AmericanLongRifles Forums

General discussion => Antique Gun Collecting => Topic started by: spgordon on November 12, 2013, 06:50:23 PM

Title: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: spgordon on November 12, 2013, 06:50:23 PM
Dear list members,

Over the summer I wrote to the list a few times asking for images or documents related to Jacob Dickert, and you all were typically generous. The long article that I wrote is now online and I would welcome any comments, suggestions, corrections, quarrels, etc. There are 19 images (mostly documents, but some of rifles) associated with the article, so please make sure you see those.

You can see the article here: http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=180

Best regards,

Scott Gordon
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: tallbear on November 12, 2013, 07:04:42 PM
Great article Scott,thanks for posting it!!!

Mitch Yates
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: hurricane on November 12, 2013, 07:10:34 PM
Thank you. " Extrordinary!"
I have added your article to the Library in:
1. Original Research and eduction
2. PA ( Gunmakers )
Hurricane
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: Shreckmeister on November 12, 2013, 07:42:58 PM
Can't wait to get off work so I can read the whole thing.  First few paragraphs are great.
Thanks Scott.
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: PPatch on November 12, 2013, 09:11:42 PM
Excellent. Dickert has always interested me and your article sure ties his, and his areas history together. Thank you.

dp
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: TG on November 12, 2013, 10:26:06 PM
For any student of the American longrifle and of Jacob Dickert as a founder of said firearm, this article is essential. It brings together a vast array of material and presents it in a concise and very reader-friendly manner. It is simply fascinating! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learned so much.
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: lexington1 on November 12, 2013, 11:31:14 PM
That is great! It is centered around Jacob Dickert but in a larger sense describes the early gunsmithing trade. A must read. Fantastic!
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: Jim Kibler on November 13, 2013, 02:22:47 AM
Thanks Scott.  One detail I found interesting is the following:

" Caspar Wistar imported German rifles in the 1730s and 1740s, asking his supplier to tailor them for the American market, where consumers “prefer rifles with barrels that are three feet and three to four inches long.”[26]"

Do you know the date of the source that mentions barrels three feet and three to four inches long being preferred?  This seems to be significant in helping understand the evolution of the longrifle.

Thanks,
Jim
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: spgordon on November 13, 2013, 04:37:23 AM
Thanks so much for all the comments. I really appreciate them.

Jim, the info about the sorts of rifles that Wister thought his American buyers would like is in a letter that he wrote to Georg Friederich Hölzer on October 1, 1737. It's translated and quoted in Rosalind Beiler, Immigrant and Entrepreneur: The Atlantic World of Caspar Wistar, 1650-1750 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008), 145-146.
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: Shreckmeister on November 14, 2013, 12:13:38 AM
Scott,  Many thanks for contributing this research for all to share.  You obviously have a tremendous amount of time and energy in this project.  I found it to be both informative and entertaining.  The footnotes really add to the article and provide an opportunity to seek out more information. 
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: Curtis on November 15, 2013, 09:01:27 AM
Spgordon,

Very well researched and written.  Thank you!!!!!!!

Curtis
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: JTR on November 15, 2013, 09:03:11 PM
Excellent, just excellent!
Thanks so much!
John
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: Mark Elliott on November 16, 2013, 05:04:53 AM
That was a great read;  and I passed it on to a customer who just ordered a copy of RCA #48 from me.   He was also suitably impressed.
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: davebozell on November 16, 2013, 03:22:30 PM
Thank you very much for sharing this article with us.  It is the best narrative on early gunmaking that I have ever read.  It definitely deserves a place in the ALR library.  It would be an honor to read your other works.
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: Tom Currie on November 20, 2013, 04:44:44 AM
Scott, Thanks for sharing your research with us. I find it interesting how much "Dickert " or Deckhard" became recognized a brand with far reaching recognition.
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: KLMoors on November 24, 2013, 04:05:18 PM
Finally had the time to sit down and read the whole thing.

Great job. Thanks for putting this out their for all of us to enjoy.
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: JLB on November 24, 2013, 05:21:09 PM
Great Article.
Thank you
Title: Re: Jacob Dickert article online
Post by: spgordon on November 28, 2013, 07:31:56 PM
On this Thanksgiving day, my heartfelt thanks to everybody who took the time to read the essay and especially to those who posted something here. I really appreciate it. Best wishes to all -- Scott Gordon