built by Colt. With increased competition from their British rival, Webley & Scott, Colt had Mason design a double-action revolver for them in 1877, the Colt M1877. Following this, Mason once again teamed up with Richards to produce a larger framed version, the Colt M1878 Frontier in 1878. His final design for Colt was the Colt M1889, a collaboration with Carl J. Ehbets for a revolver with a swing-out cylinder. Ehbets continued to perfect the idea for 7 years after Mason left Colt for Winchester. Winchester Mason left Colt to work for the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1882. While he was originally hired to design a revolver to compete with Colt's revolvers, Mason eventually made working prototypes of many of John Moses Browning's designs. One of his more notable design improvements was the Winchester Model 1886 rifle. In 1885 he became the Master Mechanic at Winchester and held that position until his death in Worcester, Massachusetts on July 17, 1913. Mason was an inaugural member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and over the course of his life he patented 125 inventions for firearms, ammunition, firearm manufacturing machinery, steam pumps and power looms. Winchester historian Mary Jo Ignoffo called Mason, "one of the most significant designers of the nineteenth century". References External links 1837 births 1913 deaths 19th-century American inventors Gunsmiths Machinists Patternmakers (industrial)