Allen & Thurber - The Day-Book*
Introduction
It is remarkable, but unfortunately true, just one single company ledger survived from Allen’s forty years of operation. This leather-bound ledger recorded the daily production and commercial activity of the Allen & Thurber firearms operation from October 1, 1846, to March 16, 1848. The book reveals how the Allen firm functioned during this period which coincides with the transition from Norwich, Connecticut, to Worcester, Massachusetts. Through thousands of entries, the ledger documents sales, purchases, payroll, subcontractor work, materials costs, and interactions with employees, suppliers, and major dealers. A principal figure emerging from the entries is Thomas Wheelock, whose name appears constantly and who played a central operational role long before he became a partner.
The Day Book also gives quantitative insights into production: in the nine months at Norwich, the firm sold 5,484 pepperboxes and 577 single-shot pistols, averaging 782 pistols per month. Payroll tables reveal the labor structure of the factory, including wages, days worked, and roles such as fitters, polishers, engravers, stockers, and hardeners. Parts costs, labor costs, and overhead are itemized, enabling the reconstruction of the approximate manufacturing cost of both pepperboxes and bar-hammer pistols. Sales records show pricing variations, discounts, and the firm’s major customers—ten of whom purchased over half of all pistols sold. Additionally, the Day Book records purchases and sales beyond pistols, such as “whale guns,” shotgun sales, spare parts, molds, and accessories.
The Day Book E is an incredible valuable source for understanding the Allen operation but more in general the early American industrial gun-making, labor practices, pricing, supply chains, and the formation of key figures in later firearms history.
Food for thought
Some conclusions can be carefully drawn from the Day Book.
Allen & Thurber’s production scale was much higher than originally estimated.
The ledger shows the company producing thousands of pistols annually, with monthly averages near 800 units. This output, supported by a mix of in-house employees and numerous piece-rate subcontractors, reveals a surprisingly advanced and efficient production network for the era, predating later industrial assembly-line models. Moreover, it significantly improves insight into the total production of pepperboxes and pistols, a number that had been difficult to assess due to Allen’s practice of using assembly numbers on his guns.
The firm’s profits relied heavily on tight cost control and a sophisticated pricing system.
The cost tables reveal extremely slim component costs—e.g., barrels for 50¢, frames for 33¢, engraving for 12¢—and a clear understanding of labor and overhead allocation. Yet dealers were charged significantly higher retail prices ($8–$8.50 for a pepperbox), showing strong margins. Discounts for early payment, variable pricing by dealer, and surcharges for ivory or silver grips demonstrate a nuanced, modern-seeming business strategy rare for the 1840s.
Allen & Thurber was a formative training ground for many who would later become important names of American firearms innovation.
The ledger demonstrates that the factory was not merely a workplace but a breeding ground for the next generation of influential gunmakers. Several workers who appear in routine payroll entries, or contracter operations later became major contributors to 19th-century American firearms manufacturing. The Day Book lists names such as:
- Thomas Bacon – Eventually founded Bacon Firearms Company, becoming a respected inventor and manufacturer.
- Charles Hopkins, Samuel Hopkins and Charles Allen – Later associated with Hopkins & Allen, one of the largest firearms producers of the late 19th century.
- Horace Smith – Co-founded Smith & Wesson, arguably one of the most famous American handgun maker in history.
- Edwin Prescott – Became a known firearms designer, especially for pepperboxes and pocket pistols.
- Alexander Stocking – Appeared in later Worcester gunmaking operations.
Interesting details from the Day Book
Production cost breakdown
Based on all the detailed information from the Day Book, Paul Henry has made an analysis of the cost breakdown of the most popular guns: the Norwich No.2 Standard pepperbox with 4″ Barrel and the No.9 Bar-hammer Muff pistol with standard 2″ barrel.
As can be observed, Allen & Thurber were making very confortable profits selling the Pepperbox at 8$ and the Muff pistols for 5$ per pair.
Selling practices and quantities
On the right is a typical order as registered in the Day Book on October 22, 1846, in this case to Samuel Sutherland, Richmond, Virginia.
Note that the designation “pepperbox” didn’t exist in 1846 and all handguns were referenced as “pistols”.
The first line is for 24 No.2 pepperboxes with 4 inch barrel and nipple shield (the standard configuration), sold for 8 1/4 or $8.25/piece. The second item was for 3 of the same only with ivory grips for $ 10.50 each or $2.25 extra. The next five items are for various standard size pepperboxes and are priced the same. The eighth item is also a Norwich standard but with silver grips that cost $1.25 extra.
The next item is for 3 pairs of No. 9-2 inch pistols for $5.25 a pair. The No. 9 pistols were the single shot bar hammer percussion model and the small muff pistol was the only bar hammer with a two inch barrel. The next three guns were also bar hammer single shot pistols with three and four inch barrels. Two molds were included with one of the three inch pistols. The last item consists of 12 molds and the total order was for $316.25
Allen & Thurber sold their guns through an extensive network of dealers and retail agents. During the year and a half covered by the Day Book, more than one hundred individual customers were recorded. However, over half of the total production was purchased by just ten customers.
As already mentioned above, the bar-hammer pistols were sold in pairs, so 0,5 pairs means an individual pistol.
* All of the information on this page is based on- and partially copied from- Paul Henry’s book “Ethan Allen and Allen & Wheelock, their guns and their legacy” – Chapter 2