Smokiana (Illustrated) Paperback - 2015

Born on 24th February 1828, in Whitechapel, London, Robert Taylor Pritchett was the son of Richard Ellis Pritchett (c.1782 - 1866) and his wife Ann. His was to be a varied and interesting life. Robert Taylor Pritchett became a gun maker, lecturer, traveller, book illustrator, and watercolour artist. In September 1857 he married Louisa Kezia McRae (d.1899); the couple had a son and a daughter both of whom predeceased him. After his education at King's College School, London, Robert Taylor Pritchett joined the Enfield gun makers of which his father was head. He soon took charge of the royal small arms factory at Enfield and by 1852 he was collaborating with William Ellis Metford (1824 - 1899). They developed and promoted a hollow based bullet for the Enfield rifle. It proved to be effective in trials and Pritchett became famous ( 'the Pritchett bullet' ) when this invention was adopted by the small arms committee and he was awarded 1000 by the government. However, it did not stand up well to the strains of sustained use in the Crimean War (1854 -1856) where it was used from late 1855. Therefore, modifications and further trials were necessary. The abolition of the East India Company (EIC) in 1858 undermined the viability of Pritchett's firm - the EIC had been its main customer, so he forged a career for himself as an artist. He remained a lifelong member of the Gunmakers' Company, lectured on gunlocks and rifles and illustrated 'The British Army' (1868), by Sir Sibbald Scott. Pritchett was an expert on ancient armour and was responsible for dating many pieces in the Tower of London's collection.