American firearms designer (1888–1974) best known for designing the Garand M1, the first semi-automatic rifle to be put into service. LS, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5.75 x 7.75, July 30, 1971. Garand writes to Eric Engstrom in Long Beach. In part: “As to your inquiry of the inventor ‘Carbine Williams’ I will copy part of an article sent by ‘Gun Week’…. This is the story of two gunsmiths and how one of them fared at the hands of the Federal Government. One is David Marshall Williams, better known as ‘Carbine’ Williams, the man who invented the M1 carbine while serving a sentence for murder in a North Carolina prison in the 1920s. The other is John Garand, inventor of the M1 rifle, which was used by millions of American servicemen during and after World War II…. Garand, an 83 year old pensioner who lives in Springfield, Mass. never received payment from the federal government for his rights to the M1 rifle. During a recent interview, Garand said he was about to sign a contract with Winchester back in the 30s when a government official asked him not to sign….” Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Horizontal mailing fold through signature and a few small spots to last page, otherwise fine condition. R&R COA.
