashion Handmade Clothes Dresses Grows Outfit For Barbie Doll 5X £3.99 |
|
|
Barbie Sandwich Fairy Lights for girls bedroom £0.99 |
|
|
Barbie Thumbelina Pouch Tight Leggings Girls 4-8T #02 £6.00 |
|
|
Barbie Pop and Find Book (Pop & Find Book) - £0.99 |
|
|
Barbie Princess Sound Cash Register £2.49 |
|
|
Barbie Reusable Sticker Paradise inc Album -Fast Del! £1.79 |
|
|
New Handmade Party Dress Clothes Gown For Barbie Doll 262 £0.99 |
|
|
BN Barbie Pair of Pink Springy Butterfly Sleepies Hair Slides £0.99 |
|
|
BN Barbie Pair of Pink Glitter Flower Sleepies Hair Slides £0.99 |
|
|
barbie cafe £8.07 |
|
|
Girl’s Barbie T-Shirt 6-7Yrs £0.99 |
|
|
Barbie Magic of Pegasus Game Boy Advance GBA Game – Compatible with Nintendo DS £4.99 |
|
|
BNIB Barbie Swim Ring 3+ £1.99 |
|
|
NICKI MINAJ BARBIE HOOP CRYSTAL EARRINGS SILVER £8.22 |
|
|
Barbie Wrist Watch £0.99 |
|
|
BARBIE DRESSING TABLE £4.20 |
|
|
Barbie Colouring Set £0.01 Set of 8 colouring sheets, 6 colouring pencils and 15 resuable stickers Age 3+… |
|
|
Barbie I Can Be Art Teacher Doll £10.49 Barbie est une passionnée d’art. Avec ce set Barbie professeur de dessin de MATTEL, les enfants découvrent une poupée artiste. Barbie peint vraiment, il suffit d’actionner un bouton spécial. En trempant le pinceau dans l’eau froide, des motifs apparaissen… |
|
|
Zap Barbie Mono Single Duvet £7.99 Loads more Barbie products at our store. Please click on logo for many more products. Fast shipping. Competitive prices. Great bedroom items…. |
|
|
Disney Princess -Ultimate £2.86 … |
|
|
Barbie of Swan Lake [DVD] £3.49 … |
|
|
Barbie In The 12 Dancing Princesses [DVD] £2.84 … |
|
|
Barbie – Rockin’ Back to Earth/Out of This World [VHS] £9.99 TWO EXCELLENT ADVENTURES………… |
|
|
Rumble in the Bronxs [VHS] [1997] £9.98 In Rumble in the Bronx Jackie Chan plays a visitor to America who agrees to fend off a biker gang’s designs on his uncle’s market in the Bronx. If you can get past the Vancouver skyline substituting for the New York City neighbourhood, and the cheesy dubbing job, this is another of Chan’s startling, balletic takes on martial arts action. (It’s also his first breakthrough American film.) Even if yo… |
|
|
Barbie & The Rock Stars – Out of This World [1987] “Hi I’m Barbie. My group the Rock Stars, and I are taking off to ‘Out of this World’ in our very first video! Ken, Dana, Diva, Dee Dee, Derek and I are going where no group has gone before.. into outer space! Now our music is rocking the outer limits because we’ve launched into an adventure that’s totally ‘Out of This World’. So strap yourself in for action , because the countdown has just begun! … |
|
|
Barbie Wallpaper Border £28.00 Wallpaper Border (not self-adhesive) - Width 12 cm, length 17 m. - For a better and convenient stick, the border us cutted in 70cm pieces and used together. The pattern fits together exactly, infinitely expandable. The special, hard-wearing paper with elevated white clay has the strength of 120g / m². The vibrant colors make aware the perfect color scale…. |
|
|
Mens Blue Cord Baseball Cap Chicago Bears Official Licensed Product Genuine Item £9.99 |
|
|
Bear Grylls 2011/12 Trek L/S Shirt B/Pepper X Large £46.17 |
|
|
ARIEL Red Hunter front wheel bearings,see listing (67) £10.94 |
|
|
Bear Grylls 2011/12 Trek L/S Shirt B/Pepper XX Large £35.29 |
|
|
Bear Grylls 2011/12 Trek L/S Shirt Khaki Large £46.17 |
|
|
Bear Grylls 2011/12 Trek L/S Shirt Khaki Medium £46.17 |
|
|
BEARING BK06-09 NEEDLE ROLLER 6MM X 10MM X 10MM BK0609 £4.99 |
|
|
DR350 wheel bearings DR600, DR650, DR750, DR800 NEW £4.90 |
|
|
Harrods Bear 2001 £4.99 |
|
|
Cherished teddies Sweetheart Ball £20.00 |
|
|
Bear Grylls 2011/12 Trek L/S Shirt Khaki X Large £46.17 |
|
|
HARRODS ADDRESS BOOK WESTIE DOG HIGHLAND TERRIER NEW & SEALED £14.99 |
|
|
8″ NO SEW HORSE PONY BEAR MAKING KIT GIFT OR PARTY £5.75 |
|
|
Bear Grylls 2011/12 Trek L/S Shirt Metal Medium £46.17 |
|
|
Me to you Bear Someone Special Ornament or Cake Topping £1.99 |
|
|
Happy 21st Birthday Me to you Bear Holding a Key and Boxed. £2.99 |
|
|
Me to you Bear Boxed Hand Painted Figurine. £2.99 |
|
|
Cherished Teddies plate/plaque LOVE £0.99 |
|
|
Cherished Teddies figure Child of Love £0.99 |
|
|
BHS IVORY CARDIGAN WITH HOOD 3-6 MONTHS,” LITTLE BEAR” , V G CONDITION £1.85 |
|
|
4 x Bearings 5mm ID x 13mmOD x 4mm Wide 695-ZZ £5.20 |
|
|
Harrods Bear £4.99 |
|
|
Me To You 12″ Tatty Teddy Bear Holding A String Of Hearts BNWT / BNIB £24.99 |
|
|
CARE BEAR Comforter Toy Personalised Baby Minky blanket £7.99 |
|
|
Build A Bear Pink Wardrobe & hangers £11.50 |
|
|
Prince Lionheart Original Slumber Bear – Cream £19.97 Invented by a doctor, and effectively used in hospital nurseries for over 25 years! The Original Slumber Bear contains the ONLY actual intra-uterine, recorded womb sound to help lull your Baby to sleep in minutes! Sound and motion sensors re-activate recording when Baby cries or jostles bear. Additional hook and loop straps allow you to secure the removable audio box to crib rails, strollers and m… |
|
|
Mustard Jelly Bear Jelly Mould £5.20 The Jelly Bear jelly mould has been designed especially for fans of jelly bears. This mould enables you to create a giant wobbly jelly bear at home in the colour or flavour you like. With such wobbling jelly bears every kinder party will be unforgettable. The mould is manufactured from hard, clear, food safe plastic…. |
|
|
Amscan 9-inch Little Charlie Bear Plate £2.49 Little Charley bear party plates… |
|
|
Driving Towards The Daylight – Ltd. Digibook £8.99 … |
|
|
El Camino £7.61 … |
|
|
Locked Down £7.94 … |
|
|
The Jungle Book (Disney) (1967) [VHS] [1968] £9.37 Disney’s 1967 animated feature seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Based on fiction by Rudyard Kipling, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (Louis Prima as “King Louie” of the Apes; George Sanders as th… |
|
|
Kissyfur 1-Bear Roots [VHS] £7.99 Running time 30 minutes. They call him Kissyfur because they can’t pronounce his real name, Christopher. You’ll simply call him irresistible!… |
|
|
Little Bear’s Book [VHS] [1993] £6.99 Great video, 3 enchanting stories from the Bafta award-winning series, fast dispatch, UK SELLER… |
|
|
Bear Grylls Survival Series Fire Starter £11.25 Bear Grylls Survival Series Fire Starter… |
