Thompson Submachine Gun

"At the National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, back in August, 1920, there appeared a strange looking weapon. It was neither rifle nor shotgun; pistol nor revolver. It had two odd-looking pistol grips with finger grooves in the forward surfaces. It had no buttstock. The user held the weapon on his hip by firmly grasping the two grips and squeezed the trigger.
Then things began to happen. From the muzzle burst a sheet of flame containing a string of copper-jacketed pellets; from the breech erupted a shower of shiny brass cases. Crowds gathered. Here was a deadly arm, capable of spraying the landscape with sudden death in the form of 230 grain .45 Colt Automatic pistol bullets..." (Philip B. Sharpe)

The Thompson Submachine Gun (TSMG), aka "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", "Ukulele Music", "Satans Paintbrush" etc. was the (in)famous icon of the "Roaring 1920s", widely used by gangsters and outlaws like Al Capone or John Dillinger at this time. It is probably the most famous -and surely one of the most beautiful- gun in the world.
It is by it's devastating firepower and its remarkable, unique design the King Cobra of all submachine guns, even if a modern UZI or "Scorpion" smaller and more dangerous today... the Tommy Gun is the hallmark of the Submachine Guns until today and original guns are high rated collector items... It's the Beauty and the Beast - all in one!

This is my first stamp for all fans of this unique icon... especially for those, who are lucky enough to own one.