Jump to content

Who Financed AOC at the Beginning?


Recommended Posts

Does anyone know who provided the financing for AOC when it started? Did General Thompson use his personal money to pay for the first run of ~15,000 Colt guns, or did he have investors, or both?

 

As I learn more about the history of the guns and their parent company, I keep wondering how in the heck Mr. Thompson was able to keep this thing afloat. It took nearly 20 years to clear out the original stock, all-the-while completed guns were sitting in warehouses where they cost money to store and preserve, he had lots of advertising expenses, some R&D work to fund, and at least a few traveling salesmen to pay.

 

I marvel at how the company did not fold by the mid-twenties (very thankful that it did not), and would love to understand how Mr. Thompson kept it all going until he sold out.

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

Edited by Rimcrew
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thomas Fortune Ryan was the major financier. Although he publicly did not want to be associated with firearms production. Might I suggest you purchase the book, "THE GUN THAT MADE THE TWENTIES ROAR" It is a great book and explains alot. Edited by Colt Chopper
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rimcrew,

 

For certain, if you have not yet read TGTMTTR, you should buy it and read. Here is a link:

 

https://www.smallarmsreview.com/inventory/detail.item.cfm?product_id=B338

 

I may be just a bit partial to the most recent edition...:-)

 

The two earlier editions are out of print, but can be found.

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...