Letters to Guns

Introduction

13 Introduction It will come as a surprise to only 5% of Americans that the average, privately owned firearm receives approximately 4.6 letters a year. This is almost ten times that of any household appliance or national landmark. While half of these belong in the category of advertisements, this still works out to roughly 160 personal letters over a 70-year lifespan. The amount of correspondence for famous or noteworthy guns is considerably higher. As the estimated number of Americans who read poetry is also 5%, I have sought to compile a brief history of this epistolary tradition and to do so in something like the manner in which it was revealed to me. Therefore the eight letters, which appear throughout this collection, are not presented chronologically but in their order of discovery. I have withheld signatures for obvious reasons. It should be noted that the only other incorporeal addressee to receive more mail than the firearm is a statue of Confederate officer J. e. B. ‘Jeb’ stuart in Richmond Virginia. since its erection in 1907, the statue has received no less than 700 individual pieces of correspondence per annum. It has responded to every one. Brendan Constantine Los Angeles, California 14 This page intentionally left blank. ...