Manuscript DS, signed “R. J. Gatling, for the Gatling Gun Co.,” one page, 7.75 x 9.75, September 3, 1872. Statement agreeing to pay for potential use of a new Gatling Gun apparatus, in full: "I, Richard J. Gatling, inventor of the Gatling Gun, for myself and for the Gatling Gun Company, promise and agree that I will apply to the Gatling Guns, the traversing device, invented by Alfred Koerner, an engineer in Vienna, Austria—drawings of which have been handed me by Gen'l John Love of Indiana, and if such invention is adopted or used by the Gatling Gun Company for Gatling Guns, then the invention of said Koerner shall be paid for by said Gatling Gun Comp'y." Signed boldly at the conclusion by Gatling. In fine condition. Alfred Koerner was an engineer and later the chairman of Hotchkiss and Company, a French arms manufacturer established by American gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. An example of the company's output was the Hotchkiss revolving cannon, the subject of an 1874 booklet by Koerner that offered manifold comparative results from firing tests between Hotchkiss and Gatling guns.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$100.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.