thumb|6 shot .36 caliber percussion pepperbox by Allen & Thurber (Worcester). Barrel flute bears 1837 patent date, hammer is marked "Allen's Patent".

Ethan Allen (September 2, 1808 – January 7, 1871) was a major American arms maker from Massachusetts. He is unrelated to the revolutionary Ethan Allen. His first firearm, the "Pocket rifle" was developed in 1836, and his first patent was granted in 1837.

Early life

Allen began his career as a cutlery maker in Milford, Massachusetts, in 1831. He gained knowledge of metalworking and manufacturing processes by producing knives and shoemaking tools before moving his business to Grafton.

While working on a cane gun for a doctor, Allen came up with the idea for an underhammer pocket rifle and designed it in 1836. The following year he applied for a patent for a "tube hammer" pocket pistol and went into business with his brother-in-law, Charles Thurber. Ethan proved to be a true family man, investing and partnering with a nephew in a New York sporting goods retailer, hiring another brother-in-law Thomas Wheelock who was eventually made a partner, and similarly hiring and later making partners his two sons-in-law Sullivan Forehand and Henry Wadsworth. The latter two continued the business under their own names after Allen died in 1871.

Trade names

thumb|Ethan Allen six-shooter advertisement

: 1831–1837: E. Allen (Grafton)

: 1837–1842: Allen & Thurber (Grafton)

: 1842–1847: Allen & Thurber (Norwich)

: 1847–1854: Allen & Thurber (Worcester)

: 1854–1856: Allen Thurber & Co (Worcester)

: 1856–1865: Allen & Wheelock (Worcester)

: 1865–1871: E. Allen & Company (Worcester)

In 1843, the company relocated to Norwich, Connecticut. In addition to arms making, they built prototypes of Thurber's typewriter designed for the blind, disabled, and those “nervous” about writing by hand. Though patented, the typewriter was never manufactured for commercial sale.

In 1847, the company moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, and in 1854, Wheelock became an equal partner with the firm's name changing to Allen Thurber & Co. In 1856, following Thurber's death, the company reorganized as Allen & Wheelock. After Wheelock's death in 1865, Allen's two sons-in-law, Sullivan Forehand and H. C. Wadsworth, began working for him, and the company changed its name to Allen & Company. Upon Allen's death in 1871, the two operated the company under their own names, Forehand & Wadsworth, until Forehand reorganized the company in 1890 as the Forehand Arms Company after Wadsworth's retirement.

Ethan Allen's companies made a vast variety of firearms. Most recognized is the Allen & Thurber "pepper-box" revolving pistol—known as the "Gun that won the East". This pistol was actually much more common than the early Patterson Arms revolvers made by Colt. Few records survive, so much is derived from the physical weapons still in existence and by extrapolating from advertisements, patent dates, etc.

Single-shot and double-shot percussion pistols

Pocket rifle

Allen's first firearm was the "Pocket rifle", a single-shot under-hammer percussion pistol. The name likely derives from the fact that most pistols of the day did not have rifled barrels, rather than any claim to extraordinary size. The hammer located on the bottom of the weapon allowed for target sights to be mounted on the top axis of the barrel. Made in .28 to .44 caliber, the average barrel length was 12 inches. Typically sold in pairs, the pocket rifle was produced from 1837–1847. Though most of this period was during the Thurber partnership, markings show exclusively 'Ethan Allen', and evidence from an accounting ledger indicates that supply and distribution orders were processed separately from other models of firearms. This likely indicates that Allen retained ownership of this model after establishing the partnership with Thurber. A second pocket rifle was produced under the Allen and Thurber name, retaining the under-hammer design but with much smoother lines. The pictures the author has seen show a barrel much shorter than 12 inches, and the caption reads .36 caliber.

Tube Hammer pistol Holding several patents, Allen and Thurber pepperboxes were the most popular multi-shot pistols of the 1830s and 1840s, slowly losing market share in the 1850s to Colt's 1849 Pocket and 1851 Navy revolvers. The later revolver pepperboxes were produced well into the Allen and Wheelock era. During the American Civil War, due to a shortage of pistols, many soldiers on both sides carried an Allen & Thurber pepperbox as a backup arm. Harley Van Cleve and his son Phillip collected and categorized 22 distinct models/variations of the Allen pepperbox, and were an invaluable early 20th-century resource for these pistols. Patent dates of 1837 and 1845 help to demarcate sub-models to a limited extent, but many improvements were incorporated on the fly to reduce manufacturing costs and/or create a more reliable product. The 1845 patent represents several simplifications to the design that likely achieved both of these aims. Pepperbox production did not survive the end of the Allen and Wheelock era (c 1864). Due to the number produced, smaller pepperbox pistols are common on the secondary market in a wide spectrum of conditions. The Dragoon model noted below is quite rare and commands a premium even in scruffy condition. Please see the cited work for extensive descriptions, illustrations, and a wide variety of photographs. He also manufactured pinfire cartridges from 1862 until at least 1865.

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File:Pinfire Cartridge Box by Allen & Wheelock & Co..jpg|Pinfire cartridge box by Allen & Wheelock & Co.

File:Ethan Allen Pinfire Cartridge Box.jpg|Pinfire cartridge box by Ethan Allen & Co.

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References

Sources

  • The Story of Allen & Wheelock Firearms, H. H. Thomas (1965) ()
  • Ethen Allen, Gunmaker: His Partners, Patents and Firearms, Harold Mouillesseaux (1973) ()