Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupé
Background: A Nation in Recovery In the wake of the Second World War, following on as it did from the Great Depression and the First World War, ordinary people were still trying to build a new…
Chapelon’s 242A1: France’s Greatest Steam Locomotive
Introduction: Science or Politics? In the rush to “modernize” their rail system the French, like most governments in the world, were not just interested in obtaining more efficiency or more speed for their rail network. Appearances…
Australian Smith & Wesson No.3 Revolver
Introduction The Smith & Wesson No. 3 revolver became one of the most well traveled revolvers to spring from the United States. These revolvers were among the first cartridge revolvers made, Smith & Wesson having patented…
Guncrafter Industries and the .50GI
A Tale of a Practical King Once upon a time, in a land far far away, a land called Montenegro, there lived a wise king who ordered that all the men of his nation must be…
The Falling Block Double Rifle
Introduction: The Break-Action Double Rifle The double barrel action has long been established as a shotgun action, ideal for providing an effortless second shot, and able to be made as an elegant looking, and instinctive handling…
The Tea and Sugar: the Nullarbor Plain Supply Train
The “Land of Oz” and a Plethora of Rail Gauges There’s a song that says the “Land of Oz is a very funny place…” and some people like to call Australia the “Land of Oz”. Its…
Gar Wood 22′ Triple Cockpit Runabout
Introduction: An Odd Beginning The story of the Gar Wood mahogany runabout speed boats begins, oddly enough, with ferry boat racing on Lake Osakis in Minnesota and coal dump trucks. Born in 1880 Garfield Arthur Wood…
Tramontana GT Sports Car
The Spanish word “Tramontana” could best be translated as “a wind that travels over the mountain”, or perhaps “a wind that transports you to the other side of the mountain” . That is in all likelihood why…
Cased Set of Four Colt Revolvers from Samuel Colt to Brigadier General Andrew Porter
Samuel Colt was a businessman, and at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 he was placed in a position where, like everyone else in the United States, he would need to choose a side…
Winchester “One of One Hundred” Model 1873
Introduction: The Usefulness of a Time Machine We are looking at a rifle that has an expected value of around USD$275,000-$375,000 and may well sell at auction for rather more than that. But when it was…