Today, the many avenues of social media can sell products faster than any 30-second commercial. However, in the early 20th century people went the extra mile to publicize their incredible inventions. Back then the “extra mile” included taking gunfire from close range! Obviously, the people casually taking bullets for black and white photo ops weren’t selling top hats but rather the very first version of bulletproof vests.
The men of the early 20th century really trusted their inventions. (rarehistoricalphotos)
Back then newspapers reined supreme as the singular form of disseminating information. In a story that’s stranger than fiction, Jan Szczepanik, the “Polish Edison,” and a Polish clergyman based in Chicago named Casimir Zeglen operated as the patient zeros for these hard-to-believe photos.
An Inventive Priest
One of the very first trial by fire photos. (Photo- Courtesy Slawomir Lotysz Ilustracja Polska, vol. 6, 1901 Public Domain)
The story starts with Casimir Zeglen, a Polish priest recently assigned to the city of Chicago. There, with the number of mobsters and assassinations rising, Zeglen sought to create a bulletproof garment. Apparently, the newly established priest felt the need to shield the city’s large Polish population from bullets. Undoubtedly, the murder of Chicago’s mayor, Carter Harrison, Sr., on his own doorsteps no less, further inspired Zeglen to finish his ambitious invention.
Bullet Stopping Silk
That's a lot of trust in silk.
By 1897, Zeglen completed and patented his life-saving idea by weaving layers of silk thick enough to stop a bullet. The slightly puffy vest could be worn under regular clothing. In order to sell his soft body armor, he began giving demonstrations to prove its efficacy. Starting in Chicago he would sport his impassable vests and take live rounds at close range from a 7 mm pistol (guns were smaller back then). His demonstrations gained regional acclaim and quickly spurred him to share it in other cities.
Mass Production
Sometimes the inventor took the shots, often it was their assistants. Photo- Bettmann Getty Images)
After taking his bullet-taking show on the road, Zeglen realized his silk vests were catching on. In order to grow, he needed to increase his means of production. That meant traveling to Europe and finding mechanical weaving machines suitable for producing his silk vests at scale. Unfortunately, for Zegleg he met Jan Szczepanik, the “Polish Edison.” Together, they worked out a deal to assemble Zeglen’s bulletproof vests at an industrial level. The priest then went back to America to continue taking bullets, spreading the good word about his invention.
Polish Pilfering
Assassinations became the early impetuous for bulletproof vests.
Sadly for Zeglen, Szczepanik immediately took the idea for himself and attempted to sell the body armor, which he dubbed the first “bullet and dagger-proof waist coat.” However, the “Polish Edison” apparently wasn’t as adept of a salesman as he was an inventor. Nevertheless, in 1901 when Leon Czolgosz put two bullets in President William McKinley’s stomach, Szczepanik’s metaphorical lightbulb went off.
Assassination Special
Demonstrating a bullet-proof vest, c. 1923. (Library of Congress)
By combining the life-threatening and Houdini-esque demonstrations with his fame, Szczepanik quickly appeared in several major European publications. Eventually, Scientific American featured the death-defying bullet test and the silk vest impervious to gunfire went viral, in the early 1900’s sense.
As the magazine wrote, “Highly impressive and dramatic are the firing tests upon a live person, who, in the consciousness of his invulnerability, calmly and without moving a muscle exposes his breast, protected by the wonderful silk fabric, to the otherwise death-dealing bullets…The bullets rebound from the vest like hailstones from iron armor and drop to the ground with the point flattened.”
Sound And Fury Signifying Nothing
The deputy tests a .38 caliber revolver against the bulletproof vest. (rarehistoricalphotos)
Naturally, when Zeglen saw the outpouring of coverage he noticed his name was consciously absent. Furious, he went to Poland trying to prove himself as the rightful inventor, flashing his American patents to anyone willing to listen. Predictably, Szczepanik’s reputation as Poland’s Edison drowned out any of Zeglen’s protests.
Ironically, the entire fuss over who invented the first silk bulletproof vests turned out to be a moot point. By 1910, guns and their ammunition had advanced to the point of ripping through woven silk like butter. Still, other inventors augmenting woven silk with metal plates promoted their armor with the same demonstrations pioneered by Zeglen.
