Winchester were not content with just being America’s main rifle maker, they also looked at becoming her main revolver maker and created prototypes such as the Wetmore-Wells which was displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in…
The Armalon AL42 rifle is one which you may not be familiar with if you, like me, do not live in Britain. But despite its initial appearance this is not just a converted Lee Enfield but…
BMW’s first venture into motorcycle manufacture was with their tube framed R32, R42, and R52 series (See our Revivaler post on these bikes here). Tube frames proved to be fine for motorcycle construction but BMW had…
American John Taylor who worked for many years as a professional hunter in Africa said that he believed the best possible rifle for a “one gun world wide hunter” would be a double rifle chambered for…
BMW began in 1916 when the aircraft engine manufacturer Rapp Motorenwerke was reorganized to become BMW. This was done at a time when the First World War was at its height. At the end of the…
The formative years of cartridge loading revolver design includes some designs for which documentation is scant. The 1870’s saw Smith & Wesson create their No. 3 top break revolver whilst Colt’s design was a development of…
This Rolls-Royce 40/50hp was owned by Hollywood director Josef von Sternberg who purchased it in 1929. The following year, 1930, von Sternberg welcomed German actress Marlene Dietrich to Hollywood where he would present her with a…
R.B. Rodda were a retailer of fireams and equipment for people in the services of the British Empire. They were not actually a gun maker but a retailer of quality firearms made by others such as…
Way back in 1968 a New York Banker named James O’Donnell got together with legendary American designer Virgil Exner who had worked with both Studebaker and Chrysler and was one of the driving forces behind American…
You’ve no doubt heard of the Girling brake manufacturing company. Before they were called Girling the company was called New Hudson, and before they became a brake manufacturing specialist they began as a bicycle maker and…