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  • September 2014 (Revised March 2022)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Samuel Colt: An American Gun Maker

By: Tom Nicholas and Casey Verkamp
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:20
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Abstract

Samuel Colt not only perfected and patented the technology for a gun that could fire multiple times without reloading, but he also developed and applied early principles of mass production more completely than anyone had done before. Until the nineteenth century, weapons manufacture, like most industries, had been the exclusive domain of skilled craftsmen, whose families had typically been in the trade for generations. Colt substituted specialized machines that made parts to exact specifications, which could fit into almost any gun of the same type. This made replacement and repair significantly easier and production more uniform. Other industries and countries would later implement these principles of production from Colt's armory, thereby revolutionizing manufacturing. Also, through his personality, product, and marketing, Colt's guns became intertwined with American identity in a tangle that persists to the present.

Keywords

Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Machinery and Machining; Production; Independent Innovation and Invention; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Citation

Nicholas, Tom, and Casey Verkamp. "Samuel Colt: An American Gun Maker." Harvard Business School Case 815-061, September 2014. (Revised March 2022.)
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About The Author

Tom Nicholas

Entrepreneurial Management
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Related Work

    • September 2014 (Revised March 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Samuel Colt: An American Gun Maker

    By: Tom Nicholas and Casey Verkamp
Related Work
  • Samuel Colt: An American Gun Maker By: Tom Nicholas and Casey Verkamp
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