L.C. Smith was one of the big-boys of American side-by-side shotguns. They made double barrels from 1884 to 1950. In that time, they probably made more than any company in the US.
But even though the name “L.C. Smith” appeared on thousands of guns through the company’s 65+ years, by 1888 the business was missing an important thing: any relationship with the shotgun’s namesake. That’s because Lyman Cornelius Smith sold the company to the John Hunter in 1888. Mr. Smith then retooled his gun factory and went after another fortune — in typewriters.
Mr. Smith started producing his L.C. Smith Premier Typewriter in 1889. Interestingly, this machine was created by Alexander Brown, the same man who invented the L.C. Smith side-by-side shotgun and who had at least 10 gun-related patents to his name.
Typewriters were one of the great inventions of the 19th century. Christopher Latham Sholes invented the first one that was practical enough for wide use. This machine was marketed by the early Remington Arms company in 1873.
