>>Away down in South Philadelphia, on Passyunk avenue, there isor was up to four years ago-as neat a gun shop as could be imagined. A half-glass door; white curtains at the windows; a white, well-scrubbed floor, with rugs spread over a part of it; a small counter; a small glassdoored gun-case; a small stock of gun supplies, and at one time a small stock of guns first, muzzle-loaders and then breech-loaders, and now neither. Everything was always spick-and-span clean a place for everything and everything in its place. This was Joseph Jacob's shop, upstairs was his home, and the prevailing air of neatness may be placed to the credit of his daughter. I liked to visit Mr. Jacob and enjoy the atmosphere of the shop while we talked. Up to twenty years ago he had a good business, building guns to order. Then changes came. Gradually at first he came to realize that he could not compete with machine-made, or partly machine-made, guns, and get the pricethat he must have for good handwork. From employing two or three men, it came in time that he was alone in the shop. His old customers brought him enough orders to keep him fairly busy. Then orders grew more scarce, and eventually the shop was given over to repair work, with an occasional gun to build. Such is the history of many other skilful gunmakers. The factory-made gun has ruined their businessthe immutable law of the survival of the fittest again exemplified.<<

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=235106&page=all

Cheers,

Raimey
rse