Guaranteed to Last: L.L. Bean's Century of Outfitting America
Autor Jim Gormanen Limba Engleză Hardback – 31 dec 2011
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L.L. Bean’s story is also America’s story. The ideas and events that drove the company’s development are all related to what was happening in the wider world. From the rugged, individualistic legacy of Teddy Roosevelt in the 1910s to soldiers’ experiences in both World Wars, from the “back to the land” movement in the 1960s and 1970s that brought millions of people to the wilderness for the first time to the Preppy Handbook craze of the 1980s when the styles of New England suddenly enthralled the nation, Guaranteed to Last tells a complete and fascinating story that will engage every reader.
At the heart of the book is a fresh telling of the fascinating L.L. Bean story—the tale of how an unknown hunter, working with $400 in borrowed capital, invented a new kind of shoe and, marching to the beat of his own drum, remade the outdoor industry. And it’s a story about how the company helped America learn to love the outdoors. A brisk narrative based on fresh interviews and research by Jim Gorman, a leading travel and adventure journalist, traces the most important incidents in the company’s history, as well as the defining products and the most memorable people.
The book will feature scores of photographs, illustrations, and pieces of ephemera, including fascinating images of L.L. Bean hunting in Maine in the 1910s; the earliest mailers and catalogs that defined the look and voice of the company; personal correspondence to L.L. Bean from every era; snapshots of ordinary Americans outfitted in their L.L. Bean gear; and much more. It is both a celebration of 100 years of L.L. Bean, and a look at the essential qualities of the brand that will guide its next century.
At the heart of the book is a fresh telling of the fascinating L.L. Bean story—the tale of how an unknown hunter, working with $400 in borrowed capital, invented a new kind of shoe and, marching to the beat of his own drum, remade the outdoor industry. And it’s a story about how the company helped America learn to love the outdoors. A brisk narrative based on fresh interviews and research by Jim Gorman, a leading travel and adventure journalist, traces the most important incidents in the company’s history, as well as the defining products and the most memorable people.
The book will feature scores of photographs, illustrations, and pieces of ephemera, including fascinating images of L.L. Bean hunting in Maine in the 1910s; the earliest mailers and catalogs that defined the look and voice of the company; personal correspondence to L.L. Bean from every era; snapshots of ordinary Americans outfitted in their L.L. Bean gear; and much more. It is both a celebration of 100 years of L.L. Bean, and a look at the essential qualities of the brand that will guide its next century.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781595910707
ISBN-10: 1595910700
Pagini: 224
Dimensiuni: 234 x 259 x 28 mm
Greutate: 1.2 kg
Editura: MELCHER MEDIA
ISBN-10: 1595910700
Pagini: 224
Dimensiuni: 234 x 259 x 28 mm
Greutate: 1.2 kg
Editura: MELCHER MEDIA
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Cuprins
Chapter 1
Highlight product: Maine Hunting Shoe / Bean Boot
Theme: L.L.’s personal story and the founding of Bean
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The Maine Mystique: Former governor John McKernan once famously quipped, “Is Maine Maine because of Bean, or is Bean Bean because of Maine?” Bean can’t be fully comprehended without understanding Maine’s symbolic identity in the American psyche. Moose, lobster, Katahdin, Maine Guides, Yankee values, wilderness camps, black flies; they add up to Vacationland’s sense of place, real and imagined.
Making the Bean Hunting Shoe. A step-by-step, photo-driven look at the production process. Meaty captions add depth. Emphasize the point that the boot is still hand-sewn in Maine.
Wit and Wisdom from L.L. Select stories and quotes from the founder.
Styles of the Time: 1920s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
100 Years of Dry Feet. Customer testimonials and stories about Bean Boots.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 1912-1929. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos. For each era we’ll pinpoint important and quirky milestones such as Eleanor Roosevelt visiting the store in 1939, Bean getting its own zip code in 1976, sales topping $100 million in 1979, the 500,000th Bean boot sold, etc.
Chapter 2
Highlight product: Chamois Cloth Shirt
Theme: The company weathers the Depression and joins war effort
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
A Bean In Every Mailbox: Visual tour of the Bean catalog through the decades. Text describes LL’s writing style and personal imprint on the catalog. Inset of catalog copy of the Chamois Shirt from this era.
Midnight Run: Throw away the key. Bean begins operating its store 24 hours a day, in 1951 catering to early-rising hunters and fisherman and creating odd, middle-of-the-night encounters recollected here by showroom staff.
Cutting Edge. Product and materials innovations pioneered by Bean through the years, like no-leak waders.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 1930–1945. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 3
Highlight product: Field Coat
Theme: Post-war years and innovative business practice
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The State of Bean. Map of Maine rendered as one of those old-time, kitschy state maps in cartoon form, only with key Bean events and locales, and L.L.’s greatest hunting and fishing achievements flagged, along with outdoor highlights like Katahdin, Acadia, Penobscott Bay, Allagash and St. John rivers, etc.
Face of Bean: A profile spotlighting an employee, for example, Winfield “Win” Given, boot sewer and one of the company’s first and longest-serving employees.
Northwoods Ambassadors: Maine Guides are legendary for their woods wisdom and have been a key part of L.L. Bean for decades. A look at their history and most memorable personalities and moments.
Styles of the Time: 1940s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
Married At Bean. There’s customer loyalty and then there’s loving a company so much you hold your wedding at its flagship retail store. More than a few brides have walked down the showroom aisle.
100 Years of Staying Warm. Customer testimonials and stories about the field coat.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 1946–1959. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 4
Highlight product: Boat and Tote Bag
Theme: Increased sales and catalog offerings, death of L.L. Bean
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The Customer is Always Right (Well, Usually): Amusing anecdotes from the customer care department (past and present) of interactions with customers.
Face of Bean: Mel Collins, longtime catalog photographer.
100 Years of Toting. Customer testimonials and stories about the Boat & Tote.
Test Run: L.L. wouldn’t include anything in his catalog unless he’d used it in the field first to make sure it works as advertised. That tradition continues today in the Bean tester program, described here, which taps into the experiences of ##TK## testers in the field from Costa Rica to Alaska.
Bean Timeline, 1960-1967. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 5
Highlight product: Goose Down Vest
Theme: The outdoor boom
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
A Classic Gets A Makeover. Advances in materials and changing costs of production have altered the look and performance of favorite items. Show a before and after photos of the Adventure Duffel to trace its change from canvas, leather, and brass fixtures to Cordura and polypropylene (chk). Captions and leader lines point out key features and why they were changed.
From Brainstorm to Doorstep. Photo-driven treatment traces the evolution of a single product from concept to SKU. Gives us an opportunity to meet designers, buyers, testers, warehouse employees, call center people, pickers, etc. Also allows us to trumpet Bean’s control and testing systems.
Best Sellers: The top 5 best selling items from 1950 v 2012.
Styles of the Time: 1970s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
Chapter 6
Highlight product: Norwegian Sweater
Theme: The Rise of Preppy Helps Make L.L. Bean a National Brand
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
Pilgrimage to Freeport: Visiting the Bean store becomes a rite of passage for anyone serious about the outdoors, or wishing to appear so. Customer recollections of their first journey to the Mecca of outdoor sporting goods.
100 Years of Looking Good. Customer testimonials and stories about the Norwegian Sweater and other lifestyle apparel.
Bean Timeline, 1968-1988. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 7
Highlight product: [PRODUCT TBD]
Theme: New opportunities beyond the catalog
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
Tour de Bean. A map of Freeport and surroundings showing the location of the company’s many facilities.
Bean On Top: Bean sponsors Jim Whittaker’s Peace climb up Everest in 1990, an expedition that also included Leon Gorman and Tom Armstrong.
Styles of the Time: 1990s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from the era.
Beanest Town in America. Profile of the town that orders the most Bean product, based on sales per resident or overall sales.
Face of Bean: George Soule and his Duck Decoy, beloved by hunters and cottage decorators alike
24 Hours at L.L. Bean — A Special 8-page Inset
The sun never sets on L.L. Bean, or at least the lights never get switched off. Through photo and caption, we capture the swirl of activity that makes Bean’s far-flung operations hum. For example, 2:00 am finds us at the Retail Store as a salesman explains the finer points of canoe design to a prospective customer, 3:30 am finds us at the customer call center eavesdropping as a veteran agent handles a call from a homesick New Englander who just wants to hear a familiar accent, 4:15 and we’re half a world away as the retail manager in Shanghai
Highlight product: Maine Hunting Shoe / Bean Boot
Theme: L.L.’s personal story and the founding of Bean
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The Maine Mystique: Former governor John McKernan once famously quipped, “Is Maine Maine because of Bean, or is Bean Bean because of Maine?” Bean can’t be fully comprehended without understanding Maine’s symbolic identity in the American psyche. Moose, lobster, Katahdin, Maine Guides, Yankee values, wilderness camps, black flies; they add up to Vacationland’s sense of place, real and imagined.
Making the Bean Hunting Shoe. A step-by-step, photo-driven look at the production process. Meaty captions add depth. Emphasize the point that the boot is still hand-sewn in Maine.
Wit and Wisdom from L.L. Select stories and quotes from the founder.
Styles of the Time: 1920s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
100 Years of Dry Feet. Customer testimonials and stories about Bean Boots.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 1912-1929. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos. For each era we’ll pinpoint important and quirky milestones such as Eleanor Roosevelt visiting the store in 1939, Bean getting its own zip code in 1976, sales topping $100 million in 1979, the 500,000th Bean boot sold, etc.
Chapter 2
Highlight product: Chamois Cloth Shirt
Theme: The company weathers the Depression and joins war effort
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
A Bean In Every Mailbox: Visual tour of the Bean catalog through the decades. Text describes LL’s writing style and personal imprint on the catalog. Inset of catalog copy of the Chamois Shirt from this era.
Midnight Run: Throw away the key. Bean begins operating its store 24 hours a day, in 1951 catering to early-rising hunters and fisherman and creating odd, middle-of-the-night encounters recollected here by showroom staff.
Cutting Edge. Product and materials innovations pioneered by Bean through the years, like no-leak waders.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 1930–1945. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 3
Highlight product: Field Coat
Theme: Post-war years and innovative business practice
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The State of Bean. Map of Maine rendered as one of those old-time, kitschy state maps in cartoon form, only with key Bean events and locales, and L.L.’s greatest hunting and fishing achievements flagged, along with outdoor highlights like Katahdin, Acadia, Penobscott Bay, Allagash and St. John rivers, etc.
Face of Bean: A profile spotlighting an employee, for example, Winfield “Win” Given, boot sewer and one of the company’s first and longest-serving employees.
Northwoods Ambassadors: Maine Guides are legendary for their woods wisdom and have been a key part of L.L. Bean for decades. A look at their history and most memorable personalities and moments.
Styles of the Time: 1940s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
Married At Bean. There’s customer loyalty and then there’s loving a company so much you hold your wedding at its flagship retail store. More than a few brides have walked down the showroom aisle.
100 Years of Staying Warm. Customer testimonials and stories about the field coat.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 1946–1959. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 4
Highlight product: Boat and Tote Bag
Theme: Increased sales and catalog offerings, death of L.L. Bean
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The Customer is Always Right (Well, Usually): Amusing anecdotes from the customer care department (past and present) of interactions with customers.
Face of Bean: Mel Collins, longtime catalog photographer.
100 Years of Toting. Customer testimonials and stories about the Boat & Tote.
Test Run: L.L. wouldn’t include anything in his catalog unless he’d used it in the field first to make sure it works as advertised. That tradition continues today in the Bean tester program, described here, which taps into the experiences of ##TK## testers in the field from Costa Rica to Alaska.
Bean Timeline, 1960-1967. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 5
Highlight product: Goose Down Vest
Theme: The outdoor boom
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
A Classic Gets A Makeover. Advances in materials and changing costs of production have altered the look and performance of favorite items. Show a before and after photos of the Adventure Duffel to trace its change from canvas, leather, and brass fixtures to Cordura and polypropylene (chk). Captions and leader lines point out key features and why they were changed.
From Brainstorm to Doorstep. Photo-driven treatment traces the evolution of a single product from concept to SKU. Gives us an opportunity to meet designers, buyers, testers, warehouse employees, call center people, pickers, etc. Also allows us to trumpet Bean’s control and testing systems.
Best Sellers: The top 5 best selling items from 1950 v 2012.
Styles of the Time: 1970s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
Chapter 6
Highlight product: Norwegian Sweater
Theme: The Rise of Preppy Helps Make L.L. Bean a National Brand
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
Pilgrimage to Freeport: Visiting the Bean store becomes a rite of passage for anyone serious about the outdoors, or wishing to appear so. Customer recollections of their first journey to the Mecca of outdoor sporting goods.
100 Years of Looking Good. Customer testimonials and stories about the Norwegian Sweater and other lifestyle apparel.
Bean Timeline, 1968-1988. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 7
Highlight product: [PRODUCT TBD]
Theme: New opportunities beyond the catalog
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
Tour de Bean. A map of Freeport and surroundings showing the location of the company’s many facilities.
Bean On Top: Bean sponsors Jim Whittaker’s Peace climb up Everest in 1990, an expedition that also included Leon Gorman and Tom Armstrong.
Styles of the Time: 1990s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from the era.
Beanest Town in America. Profile of the town that orders the most Bean product, based on sales per resident or overall sales.
Face of Bean: George Soule and his Duck Decoy, beloved by hunters and cottage decorators alike
24 Hours at L.L. Bean — A Special 8-page Inset
The sun never sets on L.L. Bean, or at least the lights never get switched off. Through photo and caption, we capture the swirl of activity that makes Bean’s far-flung operations hum. For example, 2:00 am finds us at the Retail Store as a salesman explains the finer points of canoe design to a prospective customer, 3:30 am finds us at the customer call center eavesdropping as a veteran agent handles a call from a homesick New Englander who just wants to hear a familiar accent, 4:15 and we’re half a world away as the retail manager in Shanghai
Notă biografică
Jim Gorman is an award-winning book and magazine author. He's a contributing
editor to Backpacker and Popular Mechanics magazines, and his writing has
appeared in Men's Health, Runner's World, This Old House, Country Living,
National Geographic Adventure, Better Homes & Gardens, Endless Vacation,
Bicycling, Boy's Life, and elsewhere. He writes primarily about the
environment, outdoor exploration on foot and mountain bike, health &
wellness, home & garden, and energy conservation.
Jim's work has won a variety of awards, including a National Magazine Award
(2003) for "Wild In The Parks," National Geographic Adventure Magazine;
Travel Writer of the Year Award from the Caribbean Tourism Organization for
""Wild Beauties," Endless Vacation Magazine; and the Pluma de Plata (Silver
Quill) Award for Best Travel Writing on Mexico from the Mexico Tourism
Board, for "Zacatecas: Desert Rose," also in Endless Vacation Magazine. He
was also a National Magazine Award Finalist in 2005 for "Grail Trails,"
National Geographic Adventure Magazine.
Prior to his career as a freelance writer, Jim was an editor at Backpacker
Magazine, the website GORP.com, and the environmental journal World Watch.
editor to Backpacker and Popular Mechanics magazines, and his writing has
appeared in Men's Health, Runner's World, This Old House, Country Living,
National Geographic Adventure, Better Homes & Gardens, Endless Vacation,
Bicycling, Boy's Life, and elsewhere. He writes primarily about the
environment, outdoor exploration on foot and mountain bike, health &
wellness, home & garden, and energy conservation.
Jim's work has won a variety of awards, including a National Magazine Award
(2003) for "Wild In The Parks," National Geographic Adventure Magazine;
Travel Writer of the Year Award from the Caribbean Tourism Organization for
""Wild Beauties," Endless Vacation Magazine; and the Pluma de Plata (Silver
Quill) Award for Best Travel Writing on Mexico from the Mexico Tourism
Board, for "Zacatecas: Desert Rose," also in Endless Vacation Magazine. He
was also a National Magazine Award Finalist in 2005 for "Grail Trails,"
National Geographic Adventure Magazine.
Prior to his career as a freelance writer, Jim was an editor at Backpacker
Magazine, the website GORP.com, and the environmental journal World Watch.
Extras
How did L.L. Bean thrive as scores of other retailers withered? Durable goods, a great reputation, and savvy retailing had a lot to do with it. But America was also changing in ways that played to L.L. Bean’s strengths. Paid vacation, a foreign concept during the Industrial Era, was becoming the norm (for those lucky enough to be working). By the end of the Thirties, half of American workers would earn paid time off, the luckiest enjoying two weeks or more. Whereas a Sunday afternoon spent picnicking in a local park was the best the average person could muster at the turn of the twentieth century, Americans in the late-1930s had sufficient time off to get out of town. And with a shiny Buick or Ford in the driveway, they now had the means.
Throughout the Victoria Era and into the early decades of the twentieth century, vacationing was a distinctly upper class pursuit. While the masses sweltered through the summer months in the inner city, high society retired to resorts and grand hotels at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; Saratoga Springs, New York; Mackinaw Island, Michigan; and the like. Had they the money to stay in such luxury, it’s doubtful the new breed of footloose wage earners would have been welcome. Instead, America’s middle class took to the road. With practically no tourist infrastructure of inexpensive hotels or motels in existence, vacation destinations were limited. Out of necessity, leisure travelers took to tenting. To these free-wheelers, it didn’t much matter whether the ideal camping spot was in a national park or farmer’s field as long as it was far from the crowded, noisy city. Inexpensive and liberating, “auto camping” was the rage, and L.L. fine-tuned his catalog to meet the needs of the “tin can tourist.”
L.L.'s selection process for new items for his catalog was not based on market surveys or merchandising analyses. He simply went with his gut, and with is personal experience. If he used and approved of a product while on one of his hunting and fishing trips, it stood a good chance of getting in. Sometimes a product was developed in-house and then field-tested until the kinks worked out. Other times, as with the Hudson’s Bay Blanket, he simply offered another manufacturer’s product. The particulars behind L.L.’s decisions on product placement in the early years are usually unknown. He wasn’t much for record keeping and even less inclined toward noting his thoughts on paper. From our perspective, a hundred years after he went out on a limb to sell a new boot, L.L.’s marketing skills seem to have sprung up fully formed. For such an outgoing public figure, to this day he engenders some degree of mystery. Much of what we do know about him is reflected from oral histories and accounts kept by the people who worked or hunted with him. Justin Williams, a longtime Bean employee in the early days, provided such a mirror. His recollection of a particular duck hunting trip in the late-1930s gives us a glimpse of product development, L.L.-style:
“I had this old duck-call that I got around 1938 or so—one of the best ever made,” said Williams. “L.L. and Danny Snow were in one blind and I was in another with the dog. So I got this old duck-call out and used it. Within a few minutes there must have been 500 ducks flying around the blinds. I mean the sky was filled with ducks. L.L. was standing there in shock, and ’til the day he died, he never got over it. You can believe that the next fall he had duck-calls in his catalog … patterned after the one I used that day.”
Williams also witnessed what happened when one of L.L.’s field tests went awry. In this case, L.L. was trying out a fancy new fishing rod pressed on him by a salesman for possible inclusion in the catalog. The fact that several other outfitters had placed big orders for the rod didn’t impress L.L. “He took the rod on a fishing trip, hooked onto a big fish, the rod snapped in half and went overboard. That was the end of that,” said Williams.
“It wasn’t easy to sell to L.L.,” recalled Williams. “He had to see the truth of things for himself. If he put a product in the catalog, you can bet it was tested and was worth having, and no doubt about it at all. He started building a reputation for that right from the beginning.”
Throughout the Victoria Era and into the early decades of the twentieth century, vacationing was a distinctly upper class pursuit. While the masses sweltered through the summer months in the inner city, high society retired to resorts and grand hotels at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; Saratoga Springs, New York; Mackinaw Island, Michigan; and the like. Had they the money to stay in such luxury, it’s doubtful the new breed of footloose wage earners would have been welcome. Instead, America’s middle class took to the road. With practically no tourist infrastructure of inexpensive hotels or motels in existence, vacation destinations were limited. Out of necessity, leisure travelers took to tenting. To these free-wheelers, it didn’t much matter whether the ideal camping spot was in a national park or farmer’s field as long as it was far from the crowded, noisy city. Inexpensive and liberating, “auto camping” was the rage, and L.L. fine-tuned his catalog to meet the needs of the “tin can tourist.”
L.L.'s selection process for new items for his catalog was not based on market surveys or merchandising analyses. He simply went with his gut, and with is personal experience. If he used and approved of a product while on one of his hunting and fishing trips, it stood a good chance of getting in. Sometimes a product was developed in-house and then field-tested until the kinks worked out. Other times, as with the Hudson’s Bay Blanket, he simply offered another manufacturer’s product. The particulars behind L.L.’s decisions on product placement in the early years are usually unknown. He wasn’t much for record keeping and even less inclined toward noting his thoughts on paper. From our perspective, a hundred years after he went out on a limb to sell a new boot, L.L.’s marketing skills seem to have sprung up fully formed. For such an outgoing public figure, to this day he engenders some degree of mystery. Much of what we do know about him is reflected from oral histories and accounts kept by the people who worked or hunted with him. Justin Williams, a longtime Bean employee in the early days, provided such a mirror. His recollection of a particular duck hunting trip in the late-1930s gives us a glimpse of product development, L.L.-style:
“I had this old duck-call that I got around 1938 or so—one of the best ever made,” said Williams. “L.L. and Danny Snow were in one blind and I was in another with the dog. So I got this old duck-call out and used it. Within a few minutes there must have been 500 ducks flying around the blinds. I mean the sky was filled with ducks. L.L. was standing there in shock, and ’til the day he died, he never got over it. You can believe that the next fall he had duck-calls in his catalog … patterned after the one I used that day.”
Williams also witnessed what happened when one of L.L.’s field tests went awry. In this case, L.L. was trying out a fancy new fishing rod pressed on him by a salesman for possible inclusion in the catalog. The fact that several other outfitters had placed big orders for the rod didn’t impress L.L. “He took the rod on a fishing trip, hooked onto a big fish, the rod snapped in half and went overboard. That was the end of that,” said Williams.
“It wasn’t easy to sell to L.L.,” recalled Williams. “He had to see the truth of things for himself. If he put a product in the catalog, you can bet it was tested and was worth having, and no doubt about it at all. He started building a reputation for that right from the beginning.”
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