Inventor (1818–1903) of the eponymous machine gun which has been estimated to have killed over 250,000 men since 1862. TLS signed “R. J. Gatling,” one page, 8.5 x 10.25, The Gatling Gun Compny letterhead, April 26, 1890. Letter to the publishing firm of George Routledge & Sons, to correct his entry in a biographical directory the company was issuing. In full: “The enclosed sketch of my life is correct as far as it goes. I have, since the sketch was written, invented an improved method of casting large cannon of steel, and also a Torpedo and Gun-Boat and a Pneumatic Gun for discharging high explosives. I have been in Europe a number of times. I was in France and exhibited my guns at the Paris Exposition in 1887.” Gatling also draws an asterisk symbol before each statement to correspond with the corrected article. The printed draft submitted to Gatling for review is included, with Gatling adding asterisks to the text to note where he would like the new information added; he also hand-writes an addition to the location of lectures he attended, and draws attention to the misspelling of ‘sowing’ as ‘sewing’ in the description of one of his early inventions, a rice-sowing machine. A note by the publisher also appears at the top. In fine condition, with intersecting folds. A particularly desirable example featuring a bold signature, Gatling Gun letterhead, and autobiographical letterhead. RR Auction COA.
